In this second post for Luke 1, I want us to take a look at the songs of Mary and Zechariah.
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. (v. 38) Wow! Is that how you would respond if your world had just been turned upside down? I agree with another commentator who was amazed at Mary's understanding of her role in God's story. I work with teenagers, and I have two of my own. I'm afraid none of them would be able to sing the song of Mary.
Here is an example: Our family Bible reading this morning was I Timothy 1:12, "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service." I asked my children if they knew what God had appointed them to do for Him. All I got was, "Huh??" Where was the, "my soul glorifies the Lord," or the, "my spirit rejoices in God my Savior"? It made me feel like a miserable failure. :-(
Actually, it just really makes me mindful of what an important job we have as parents. Our children do not naturally seek God on their own. Without our prayers and encouragement, they will follow selfish desires, not godly ones. They need constant reminding (maybe even nagging) that God has created them for fellowship. As Christians, they are God's chosen servants.
Zechariah's prayer for his newborn son is beautiful! He and Elizabeth had prayed for a child, and they knew without a doubt that he was a gift from heaven. Zechariah gave praise to the Lord because the angel promised him John would fulfill an important role as God's prophet. All papas are proud of their firstborn sons, and you can bet Zechariah was one proud papa!!! Zechariah had nine months of silence due to unbelief. I hope he spent that time praying for his child and researching the books of the prophets to discover all this child of promise would fulfill. This makes me mindful that we should continually pray for our children. We may not know what God has in store for them, but we can beg Him to make it glorious!
Here is your homework assignment (you like homework, right?). Since Mother's Day is next Sunday, will you write a song to the LORD thanking Him for your children? Perhaps as you write, God will even grant you a prophetic insight for your offspring. Above all, be sure to tell your children how much you love them and that you see them as a blessing from Jesus. They need to hear from you that God has created them for a special purpose.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Luke 1--Part 1
Luke is probably my favorite gospel writer because he is such a detail man. After 20 years of marriage, my husband has come to realize that my love language is details. When he shares details of his day with me, I feel totally connected and completely loved. Drives him nuts! ha! Anyway, Luke was a medical doctor by profession, and he knew how to research the facts. In chapter 1 Luke admits that others had already written accounts of the life of Jesus, but Luke thought it worth his time to interview eyewitnesses and draw up a detailed, orderly account. Why? So that we "may know the certainty of the things we have been taught." (v. 4) I am so glad he did, aren't you?
Since we have begun our chronological study of the New Testament, I have been really struck by how all the puzzle pieces fit together. The story of Zechariah in Luke 1 is just one more example of God planning ahead to cause things to come together at just the right time. Zechariah and Elizabeth had prayed for a son for years. God chose to answer their prayer according to His time table. He arranged to share the news with Zechariah during his once-in-a-lifetime duty of offering incense to God in the temple. That is terrific!
Luke is very careful to point out that Zechariah and Elizabeth both were upright and blameless in God's sight. This is critical information because in their day, infertility was seen as a sign of God's judgment for sin. Do you think we still look at it like that today as well? We have ministered to several families dealing with infertility. In fact, I had two miscarriages myself. It is very typical for people to question God when they feel He is withholding the blessing of a child for their family. It is not unusual for people to ask what they have done wrong. Unfortunately, others are not very helpful or supportive of families longing for a child either. I can imagine that Elizabeth felt very ostracized from her community. After all, she was a preacher's wife and a barren wife--what a double whammy! We can be assured she was ecstatic when she found out she would have a son, because God had "shown his favor and taken away her disgrace among the people!" (v. 25)
I really like the words of encouragement the angel gave Zechariah when he told him about John. "He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord." (v. 14-15) I don't think I had ever noticed the end of verse 15, "and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth." That had never happened before! In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit would fill people from time to time, but not continually, and never from birth. Way cool! And then in verse 40, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit when she greeted Mary. A woman filled with the Holy Spirit? That never happened before either!
I am so glad that God promised John would be a joy to his parents, because verse 80 says he lived in the desert. We also know that John suffered imprisonment and a tragic death. I pray he was a joy to raise, because his parents would have endured much heartache because of their son as well. Luke leaves out the details of whether or not John's parents were still living when he moved to the desert. However, if they were alive, you know they experienced judgment from the community for having a "wayward" son. Oh girls, let's be very cautious when we are tempted to judge people when we do not know their circumstances.
There are so many more things I want to write about this first chapter of Luke. I think I will save it for another post. You can blame it on Dr. Luke. He's the one who wrote 80 verses in one chapter!!!
Since we have begun our chronological study of the New Testament, I have been really struck by how all the puzzle pieces fit together. The story of Zechariah in Luke 1 is just one more example of God planning ahead to cause things to come together at just the right time. Zechariah and Elizabeth had prayed for a son for years. God chose to answer their prayer according to His time table. He arranged to share the news with Zechariah during his once-in-a-lifetime duty of offering incense to God in the temple. That is terrific!
Luke is very careful to point out that Zechariah and Elizabeth both were upright and blameless in God's sight. This is critical information because in their day, infertility was seen as a sign of God's judgment for sin. Do you think we still look at it like that today as well? We have ministered to several families dealing with infertility. In fact, I had two miscarriages myself. It is very typical for people to question God when they feel He is withholding the blessing of a child for their family. It is not unusual for people to ask what they have done wrong. Unfortunately, others are not very helpful or supportive of families longing for a child either. I can imagine that Elizabeth felt very ostracized from her community. After all, she was a preacher's wife and a barren wife--what a double whammy! We can be assured she was ecstatic when she found out she would have a son, because God had "shown his favor and taken away her disgrace among the people!" (v. 25)
I really like the words of encouragement the angel gave Zechariah when he told him about John. "He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord." (v. 14-15) I don't think I had ever noticed the end of verse 15, "and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth." That had never happened before! In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit would fill people from time to time, but not continually, and never from birth. Way cool! And then in verse 40, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit when she greeted Mary. A woman filled with the Holy Spirit? That never happened before either!
I am so glad that God promised John would be a joy to his parents, because verse 80 says he lived in the desert. We also know that John suffered imprisonment and a tragic death. I pray he was a joy to raise, because his parents would have endured much heartache because of their son as well. Luke leaves out the details of whether or not John's parents were still living when he moved to the desert. However, if they were alive, you know they experienced judgment from the community for having a "wayward" son. Oh girls, let's be very cautious when we are tempted to judge people when we do not know their circumstances.
There are so many more things I want to write about this first chapter of Luke. I think I will save it for another post. You can blame it on Dr. Luke. He's the one who wrote 80 verses in one chapter!!!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Matthew 2
I am a puzzle lover. I love to analyze things and make connections and figure out how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. That’s why I have gained so much from this chronological Bible study. The pieces of God’s story of mankind are all fitting together in my brain. It has caused me to become thoroughly convinced that we should study the Bible as a whole and not look at it in bits and pieces only. While we may enjoy digging deep into a short passage, it only makes complete sense when we read verses in context. Read the whole chapter. Read the chapter before and after.
The lesson I need to learn here is that nothing in my own life catches God by surprise either. His plan for all mankind has been in place since Creation. Why in heaven’s name would I think God needs my help and suggestions for how to work out my situations? Hmmm.
Read Matthew 2; Read the end of Matthew 1; Read Malachi 4. It all fits together!!! What nation was in power when Malachi was writing in Jerusalem? (Persia) Where were the Magi traveling from? (Persia) Who was the chief of the Magi in the Old Testament? (Daniel) Where did Daniel live? (Babylon, which was ruled by Persia) Who did Daniel and Malachi predict would come as King of the Jews? (Jesus) Whom did the Magi seek? (The King of the Jews—Jesus!!!!)
The remainder of the chapter illustrates that the life of Jesus would fulfill the prophecies of Hosea and Jeremiah as well. Can you see that nothing in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus caught God unprepared? From the beginning of time, God was placing the pieces of the puzzle in perfect order. His plan to redeem mankind from the wages of sin would be accomplished.
The lesson I need to learn here is that nothing in my own life catches God by surprise either. His plan for all mankind has been in place since Creation. Why in heaven’s name would I think God needs my help and suggestions for how to work out my situations? Hmmm.
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