It’s only five days until Christmas! 

Are you frazzled, tired, weary, or worse, do you feel alone?

The good news of Christmas is that you are never alone! We have IMMANUEL, God is with us!

What the prophet Isaiah predicted has come true!

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son. And they will call Him, IMMANUEL, God with us.”  Isaiah 7:14

What a mind blowing promise it was to the Jewish people and to all of us!

To the Jewish people God was someone who was over them. He spoke to them through prophets and on mountain tops. Now, through Jesus Christ, God’s Son, He wouldn’t just be above us, He would be WITH us!

He would identify with us on every level. He would feel hunger like we do, he would feel pleasure like we do and he would feel pain like we do. Yet, the miraculous would remain, He is God, and now He is WITH us!

We have a Savior who came at Christmas time as a baby in a manger, who by His life on earth and His teachings showed us the way back to God!

We are never alone. God loved us so much He came to this earth to show us the way to live with Him forever!

TRUTH BOMB

AT CHRISTMAS WE CELEBRATE JESUS BEING WITH US!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Speak Truth Love

Today’s ADVENT focus is my favorite! Don’t get me wrong…they are all AMAZING and powerful. Each holds a very important and crucial aspect of the ADVENT of Jesus Christ.

None is more important than another as each carries out its own vital role in the anticipation of Jesus’ arrival.

But today we talk about a young woman who has her entire life in front of her. As a young Jewish woman her life is just beginning. She has been promised, engaged to a young Jewish man, Joseph. Her dreams of being chosen and desired have come true. She is full of anticipation of a life filled with hope and promise.

Suddenly, that life is abruptly interrupted!  

“Gabriel appeared to her, (Mary), and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you.” 

Mary is going about her everyday life, planning and dreaming of her wedding day. She falls asleep after a full day of preparations to be awakened by an angel!

In the book of Luke, chapter 1 verse 29, it tells us that she was, “CONFUSED and DISTURBED.”  

Now that is an understatement if I’ve ever heard one!

I can think of a few more words to describe being awakened by an angel in the middle of the night…scared, freaked out, stunned…just to name a few!

The angel speaks words of comfort to her next and explains his visit.

“Don’t be afraid, Mary, the angel told her, for you have found favor with God.

You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name Him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of The Most High.  The Lord God will give Him the throne of His ancestor David. And He will reign over Israel forever; His Kingdom will never end.”  Luke 1:30-33

Does any of this sound familiar to you? 

A visit from an angel.

A proclamation.

A miracle that only God could bring about.

Our friend Zechariah from last week’s ADVENT blog was also visited by an angel.

There are similarities between both announcements. Both did indeed receive a visit from an angel of God and both were also startled (Now this point seems obvious to me, they were woken up in the middle of the night by a heavenly being, but it is a similarity nonetheless)! Both were commanded to “Not be afraid,” and both were told they would have a son.They both also knew that this would be humanly impossible. It could only be accomplished by God!

The similarities are hard to miss. But it is the difference that makes this ADVENT story my favorite!

When Zachariah is visited by the angel and told he would have a son he basically asks for proof.

When Mary is visited by an angel and told she would have a son she responds with FAITH,

“How will you do it?”  Luke 1:34

Mary believes and demonstrates her FAITH with a FAITH filled question!

She does not try to weasel her way out of it. She does not ask what this will cost her. She does not question the God she knows and loves, she simply asks, HOW?

This announcement would cost Mary every dream and plan she had made for her life.

The angel answers her and tells her that The Holy Spirit of God will come upon her and the power of The Most High God will overshadow her in Luke 1:35.

Mary’s response to the angels answer is one of the most profound statements of Faith;

“Mary responded, “I am The Lords’ servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”  Luke 1:38

TRUTH BOMB

MARY RESPONDED WITH FAITH INSTEAD OF FEAR!

The trajectory of her life is forever changed! Her future marriage and livelihood is in jeopardy. Her social standing and credibility are ruined! Yet her FAITH is strong and firm.

What is our RESPONSE to Christmas? When we know that Christmas is the celebration of Jesus Christ arriving on earth as God’s own Son to save us from our sins, how do we respond?

I pray that this year I will respond with greater Faith. I will cease to be overwhelmed and overcome by stresses, situations and sadnesses, and I will instead embrace the anticipation of Jesus coming and of His return!

Speak Truth Love

Last week we defined ADVENT as the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.

We further defined the meaning of ADVENT as it applies to Christmas.

“The anticipation of Jesus’ birth at Christmas time and the preparation we do as Christ followers for His second coming.”

So, given all of these definitions, we know that the first part of what we are “anticipating,” is more of a preparation of our hearts to celebrate the amazing event that already occured over 2000 years ago.  However, the second part, Jesus’ return, we do not know the length of time before its’ occurrence.  This can make the anticipation difficult.

How do we wait when there is no end date?  How do we sustain our faith when time seems to be endless? How do we stay positive when the arrival feels out of reach?

We take our example from a righteous and blameless couple before God; Zechariah and Elizabeth. We encounter them up close and personal in Luke’s Gospel chapter 1, in the first 25 verses.

The scriptures tell us that this couple was “advanced in years,” and “had no child.” To be childless in ancient Judaism was seen as a sign of reproach or sin. This couple had endured many years of social shame and disappointment. To compound the struggle they were enduring, they also had been living with 400 years of silence from God!

For over 400 years, God had not spoken to His people through a prophet or any other way. Yet this couple served God faithfully while they anticipated God’s Savior for His people. What a beautiful example this couple lived!

So we ask, How do we wait when there is no end date? We live a life of righteous obedience to our God even as our years advance and our prayers have not yet come into completion! That’s how? Is it hard? You bet it is! But God gives us faithful examples to follow as we wait.

The amazing part of Zechariah and Elizabeth’s story is they were able to experience the long awaited anticipation of their lives. God spoke to Zechariah, ending His four hundred year silence, and told him that, even in their old age, he and his wife Elizabeth would have a son, and that son would grow up and be filled with The Holy Spirit.

“And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of The Most High, because you will prepare the way for The Lord.”  Luke 1:76

The long anticipation they had endured would come to a beautiful fulfillment. 

First through their son John, and then through God’s Son whom John would announce.

“You (John, my little son,) will tell His people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins. Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give LIGHT to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”  

Luke 1:77-79

TRUTH BOMB

ANTICIPATION CAN INCREASE OUR FAITH IF WE CONTINUE TO BE OBEDIENT TO GOD THROUGH IT!

What a wonderful way for God to break His silence and bring forth His Salvation plan for the world!

Let’s commit to be faithful to God as we anticipate His birth and second coming!

HE WILL HAVE THE LAST WORD!

Speak Truth Love