This morning I enjoyed a breakfast meeting with Jim Szakmeister the men’s ministry director at Timberline. Jim has been a friend from years past and it has been good to reconnect since our move to Fort Collins. The rest of my day was busy and productive getting some office work done in preparation for our holiday trip to Atlanta. We actually fly out early on Christmas morning. This will be a first for us to travel on Christmas day.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “But after Joseph thought about this, an angel from the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to accept Mary to be your wife. The baby inside her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son. You will name him Jesus. Give him that name because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:20-21 ERV

They wonder and mystery of the birth of Jesus is reflected in the supernatural visitations and directions throughout the story. It begins with Zechariah in the Temple offering incense when an angel appears to him and tells him that his old and barren wife Elizabeth will have a baby. But not just any child. This child will have a special purpose and role in preparing the way for the coming Messiah. Zechariah is not only informed of the child’s destiny, but is told how he should be raised and what his name will be.

We see next that Mary receives a visit from the angel Gabriel who announces to her that she will become the mother of the Messiah. Again the message is not only about what is to take place and how special child this will be, but also what his name will be.

Joseph is directed several times by angels and dreams. The first time is to instruct him to go ahead and to “take Mary as his wife” and the dream reaffirms this child will be the Savior of the world and is to be named, “Jesus.” Later Joseph is instructed in dreams about what to do and where to go so they and they child would be safe and that scripture would be fulfilled.

The final reference about instructions through dreams is the wise men. These men were “astrologers” and not your typical men of faith in Jehovah God. Yet we see the Lord intervenes for the safety of the wise men and the holy family.

It is to the shepherds that we see angels appear and then fill the sky with a message of good news and proclamations of praise to God.

Angels are God’s messengers and often it is through dreams that the Lord is able to communicate and bring things to our attention. We see that in these days and times the Lord speaks primarily through His Word and through the life of Jesus. (Hebrews 1:2) Yet God is still God and is able to work by His Spirit in ways that stretch our faith and understanding.

I have heard accounts of many Muslims coming to faith in Christ, because of dreams and revelations. The Lord is still able to warn and instruct in any way He so chooses. “He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds.” (Job 33:5 NIV) I recall one time when I composed and memorized an invocation for an event, in my sleep. At night the Lord may prompt someone to pray or to provide warning or words of comfort.

Psalm 4:4 admonishes, “Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.”

Mystery and wonder in the story of Jesus birth is reflected in the work of angels and dreams. God is stilling at work today. Can we be open to the “mysterious” and the “wonder” that comes when God acts in ways that we don’t anticipate.

Today I had a fairly active schedule. After my morning prayer time with a couple of county officials, I had a massage appointment and then attended the Loveland Rotary meeting. Our guest today was Kelley Johnson, Miss Colorado. She was the second runner up in the Miss American pageant last fall. Her monologue on being a nurse has received over six million “You Tube” hits. It was great to see a local young woman express her humility and commitment to service

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “The angel came to her and said, “Greetings! The Lord is with you; you are very special to him.” But Mary was very confused about what the angel said. She wondered, “What does this mean?” Luke 1:28,29 ERV

It is in Luke’s detail of the life of Jesus we find the account of the angel appearing to Mary. Matthew has more of an emphasis on Joseph and simply states, “But before they married, he [Joseph] learned that she was expecting a baby. (She was pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit.)” (Matt. 1:18 ERV) In Luke we see angels involved in messages to Zechariah in the Temple and then later Mary.

The angel provides insight into “God’s selection” process. In the day of “reality TV” shows that feature competition for “being selected” based on musical ability, other talent or attractiveness trying to figure out the selection criteria can always be a mystery. Was Mary the best, brightest, most talented? What she from the “right” family? Of all the thousands of young women why did God select Mary? Was she the only young woman in the world who “pleased” God in her day? Why didn’t  God chose Elizabeth to be the mother of Jesus instead of the mother of John? We don’t know!

What we do know is that Mary “pleased the Lord” and the Lord showed “favor” to her. God in His sovereign  way and for His reasons demonstrated to Mary the grace to be chosen as the “mother of the Lord.” The Lord selected Mary just as He called Abraham. Just as He called the prophets, just as Jesus would call His disciples. The Lord calls people not because of who they are, but who He is and who they can become when they surrender their life to Him. That is a lesson for us all to learn and embrace. Can we be that type of person, to whom God can trust to believe and obey and be used by Him?

The angel encouraged Mary’s faith. As Mary was trying to “wrap her head” around the words of the angel, the angel told her, “…here’s something else: Your relative Elizabeth is pregnant. She is very old, but she is going to have a son. Everyone thought she could not have a baby, but she has been pregnant now for six months. God can do anything!” (Luke 1:36,37 ERV) I like that “Oh, by the way” kind of wording in the narrative. But it wasn’t by accident. The angel let Mary in on a “family secret,” but in so doing emphasized the bottom line, “God can do anything.” If He can allow an old woman to become pregnant by natural means, He can allow a virgin become pregnant by supernatural means. They are both miracles that can’t be explained by human rationale.

Mary’s faith, reflects the response of Abraham. Mary responded to the words of the angel, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let this thing you have said happen to me!”  (Luke 1:38 ERV) The Bible says when God made a promise to Abraham, that, “Abraham believed God…” (Gen. 17:9) Outside of the question, “how can this be?” We don’t read other questions or arguments or complaints from Mary. She was humble and submissive.

Mary was open to the mysterious. I’m not sure if that is the best description of Mary’s response to the visit of the shepherds. But we read, “Everyone was surprised when they heard what the shepherds told them. Mary continued to think about these things, trying to understand them.” (Luke 2:18,19 ERV) I like the wording and contrast that comes through in other translations, “…all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:18,19 NIV)

Mary would have certainly been amazed and filled with wonder as the shepherds came and as they shared their “story.” But she went beyond just the moment of wonder. She gave this and I’m sure other events deep consideration. Perhaps she realized she would need to be patient to come to the full understanding of all that was transpiring.

We certainly see this taking place during the ministry of Jesus. He shared many things with His disciples that they did not full understand until Jesus was raised from the dead. An important aspect of our faith is that we, “know in part.” We don’t have the “full picture,” the full meaning of everything is not always revealed as the events of life take place. Like Mary we need to be willing to, “treasure and ponder.”

These are just a few observations that we can make from Mary’s life as she is chosen to be the “mother of our Lord.” As with many others in the Bible, what we see in Mary, challenges us today. God is still at work. God is till using human instruments to accomplish His purpose. Are we available for Him to use us, even in special ways, if by His sovereign favor He so chooses?

Today was a good day for me. I had a early morning fitness workout. My last one with my trainer for this year. Outside of that it was office work and getting ready for these final few days before Christmas.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “That night, some shepherds were out in the fields near Bethlehem watching their sheep. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord was shining around them. The shepherds were very afraid” Luke 2:8.9 ERV

As Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the town was busy and overcrowded, yet it was shepherds on a nearby hillside that received the announcement about the birth of the Savior. The darkness of the night sky was broken by the brilliance of angels. The understandable response of the shepherds was fear.

The angels announce that a “Savior has been born, He is Christ the Lord.” The shepherds are given instructions on how to find and recognize the baby. The intensity of what is taking place goes to a whole new level when a “host of angels” appear in the sky praising God. That image is one of magnificence that is hard to picture.

These shepherds represent not just the common people of the day, but those who were despised and rejected. So we find it interesting the one who the prophet described as being, “despised and rejected by men” (Isa. 55:3) would be first visited by those who were, “despised and rejected by  men.” When the angels declared, “…news that will make everyone happy“(Luke 2:10 ERV), they could not have found a more appropriate audience.

We then see the response of the shepherds. They quickly made their way to Bethlehem to look for the child. The magnitude of what they experienced would have been difficult to ignore. But we still see that having heard the news, their priorities were changed. What was important as the night began, we radically changed in a moment of time. That is what happens when we are confronted with the “good news” of a Savior. Our lives as they have been, cannot continue with the same focus and priorities.

They came and found out what they had been told was true. Their response was to tell others. That may included telling people about finding the baby, and the appearance of the angels that told them who the baby was. They could announce that, “this baby is not your normal baby.” The response, “Everyone was surprised when they heard what the shepherds told them.” (Luke 2:18 ERV)

These first ones to declare the news of Jesus would be much like the disciples Jesus would later call to follow Him. They were ordinary men who would surprise people by what they declared.

Finally we see as they returned to their fields, they did so praising the Lord and thanking Him for all that they had seen. These shepherds whose mannerisms and language would have been viewed course and unacceptable were demonstrating the change in their life after their encounter with the Christ-child.

Jesus came a light to the nations. We see a glimpse of that when He was born and the full meaning of that would be revealed through the word of His disciples after His death, resurrection and ascension. For these shepherds their response to good news and their encounter with the Christ-child have been reflected in the lives of many down through time who hear good news and “come to Christ.”

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “Then Mary said, ‘I praise the Lord with all my heart. I am very happy because God is my Savior. I am not important, but he has shown his care for me, his lowly servant…‘” Luke 1:46-48 ERV

In addition to the words of prophecy fulfilled at the birth of Jesus, the words of praise are dominate in the Christmas narrative. We see the miracle birth of John precedes the miracle birth of Jesus.

Elizabeth and Zechariah were old, childless and past the years when having a baby would be likely. But like Abraham and Sarah an angel encounters Zechariah in the Temple and tells him that he will have a son, tells his name and his role in life.

When the child is born Zechariah bursts into praise. “Praise to the Lord God of Israel. He has come to help his people and has given them freedom. He has given us a powerful Savior from the family of his servant David. This is what he promised through his holy prophets long ago.” (Luke 1:68-70 ERV)

Zechariah declares God’s faithfulness, ties the actions of God to the promise Abraham long ago, declares the role of his son and then declares the result of the life of Jesus, “With the loving mercy of our God, a new day from heaven will shine on us. It will bring light to those who live in darkness, in the fear of death. It will guide us into the way that brings peace.” (Luke 1:78,79 ERV)

When Mary responds to the news of the angel, she declares praise to the Lord. She expresses her humility in being chosen by the Lord and like Zechariah declares God’s faithfulness to Abraham. We see in her words the affirmation that God is faithful, He remembers and in His time and in His way, He acts to fulfill His plan and promise.

“Yes, the Powerful One has done great things for me. His name is very holy. He always gives mercy to those who worship him.” (Luke 1:49-50 ERV)

I believe Mary would say, “regardless of the circumstance of your life or world, be a worshipper of the Lord. As you worship, you will find  God in the midst of your circumstances and coming through as He has promised.

As the birth of Jesus takes place we see the angels greeting the shepherds on the hillsides with words or praise, “Praise God in heaven, and on earth let there be peace to the people who please him.” (Luke 2:14 ERV)

When the wise men find the child Jesus, they worship with gifts and humbly bowing before Him.

When Jesus is taken to the Temple to be dedicate to the Lord, we find the old prophet Simeon responding in praise, “Now all people can see your plan. He is a light to show your way to the other nations.” (Luke 2:31,32 ERV)

Then Anna the prophetess is described as “worshiping the Lord with fasting and prayer.” Her words are not recorded but she, “…talked about Jesus to all those who were waiting for God to free Jerusalem.” (Luke 2:38 ERV)

Words of praise and worship are found before, during and after the birth of Jesus. It is the fitting response to God’s intervention in ones life and in our world. There is an important lesson for us today. A life of worship allows us to connect with God’s faithfulness, worship is the natural response of God’s intervention and the atmosphere of worship is what we find in heaven.

When we look ahead to the next “advent” of God in human history, the second coming of Christ, we see it characterized by the fulfillment of prophecy and praise and worship. As our connect with the wonder of Christmas, find yourself caught up in the wonder of praise to our great and faithful Lord.

This morning we got up early and made a trip to Lakewood to be with Christian and Bridget and the grandchildren for an early Christmas. Since we leave on Christmas day to fly to Atlanta, this was our best opportunity to connected with our Lakewood family. My mom joined us and Debbie brought the cinnamon rolls, we would have some of the traditional trappings of our Summers’ Christmas gatherings. One of our more “unique” gifts were picture puzzles of our three families.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “Joseph stayed in Egypt until Herod died. This gave full meaning to what the Lord said through the prophet: ‘I called my son to come out of Egypt.’”  Matthew 2:15 ERV

When we examine the biblical accounts of the birth of Jesus, we see the fulfillment prophecy is a dominant theme. Matthew’s gospel written for a Jewish audience consistently states how various events took place to fulfill prophecy. What took place was not by happenstance. The events were part of God’s plan being unfolded at the proper time.

Consider the following:

“All this happened to make clear the full meaning of what the Lord said through the prophet: “The virgin will be pregnant and will give birth to a son. They will name him Immanuel.” (Immanuel means “God with us.”)” (Matt. 1:22,23 ERV)

“…just as the prophet wrote: ‘Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, you are important among the rulers of Judah. Yes, a ruler will come from you, and that ruler will lead Israel, my people.’”(Matt. 2:5,6 ERV)

In the midst of my “not so busy” week, I ended up having commitments the past two days that consumed most of my day. Today, was a good day to get several errands ran around town. I even wrapped a few Christmas presents later in the day. That always makes me feel more in the “Christmas” spirit.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “After Jesus was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. They asked people, “Where is the child who has been born to be the king of the Jews? We saw the star that shows he was born. We saw it rise in the sky in the east and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard about this, it upset him as well as everyone else in Jerusalem.” Matthew 2:1-3 ERV

The dominate visitors in Matthew’s account to the birth of Jesus are the wise men. These mysterious visitors from the east create quite a stir when they come to Jerusalem. They enter the capitol city anticipating that to be the birth place of the “King of the Jews.”

They in their innocence go to the Herod and the palace and inquire about the exciting event. Instead of finding a warm welcome and excitement, they find suspicion and concern. Herod was “upset” and when Herod was upset, “everyone was upset.” Even in the city that would have been pleased about the birth of the Messiah was caught unaware and sensing the tension emanating from the palace. Herod was a ruthless and paranoid dictator.

When the scribes determine Bethlehem was the proper birth place, the wise men head to Jerusalem being told by Herod, “Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, come tell me. Then I can go worship him too.” (Matt. 2:8 ERV) Herod was attempting to fool the wise men, but the Lord in a dream warned the wise men and they did not return to Jerusalem.

When Herod discovered his plan had been foiled, he ordered a wholesale slaughter of all baby boys two years old and younger. In doing so the words of the prophet came to pass, “A sound was heard in Ramah—bitter crying and great sadness. Rachel cries for her children, and she cannot be comforted, because her children are gone.”  (Matt. 2:18 ERV)’

We don’t know the details or the numbers, but the joy of the wise men in days or weeks was turned into a crisis and sounds of crying and weeping. The solemn, peaceful night on which Christ was born, stands in contrast to the terror and bloodshed created by a paranoid ruler. An unknown number of baby boys were killed, so Jesus could live.

This reminds us that Jesus was not born into a perfect world, but a “real world” and a fallen world. As a child and man He did not escape the realities of the world in which He lived. Suffering and hardship are part of human existence and a fallen world. We see that in Jesus day and we see it in our day. Many take a position to deny God, His love because they fail to see divine intervention in the world due to the consequences of sin, pride, rebellion against God’s plan.

But that was the kind of world God allowed His Son to be born into. He came into this world in the dark of night, but He would rise from the dead at the break of a new day. Spiritually the world Jesus was born into was dark. It was a sin-filled world with people lost and in need. That is why Jesus came. He came to bring light and life those who were in darkness and in spiritual death. He fulfilled the words of the prophet, “…people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” (Matt. 4:16 NIV)

We don’t understand or have an explanation for all that God prevents or allows. Our hope is not in this life or this world or in humanity. We need the Lord’s light and life to come into the darkness and “deadness” of our life. He came to this world as and He still is, “the light of life” the hope for the world.

This morning early, I had a doctor’s appointment with a neurosurgeon. This was a follow up consultation from the MRI on my neck last month. It seems that his assessment was positive in terms of not needing surgery to correct some “spinal stenosis” in two neck vertebrae. I told him that I feel that I have gained strength and stability over the last six months.

This afternoon, I enjoyed a productive planning meeting for next year’s National Day of Prayer event for northern Colorado.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “When Joseph woke up, he did what the Lord’s angel told him to do. He married Mary. But Joseph did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And he named him Jesus.” Matthew 1:24,25 ERV

I recall my pastor making a reference to Joseph as he was sharing last year’s Christmas series. He commented about Joseph not getting the attention that he probably deserves when we reflect on the birth of Jesus. We certainly see and understand the revering of Mary as the “mother of the Lord.” We see Mary’s own words in response to the news of the angel, “From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name.” (Luke 1:48,49 NIV)

Certainly Mary deserves proper recognition for her obedience and the life she lived as the “Lord’s mother.” She was the person who gave Him birth and raised him to manhood. She was at the cross and the tomb. She was in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost.

History is uncertain as to what happened to Joseph. It is presumed that he died when Jesus was still young. But what we do know about Joseph is significant. Joseph was not just an “innocent bystander” to the events of Jesus birth and early years.

Joseph is connected to the lineage of King David. This was critical for the Messiah was to be the “Son of David.” Joseph not only fit the qualifications by virtue of his heritage, but by his character as well. Scripture refers to him as a “righteous” or “just” man. The one selected to give birth to the Messiah needed a special husband to journey with her through the days of confusion, turmoil and difficulties.

In Joseph we a man of truth and mercy. When it was discovered that Mary was “with child” he knew what the law said, but his love for Mary and desire to show mercy moved him to take action “privately.” It was said of Jesus that He was, “full of grace and truth.” These qualities were not only those of His heavenly father, but his earthly father as well.

Joseph was a made to whom the Lord revealed Himself. Mary received the original annunciation of the angel about becoming pregnant with the Messiah. However, it was to Joseph that the Lord appeared to three times in a dream or vision to give timely instructions on what to do and when. The birth of Jesus was entrusted to Mary, the care for Jesus and his mother was entrusted to Joseph.

Joseph was a man of action and obedience. He was obedient in terms of his personal conduct toward Mary, was well as giving heed to the warnings and messages he received from the Lord. Those decisions and actions would not have been easy. But they were necessary to not only save the life of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, but as we can see, to fulfill prophecy as well.

Joseph was willing to lay aside his own desires and rights. This was not just in his physical relationship with Mary, but in surrendering the right to have a “firstborn son” named after himself. Part of Joseph’s obedience is sated as, “he named him Jesus.” Jesus would be referred to as the “Son of David” “Son of Man” “Son of God” more than the “son of Joseph.” Only on one occasion in scripture do we see Jesus referred to as the “son of Joseph.” (John 6:42) We see that any plans Joseph would have had for the first few years of Jesus life would have been radically changed. Obedience and flexibility would be what characterized his life during the early years after the birth of Jesus.

Joseph was more than “just in the background” of the birth and early life of Jesus. When the Lord selected Mary to be the mother of the Lord, it was also critical for her to have the right man of God in her life to earthly father the Son of God. It is important to see that God selected the right woman and the right man, at the right time in history to make history in His plan of redemption.

After the snow day yesterday I was able to get out to some commitments. The main one was traveling to Greeley to be a part of the “Senior’s Circle” radio programmed aired on Sunday mornings. Today was the taping for a program that will be aired this Sunday on KFKA in Greeley. By the time I headed back to Fort Collins the roads had improved. I still was running a little late to a Chiropractor appointment. I believe I am seeing some continued improvement and am able to take a few steps on my own without crutches.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah. (Their mother was Tamar.)…Salmon was the father of Boaz. (His mother was Rahab.) Boaz was the father of Obed. (His mother was Ruth.) Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon. (His mother had been Uriah’s wife.)”  Matthew 1:3,5-6 ERV

Have you seen the ads for “Ancestry.com”? It seems every family has those who are the genealogists for the family line. They usually make some interesting discoveries and take on the task of keeping track of the growing family tree. Some years ago my hair stylist commented, “Ken, you  must have some Indian blood. You complexion, cheek bones and lack of facial hair are more characteristic of American Indians.” While my features are not that pronounced it was an interesting observation.

A few years later, while campaigning door to door, I met a man with my same last name. We discovered that we had to have some past family connection. He then told me that he had heard that one of our great….grandfathers was married to an Indian woman. He said, “It wasn’t talked about that much, since at the time it wasn’t viewed as somewhat of a scandal.”

Jesus had in his background those who would not seem to fit into the lineage of the Messiah. There are those who it would be easy to “not talk about” and “gloss over” in the record. Instead the only wives of men in Jesus connection to the throne of David were those you would not expect to be found.

We see early on Tamar mentioned, who was Judah’s daughter-in-law. Judah did not fulfill his promise to give one of his younger sons to Tamar after her husband died. As a result, she posed as a prostitute and tricked Judah into having sex with her and she became pregnant. Tamar had twins and one of them, Perez, this “illegitimate” child became an ancestor of King David. We see Rahab was a prostitute from Jericho a Canaanite city devoted for destruction. She gave birth to Boaz the great grandfather of David. We see the name Ruth who was from Moab. This Canaanite nation were historic oppressors and enemies of God’s people. The Moabites themselves were from the incestual relationship between Lot and his daughters after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Ruth became the grandmother of David.

Then we see the reign of David being passed on through Solomon, who was the son of Bathsheba. She had been the wife of Uriah when David seduced her into a sexual encounter and the David plotted to have her husband killed in battle.

Why are the only women mentioned by Matthew in this Jewish ancestry those who would be easy to “leave in the closet?” The easiest answer is, “I don’t’ know.” But I would suggest that it was not to shame as much as to give hope. These anomalies in the family history of the Messiah reveal much about God’s heart. It shows that God is a God who redeems. He is a God who changes lives and has open arms. The destiny of your life is not who you are or where you are, but it is in who you can be and where you can go, if you submit your life to God’s will and purpose.

I believe we also see the spiritual impact of “adoption.” These women in Jesus genealogy did not have “rights” by virtue of birth and heritage. But they were “grafted in” they were adopted into the family of faith and not just into any family of Israel, but in the direct line that would lead to the Messiah.

In considering the ways of the Lord, Paul stops and exclaims, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” (Romans 11:33 NIV)
What we see in the “family tree” of Jesus should stop and allow us to respond not from our minds, but from our hearts as we see in Paul’s words.

The hymn writer of old expressed it in these words, “I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene; and wonder how He could love me, a sinner, condemned, unclean…How wonderful, how marvelous….is my Savior’s love for me.”

Even in the lineage of Jesus, we see  God’s plan and purpose for the Messiah…Salvation for the whole world, hope for the hopeless and reconciliation for those estranged from the Father’s family.