Due to the census, all the places for weary travelers to lodge were full. I wonder if the Inn Keeper, in a attempt to appease a desperate father-to-be and a obviously very pregnant woman, offered the barn as a way to pacify his own guilty conscious? Or was it just a after thought to get them away from the front door of the establishment? But God knew exactly where His Son was to be born…with no onlookers, no mid-wives…only lowly animals to serve as witnesses to the greatest event in history.
Month: December 2019
Matthew 2:1-2 ” After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the East came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the East and have come to worship Him.’ “
These three men who made the long journey from the East were not magicians, nor were they idolatry seekers. They were of noble birth, highly educated, wealthy, and influential. They had studied Hebrew Scripture and were familiar with the coming Messiah…so when this magnificent star arose in the sky, they had only to go back to Scripture to see that this star was the herald of the Messiah’s coming. Numbers 24:17 gave them this clue, “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.” And no amount of intellectual, logical, or analytical thinking could deter them then from following this star…for they believed.
Luke 2:15 ” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Lets’ go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’ “
Shepherds were some of the most marginalized people group of Biblical times…they were relegated to an unimportant and distasteful position within Jewish society. But yet, God saw fit for them to be the first to hear about the birth of the Messiah. But why? We have only to search Old Testament Scriptures to see the clear correlation between the shepherds on that dark hillside and Jesus Christ. Probably one of the best known Psalms, the 23rd Psalm, starts out, “The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want.” Isaiah 40:11 talks of Jesus like this, “He tends His flock like a Shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart…” And if we look in the New Testament, Jesus Himself says, “I am the good Shepherd.” (John 10:14) And elsewhere we find, in Hebrews 13:20 Jesus is called the Great Shepherd. This scruffy group of men might not have had much notoriety before men…but before God, He chose to honor them in the same way He honored His Son…the Shepherd of all mankind.
Luke 1:38 ” ‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May it be to me as you have said.’ “
This young virgin teen-age girl, Mary, had just been told by an angel that she would carry the Son of God by means of immaculate conception by the Holy Spirit. For most, this mind-boggling idea would have them saying no…but not Mary. Her humble devotion and obedience to God shows in her song back to Him,( Luke 1:46-55) when she sings, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me – holy is His name.” Despite what Mary knew would be her lot if she said yes…the personal suffering, heartache, embarrassment, and loneliness…she readily agreed to be the mother of Jesus the Messiah.
Exodus 20:11 ” For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
As it gets closer and closer to Christmas we get busier and more anxious about getting everything done. So this Scripture is giving us a heads up as to what we can do this Sunday. It’s called a Sabbath rest…a reminder of God’s creative and redemptive work, but also something that was first demonstrated by God Himself on the seventh day. The Sabbath rest is a God-given gift…to serve not enslave us…to be a blessing not a burden as we find rest in Him.
Hebrews 3:1 ” Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus…”
The Author of Hebrews wasn’t writing to unbelievers…He was addressing Followers of Jesus, just like you and me. He was urging them to keep their mind set on Jesus and not the peripheral distractions around them. And I think this is the perfect Scripture to consider a little more than a week out from Christmas! For at this time of the Holiday Season the “To-do” list looms large in front of us…with so many details that need to be done, and so little time to do them. It’s very easy then to lose sight of the real meaning of Christmas and just get caught up in the commercialism and hype. When the stresses of Christmas have you anxious this week…do as this verse suggests…fix your thoughts on Jesus.
Proverbs 7:2 ” Keep My commands and you will live; guard My teachings as the apple of your eye.”
To have something as the apple of your eye is to cherish and call it precious. But do we place that much importance on the Word of God as it tells us to in this Scripture? Proverbs 4:4 says, “He taught me and said, ‘Lay hold of My Words with all your heart; Keep My commands and you will live.’ ” Both verses you notice use the phrase, “Keep My commands and you will live.” It’s only for our good, God is telling us, that we should give careful attention to His Word and obey what it says…for His Word leads to life.
Galatians 2:20 ” I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
What does it really mean to be crucified with Christ? Again, we have this picture of putting off the old and putting on the new self. It starts at the moment of redemption when as Romans 8:10 tells us, “But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.” But it also becomes a lifetime journey of deliberate and intentional decisions on our part to subdue our worldly and fleshly lusts and desires. And in doing so, our old self is crucified together with Christ so that sin cannot have preeminence in our life. (Romans 6:6)…as we purposefully live for the Will of God. (I Peter 4:2)
Matthew 9:17 ” Neither do men pour new wine into old wine-skins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wine-skins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wine-skins, and both are preserved.”
Old wine-skins were hard, rigid, stiff, and unyielding. Does that sound like you or someone you know? On the other hand, new wine-skins are flexible and malleable…able to receive the newly pressed wine. They change as the fermentation process happens…they expand as the wine ferments…finally stopping when the wine is perfect inside. As Believers we must never stop growing until the God-given purpose inside us is perfected. At the wedding feast in Cana what did the Master of the Banquet tell the Bridegroom after tasting the water Jesus had turned into wine? “You have saved the best for last!” I originally wrote this back in 2008…but it still remains pertinent today. Just as you don’t pour new wine into old wine-skins, you don’t sew a new patch on an old garment, (Mark 2:21)…or both will be destroyed. The journey of a Christian is a pathway of newness…new covenant, new hearts, new minds, new selves…of the process of constantly putting off the old and putting on the new. For when we stop growing in the Lord, we become stagnant and unusable. The Lord is looking for new vessels to contain His new works. The question is, are you willing to be that new wine-skin?
Psalm 56:3 ” When I am afraid, I will trust in You.”
As I studied this verse I discovered that the Hebrew word for afraid, Yare, has two separate meanings. The first is the negative emotion of fearful…while the second is the positive emotion of reverence and awe for God. So what David is explaining here is that in the time of fear he consciously shifted his mind from one meaning to the other… from dwelling on a negative emotion to focusing on a positive one. So instead of standing on the shifting sands of fear and anxiety David planted his feet firmly and confidently on the solid rock of Christ.
Safetypinlove 