We love miracles. Miracles display faith, hope and love. However the first Christmas was strewn with something we are familiar with ... stress. No trumpets went off as Mary, heavily pregnant traveled by donkey, 90 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem. No rose petals were thrown. No welcome was held in Bethlehem for her. This is Christmas. A lot of work.
These are Holy Days. People reflect on their life. This week I've spoken with two women who have lost children. The first woman was told by the hospital counselor she and her husband would never recover, to live life under the tragedy. This IS NOT Accurate. We believe in the Lord's Promises, we know our children will be as Isaiah says in the 49th Chapter, learning the hills and the highways of Heaven on the shoulders of the one given their care. Should a mother not remember her child, due, I guess to illness, the child is important to the LORD.
Tonight on the way to a party, we passed a huge accident scene and the officials were arriving. We never know what life has ahead of us. Losing a loved one, can make us nervous, but we lean and trust in the Lord, say a prayer and go on. To a party where we learn the serene woman next to us lost a son to a drunk driver. Gone, not forgotten, not forsaken, trusting God to care for the loved one until the glorious day God reunites us.
Shall we sulk or pout if we are not as happy in the happiest season. Pout if someone gives us their burdens. No. Mary did not have an easy Christmas. Joseph, Elizabeth and the mute priest Zechariah did not have an easy time of these miracles. A day of the Lord.
The Road to Bethlehem, by Joseph Brickley
THE FAMILY TREE OF JOSIAH
JOSIAH
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Jehoahaz
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Jehoiakim
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Jehoiachin
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Zedekiah
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Jeremiah did not stand completely alone; The Book of Zephaniah, first chapter and first verse: “Zephaniah son of Cushi son of Gedaliah son of Amariah son of Hezekiah, (Hezekiah was a King of the Davidic Line) in the days of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah” (1:1, NRSV). The authorshiop is lengthier than most and contains two features. The name Cushi, Zephaniah’s father, means ‘Ethiopian’. In Judah, genealogy was extremely important in the inclusion of God's covenant with Abraham and descendants, the author establishes his Hebrew lineage. Zephaniah does not shrink from condemning Cushites or Ethiopians. Zephaniah was a prophet during Josiah and warned of future events hoping to enact change to avoid calamity.
Zephaniah 1
1 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
2 “I will utterly sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
3 “I will sweep away man and beast;
I will sweep away the birds of the heavens
and the fish of the sea,
and the rubble with the wicked.
I will cut off mankind
from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.
4 “I will stretch out my hand against Judah
and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal
and the name of the idolatrous priests along with the priests,
5 those who bow down on the roofs
to the host of the heavens,
those who bow down and swear to the Lord
and yet swear by Milcom,
6 those who have turned back from following the Lord,
who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.”
7 Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the Lord is near;
the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
and consecrated his guests.
8 And on the day of the Lord's sacrifice—
“I will punish the officials and the king's sons
and all who array themselves in foreign attire.
9 On that day I will punish
everyone who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master's house
with violence and fraud.
10 “On that day,” declares the Lord,
“a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,
a wail from the Second Quarter,
a loud crash from the hills.
11 Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
For all the traders are no more;
all who weigh out silver are cut off.
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the men
who are complacent,
those who say in their hearts,
‘The Lord will not do good,
nor will he do ill.’
13 Their goods shall be plundered,
and their houses laid waste.
Though they build houses,
they shall not inhabit them;
though they plant vineyards,
they shall not drink wine from them.”
14 The great day of the Lord is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
the mighty man cries aloud there.
15 A day of wrath is that day,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the lofty battlements.
17 I will bring distress on mankind,
so that they shall walk like the blind,
because they have sinned against the Lord;
their blood shall be poured out like dust,
and their flesh like dung.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold
shall be able to deliver them
on the day of the wrath of the Lord.
In the fire of his jealousy,
all the earth shall be consumed;
for a full and sudden end
he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.
The Word of God is living and active, how will we relate to Zephaniah being part of the Christmas Season. Rather easily. Doing the Lord's work isn't all about acclaim, position and happiness.
Luke 2:19, 33-35
Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
When Christianity began to spread through the Roman Empire in 16 years, even without media, some of the repetitious complaints were, how could we worship "a god" who was crucified. A criminal. A loser. A god who would let a son die. The answer is difficult and is for all of us.
God knew what was in the heart of mankind. Each year we celebrate, in good years and miserable years. God chose our condition to learn what exactly life was like for the poor, for the popular, for those in desperate need.
Luke 2:52
And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Psalm 68:19
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Selah and/or
King James Bible
Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.
Psalm 55:22
Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.
Romans 3:22
We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are
( * Romans 10:13
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
* Joel 2:32
And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved."
* Romans 10:9
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
* Do these contradict or contain added information. No. God is telling us, belief is required when we cry out to Him. Crying out to HIM, is belief when we work on our salvation asking for mercy and love from God who is steadfast in love. This means crying out with a help intention and not a casual assist. )
1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
(With the explanation
Ephesians 6:18
Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication)
In this Season, I would be very remiss if I didn't say, I am not suffering. I lost a daughter at birth 4 years ago, and this is the season I have listened to others tell me about the place they have made in their heart for children in Heaven. Reject this; suffering is permanent - Suffering is Not Permanent. Believing in the Lord eases our burdens, daily. Eases our burdens as we care for others. Remember what Jesus did for His Mother. Provision is made for those Jesus loved and had changed lives. Jesus is not recorded ~ once in the Scriptures saying, you will never recover.
John 19:26
When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son."
Luke 8:52
Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. "Stop wailing," Jesus said. "She is not dead but asleep."
Jesus knew all about life. And the Scriptures say:
Matthew 11:19
The Son of Man came eating and drinking
Luke 7:34
The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks
The Lord loves to be asked in faith. The first sign of Jesus as God, was His Mother, insisting HE make wine for a wedding. For the Glory of God, Jesus made wine.
Father God, each Christmas Season we rejoice You have come into the world as Light. As a child, leading us to peace. Let us remember You see us as we are and You choose to dwell among us as life, as the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Help us each day to recognize YOU and be a blessing for YOU. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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