Zechariah 1 and 2 ~ the Lord, for He has roused himself from His holy dwelling

Light by Alexander Gardere

Just as a new year allows us to have a new beginning, Zechariah speaks of rousing God in conversation - we would call this prayer. It's fascinating - a conversation between an angel of the Lord and the Most High.

We had an excellent sermon today, a vision of renewal - 37 local Christian Churches and their Senior Pastors have all felt revival in their souls. They are going to participate in prayer and fasting for 10 days at the end of January, to come together from months of conversation (prayer).

This week I've spent time re-reading JRR Tolkien's "The Hobbit." My son, a freshman artist studying at Baylor University, said he began drawing because his father read him "The Hobbit"; it was a pictorial event playing out for him, in pictures, throughout his entire childhood. What is this book, if not a journey where comfort is discarded and personal growth achieved? As I read this novel with new eyes, today the most vivid conversation of Zechariah's became new again. You are encouraged to read Zechariah 1 and 2 to yourself out-loud, with enthusiasm, and feel the encouragement of the Vast, Might Loving Father for you.

Art by Alexander Gardere

Zechariah 1 and 2

Zechariah 1

Listen - click for new tab for Zechariah 1 and 2

In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying,

“The Lord was very angry with your fathers. Therefore say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’

But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers?

So they repented and said, As the Lord of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us.”


Sun by Alexander Gardere

On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, “I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.

Then I said, ‘What are these, my lord?’ The angel who talked with me said to me, ‘I will show you what they are.’ So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, ‘These are they whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.’ And they answered the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, ‘We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth remains at rest.’

Art by Alexander Gardere, used twice for emphasis

Then the angel of the Lord said, ‘O Lord of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these seventy years?’ And the Lord answered.... Gracious and Comforting Words to the angel who talked with me.

So the angel who talked with me said to me, ‘Cry out, Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster.

Therefore, thus says the Lord, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; My house shall be built in it, declares the Lord of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.

Rising February by Alexander Gardere

Cry out again, Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.’”

And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns! And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. And I said, “What are these coming to do?” He said, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one raised his head. And these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.”

Zechariah Two

And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand! Then I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.”

And behold, the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him and said to him, “Run, say to that young man, ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”

Up! Up! Flee from the land of the north, declares the Lord. For I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, declares the Lord. Up! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. For thus said the Lord of hosts, after his glory sent me [he sent me after glory] to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye: “Behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me.

Growth of Time by Alexander Gardere

Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord. And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. And the Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.”

Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord.... for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

Alleluia.

<><

Psalm 100 ~ For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 100

Listen - click for new tab


Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!

Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and not we are ourselves;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

I love the Rose Bowl Parade, it must be just a veiled hint at what heaven looks like.


Psalm 57:10
For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Psalm 57:11
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.

Matthew 22:31-33
But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.

Luke 20:38
He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.

John 4:10-14
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”


John 6:51
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

John 6:57
Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.

John 7:38
Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them

John 14:10
Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.


Ezekiel 10:19-20
19 While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the LORD’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

20 These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Kebar River, and I realized that they were cherubim.

Acts 14:15
“Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them.

Romans 8:11
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Romans 9:26
and, “In the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’

Romans 12:1
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

1 Corinthians 15:45
So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being” ; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.

1 Peter 1:23
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

2 Corinthians 3:3
You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.









<><

Psalm 147 ~ Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure

Psalm 147

Listen - click for new tab

Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
for it is pleasant, [for he is beautiful]
and a song of praise is fitting.
2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars;
he gives to all of them their names.
5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.
6 The Lord lifts up the humble [afflicted];
he casts the wicked to the ground.

7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on the lyre!
8 He covers the heavens with clouds;
he prepares rain for the earth;
he makes grass grow on the hills.
9 He gives to the beasts their food,
and to the young ravens that cry.
10 His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
11 but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love.

12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
he blesses your children within you.
14 He makes peace in your borders;
he fills you with the finest of the wheat.
15 He sends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
16 He gives snow like wool;
he scatters hoarfrost like ashes.
17 He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs;
who can stand before his cold?
18 He sends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.
19 He declares his word to Jacob,
his statutes and rules [just decrees] to Israel.
20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his rules [just decrees].
Praise the Lord!

As we leave 2010 and begin 2011, this Psalm is perfect for the Hope of a New Year knowing we always work in God's plan!

Almighty God, Abba, Heavenly Father, we live in Thee. We put out our hands to do the good works You've already planned for us. Lead us in Your paths; encourage us, let the words of our mouths and the thoughts of our heart be always pleasing to You. Grow the seed of our faith, to become a mighty tree. Put out Your growing branches, to give us shelter & we will share in Your goodness, fellowship and rest. Give us eyes of faith, to see the hope of Your promises; the eagerness, like a child, to see them brought forth. Strengthen our souls, let our lives reflect Your Light and Your Love. In the Highest name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

<><

Psalm 96:7-10 ~ O families of the peoples

Psalm 96:7-10

Listen - click for new tab

7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!

10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.”

There is a new movie channel commercial on and it is quite good; the narrator says as movies spill and change across the screen, "Let's play!"

That is what movies are.... play. Then they are "based upon a true story".

In the movie theatres right now we have..... Hadewiijch - getting 75% movie critic approval and roughly 3 out of 5 regular viewers like it. "A novice nun, Hadewiich, shocks the mother superior of her convent with her ecstatic blind faith, and is kicked out of the order. Hadewijch becomes Celine again, a young Parisian girl and daughter of a diplomat, and is led down dangerous paths in the real world, balancing between grace and madness in her rage and passionate love for God."

Okay. Jesus Freaks are Nuts. Obviously!

Then, I had to say I loved Colin Firth in "The King's Speech". It's based upon a true story. Really - the future king had a speech impediment, which was worked upon 10 years.... "before" he became king. George VI became good friends with his speech therapist - Lionel Logue. In 1935, after 24 years of revolutionizing speech therapy by establishing exercise and "super-human" sympathy, Lionel Logue co-founded the British Society of Speech Therapists. 2 years before George VI was crowned.

Not so in the movie; In the movie the nasty, toady Archbishop of Canterbury, William Cosmo Gordon Lang, is the dastardly spoiler of the wonderful friendship of the King with Lionel Logue. Again in the movie, Lionel Logue had no real credentials other than life experience and the nasty Archbishop "tells" the King, Lionel has been replaced with a real speech therapist. The Archbishop is incensed the mere King would want Westminster Abby to himself to rehearse for the Coronation. Also - the movie, the Archbishop tells the future king, Edward, Prince of Wales (Edward VIII) the Archbishop is helping Edward with his own father's poor opinions of Edward. The Prince of Wales neatly tells the priest he is a sycophant without using that exact phrase.

Obviously! Men of God are nasty, rude, imperious, self-seeking, power hungry, friendship destroyers - with career destroying thrown in for good fun. It is true Lionel once felt very insulted when Bishop Lang questioned him about if he should be addressed as doctor. The time and situation of the question isn't true. Based upon a true story..... what is Archbishop Lang's history.....really:

O families of the peoples, we are a Christian family, speak up when Christians are used as the device to depict self-centered aggrandizement! Speak up when we are falsely labeled. !!!!!

- His first Church - rejected an offer of the chaplaincy of All Souls as he wanted to be "up and doing" in a tough parish. Lang & fellow curates fashioned a clergy house from a derelict pub. He later moved next door, into a condemned property - his home for his remaining service in Leeds.

- Then the Church in Portsmouth, a dockside parish of 40,000 people, with a mix of housing from neat terraces to squalid slums

- Establishment of parochial church councils long before they were given legal status in 1919. To give the Churches better order to be better functioning.

- Chaplain to the local prison & Acting Chaplain to the 2nd Hampshire Royal Artillery Volunteer Corps.

- Supported campaigns for the abolition of the death penalty.

- Appointed suffragan Bishop of Stepney, Canon of St. Paul's Cathedral - "East End" 2,000,000 people. Almost all were poor, and housed in overcrowded and insanitary conditions. Lang saw & was troubled by the squalor he saw traveling around the district, usually by bus and tram.

- Chairman of the Church of England Mens' Society (CEMS) - society to fund lay workers to help in the poorest Churches to combat poverty issues. Later Lang became critical of the Church's failure to use this movement effectively, calling it one of the Church's lost opportunities.

- Lang was appointed to Archbishop of York, the 2nd highest position in the Church of England. *** Believing the Diocese of York was too large, he proposed reducing it, which after several years' work was reduced in size.

- Lang spoke out on a range of social and economic issues, and in support of improved working conditions.

- As Archbishop of Canterbury, critics began to comment he was "more courtier than cleric". His love of ceremony, and concern for how an archbishop should look and live, began to obscure other aspects of his ministry; He began to act as a "prince of the church".

- His portrait was painted; after sitting for Orpen, Lang remarked to Bishop of Durham the portrait showed him as "proud, prelatical and pompous". Henson's reply was "To which of these epithets does Your Grace take exception?"

- Lang wrote for the Sixth Lambeth Conference an "Appeal to all Christian People" - "We ... ask that all should unite in a new and great endeavor to recover and to manifest to the world the unity of the Body of Christ for which He prayed."

- Near the end of his term in office Lang led a deputation from several church groups to the Ministry of Education, to present a five-point plan for the teaching of religion in state schools; it was adopted into law.

- Lang confided in his diary "he agonized over whether he could, with good conscience, administer the Coronation Oath to the king" who was not living in a state of grace, as his coronation would make him Head of the Church of England. Another man reported the Prince of Wales troubles to the press.

An undeserved satirical rhyme was published:

My Lord Archbishop, what a scold you are!
And when your man is down, how bold you are!
Of charity how oddly scant you are!
How Lang O Lord, how full of Cantuar!

- When the next, younger prince became King, he wrote in his diary of George VI: "I was now sure that to the solemn words of the Coronation there would now be a sincere response." Lang was a long time friend to the future Queen Mother from the early 1920s.

- Summer of 1941 Lang retired, his main concern was "perhaps the most fateful Lambeth Conference ever held" – would be called, Lang felt too old to lead it and wanted to make way for a younger man.

- In October 1944 Lang was greatly distressed by the sudden death of William Temple, his successor at Canterbury, writing: "I don't like to think of the loss to the Church and Nation ... But 'God knows and God reigns'."

Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!

I loved the movie "The King's Speech" but it is time for the family of God to speak out at the treatment of fellow Christians. They are spoken of in unflattering terms in any way the truth can be manipulated. It is a mild form of hate crime. Speak up.

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.”


<><

Psalm 51:12-17 ~ O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise

Psalm 51:12-17

Listen - click for new tab

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

When we believe Jesus is the reason for the season, we are given the gift of forgiveness and reconciliation. What greater gift could there be?

God chose not to be a Spirit we would chase after and debate. God chose to come to us, to live the human condition. God chose to be as close as our prayer. To have lived, Himself, joy and sorrow on this earth.


1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus

Hebrews 12:24 ~ (New Living Translation)
You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.

John 1

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

16 And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

John 10:9
Jesus said, "I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture."

Today, Father God, we pray the prayer You have given us in Revelation 3:20
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

Here I am, Father God, the person You have created. I stand at Your door. Hear my voice Father God, open the door of the soul You created, come live in me, eat with me and be with me. In the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son, I ask.

Romans 10:13
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

<><

Psalm 126 ~ the Lord has done great things for us; we are glad

Have a heart than never hardens, & a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts. - Charles Dickens

Psalm 126

Listen - click for new tab

1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
we are glad.

4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negeb!
5 Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
6 He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.

Christmas is just 363 days away.

How will Psalm 126 appear to you today? Will you see it as God's promises of Heaven? Will you see it as gratitude for Christmas (is over?)? Gratitude for the gifts in your life?

Lets look at this Psalm today as..... the Willingness of God.... to hear, to bless, like Psalm 23:5b-6

My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.

I love the Truth of the Scriptures. It's never the glass is full or empty, it's.... real. We anticipate God being like us. I only have so much eggnog.... I hope Eli won't have too much.... but Owen needs more and so his glass needs a bit more.

God doesn't give us a couple of ties or a sweater and say to us - now feel full. Love with me, please, how real Psalm 126 is. We acknowledge our blessings..... we've celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ with people we love. We give God thanks for our eyesight, for hearing, for health. For a job, for opportunities to come. For the people we were, and are, fortunate enough to love. And have been fortunate to be able to give the gift of giving to.

Psalm 126 acknowledges our lives are blessed and could use some more blessings. It gives us hope and assurance, God doesn't say, "Nope, you are blessed enough and my warehouse of blessings is spent."

Amazingly in a world were people really did buy pet rocks, Jesus Christ has been celebrated for good reason for over 2000 years. God doesn't just give us His blessings for a day, for the continuation of eternal life - for the next life; God gives us the hope of blessings to come. The blessings He will willingly provide.

Shouts of joy ! Will be needed!

Praise to You, Father, for Your great Glory. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

<><

Psalm 34 ~ He keeps all

Psalm 34

Listen, click for new tab

1 I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

11 Come, O children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 What man is there who desires life
and loves many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
and his ears toward their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
21 Affliction will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Footnotes - Psalm of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech (Achish, the king of Gath, 1 Samuel 21:13), so that he drove him out, and he went away.

We had a beautiful Christmas, in two cities and one suburb, a large extended family; our family is so blessed. We extend to you our Christmas Blessings ~ the joy of Jesus Christ's love, in your heart, each day.

We have a good friend, one we do not see a lot of, who is a Christian minister & his mother is a Psychologist. Other than being good fun, he is a calming presence, a voice of the Holy Spirit when the wild winds of life howl. He has given us good advice, isn't it easier to listen to good advice when life is calm? He gave this pearl of wisdom twice and finally it found a comfortable, enduring resting place in my memory.

And here it is:

When we are in a good place in our lives, we shake off irritating conversation. When we are in storm, irritants are amplified. We can never change the way other people behave, just our reaction to them.

This Christmas.... the tree bore fruit. How to change our own behavior? Prayer. When we pray for other people to be blessed by the LORD, we change our own hearts. Renewal & Redemption - these are the lasting gifts of Christmas!

Blessed are You, Lord Jesus Christ.

<><

Thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins

… Thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins. Matthew 1: 21

…His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, The Might God,
…The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace Isaiah 9:6

… God hath made that same Jesus… both Lord & Christ Acts 2:36

…Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world! John 1:29

…they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, the song of The Lamb Revelation 15:3


…Behold, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah Revelation 5:5


..and the Bright & Morning Star Revelation 22:16


..and our hands have handled, of the Word of Life 1 John 1:1


…we have and advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ The Righteous 1 John 2:1


…whereby the Dayspring from on high hath visited us. Luke 1:78


…Before Abraham, I Am. John 8:58


…And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. John 1: 34

…are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. 1 Peter 2:25


…We have found the Messiah which, is being interpreted, the Christ. John 1:41


…I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6


…through the knowledge of the Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. II Peter 2: 20

..a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Revelation 19:16

…I am the Light of the World. John 8:12

…The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world… John 1:9

…I am Alpha & Omega the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come

The Almighty Revelation 1:8

Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.


<><

Luke 1:57-66 ~ the Lord's hand was with him

Light of Christ, painted by Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – March 5, 1534) For a private client's own home chapel.


<sup>Luke 1:57-66 ~ (New International Version)


57</sup> When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

⁵⁹ On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, ⁶⁰ but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”

⁶¹ They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

⁶² Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. ⁶³ He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” ⁶⁴ Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. ⁶⁵ All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. ⁶⁶ Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

We know what the Nativity looked like.

Do any of us really know what it looks like, with certainty, when the Lord's hand is with us?

I know someone who had sudden voice loss, due to nodules on the vocal cords. It was incredibly stressful. Their marriage suffered. The patient suffered. It was difficult for them to think of any other subject, just disability and permanent loss. The uncertainty continued for several operations and then therapy after the successful operation. If Zechariah didn't believe the angel about the impeding birth of his son John, why would he have rested comfortably in the angel's promise of restoration of speech?

Stables in Bethlehem, partial cave. c 1888. Much of Israel more than 100 years ago would have looked - as a way of life - as it did for millenniums. Vast population increases have changed this.

Luke 2:1-7

1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Surprisingly to people waiting for the Son of God, for millenniums, Jesus wasn't born in a palace. God's hand didn't place Him in luxury.

The Nativity has a message for us today. Troubles don't come to stay, and even those following the Lord have stresses and worries. God will see us through.

When a child is to be born, we prepare a place for that baby. When we look at the options available today, so many beautiful quilts, beds, ruffled skirts and shapes for the cribs. What wouldn't enter into the equation - a donkey, a heavily pregnant first-time mother, the smell of a saddle, the creak of the leather as the donkey takes 80 miles of steps. Typically this would be 4 days of travel. I doubt Mary and Joseph traveled 20 miles a day. It is still fairly awful a pregnant woman wasn't taken into someone's home to have a baby. Travelers depended upon hospitality along the way.

What do the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus, our Christ, have in common? The people doing God's plan of salvation are not at ease. It isn't comfortable. Roses are not scattered down the path. In neither miracle, do angels play music and sing during the months of decisions. There are fears and questions. No one is ever able to say, "Sure it's rough for you, but look how easy Jesus' parents had it."

What brought them to the place where God's plan actually began to unfold? God. Each day had uncertainty, each day Elizabeth, Zechariah, Mary and Joseph wondered. Each day they put their trust in the Lord to bring them forward. We know this, the Gospels tell us people around Mary & Joseph were not happy with the events, both in the telling of the birth of Jesus and in what the Gospels don't tell about. We never hear of Mary's family giving her assistance, or Joseph's family. Mary & Joseph journey alone, there do not seem to be siblings or cousins who travel with them - reporting to the census.

Later, in their escape to Egypt to avoid Herod's infant killings, they must trust the Lord to provide for them against highway robbery, for shelter and for provisions. And years later, they return to become such a part of Nazareth, the community sees no difference in the family between Mary & Joseph's children and the Son of God. It is a credit to the godliness of Mary & Joseph they blend back into their community.

Matthew 13:55-56
"Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?"

Mark 6:3
"Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.

John 20:29
Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

Yet the joy of the people trusting the Lord.
God's Precious Gift in a Manger, by Rebecca Ann Lamb & Illustrated by David Erickson

Luke 2:8-14
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

28 Simeon took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen Your Salvation
31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a Light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for Glory to your people Israel.”

33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them


36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem!

Mark 3:35
For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.


<><

Psalm 89:2-5, 27, 29 ~ For Ever

Psalm 89:2-5, 27, 29

2 For thy steadfast love was established for ever, thy faithfulness is firm as the heavens.
3 Thou hast said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant:
4 `I will establish your descendants for ever, and build your throne for all generations.'" [Selah]
5 Let the heavens praise thy wonders, O LORD, thy faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!

27 And I will make him the first-born, the highest of the kings of the earth.

28 My steadfast love I will keep for him for ever, and my covenant will stand firm for him.

29 I will establish his line for ever and his throne as the days of the heavens.


We all have one Christmas miracle that speaks to the verse:


1 Kings 19:12
After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

Each year, around the Christian world on Christmas Day, you can see the gentle stillness and peace that rests on the earth. The hospital parking lots become emptier, everyone who can make it home - goes. Inside our houses there are Christmas meals, Christmas visits, Christmas phone calls, but the world becomes very peaceful.

Luke 2:13-15 (Listen)

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

Titus 2:1-10 ~ in love and in endurance

Titus 2:1-10 ~ (New International Version)

Listen - click for new tab, for Titus 2

¹ You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. ² Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

³ Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. ⁴ Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, ⁵ to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

⁶ Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. ⁷ In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness ⁸ and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

⁹ Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, ¹⁰ and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.

They say a lot of life is just showing up. Endurance. How to be self-controlled, how to be good? The answer is here. Before we can pull up our boot straps and do better, we must know we cannot permanently pull up our boot straps, grit our teeth and go forward - using our own steam.

The first step is first believing our actions, our words are significant. So many times, we feel we cannot make any difference in life. When God promises us eternal blessings, like in Matthew 25, He also says our actions and words matter. We must be convinced God loves us enough, we matter. Sure we are all self-centered, but to actually matter is a much more important, earnest and sincere concept.

Notice the subject matter; Feel so encouraged in your belief your life is important to God, you are called to teach. “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” - St. Francis of Assisi. When God says we are salt, we remember salt isn't poured down throats. Instead salt is a flavoring.

This would be a passage misconstrued to say slavery is upheld by the Scriptures. This would be a mistake to assume - we will all experience situations where there isn't a change in the foreseeable future. A situation between personalities - an illness - a needed job, that isn't a career - time spent apart from a loved one - or actual slavery that exists today. This is acknowledging we are lights of God. Set forth to shine when it is dark. Believe God has a plan and we act each day knowing He holds us.

John 1:5
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

1 Timothy 6:11-13a
But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God


Paul's Titus letter, filled with the Holy Spirit, continues in his pastoral counsel for us today:

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

¹⁵ These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

John 1:5
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

<><