Advent Day 17

He would be without sin…

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold a virgin will be with child and bear a Son and she will call His name Immanuel. He will eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good. Isaiah 7:14-15

And He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death; because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth. Isaiah 53:9

You are fairer than the sons of men; Grace is poured upon Your lips; Therefore
God has blessed you forever. Psalm 45:2

And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. Luke 2:40

When Jesus was born to woman He did not come as part man and part God. He was fully man and fully God, the second Person in the Trinity. He was born a helpless human babe, just like you and I were, but He was not a son of Adam. He was not born with a sin nature. His was born in the image of His Father. He was perfect in every way and completely without sin.

Jesus went through the same human development as the rest of us, because He was fully man. He went through the ups and downs of every stage of life. It is hard for me to wrap my head around, but He had to learn how to do things. Here is The One through whom all things were made. He spoke and things happened….big things!! Like solar systems! He had been from everlasting. But just like the rest of us He had to learn to roll over, crawl, walk, talk, and feed Himself…all of it. He got to experience parents, little brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, and nosey neighbors. He was confronted with ALL facets of human life. He endured suffering, pain, and rejection beyond anything we can imagine. He knows what it is like to go through things. But…and it’s a big but…He did it all without sin. “Who did no sin, neither was any guile found in His mouth.” 1 Peter 2:22

“This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all the same testings we do, yet He did not sin.” Hebrews 4:15


People often speculate on when Jesus knew “to refuse evil and choose good”. We know from the following passage that He was completely aware of Who He was and Who His Father by the time He was twelve…
“And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of Passover. And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it, but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him. Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.
When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have you treated us this way? Behold your father and I have been looking anxiously for You.”
And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”…..And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Luke 2:40, 45-49, 52

On an aside...I get a kick out of Mary and Joseph being worried about Jesus. They were acting like typical parents.....to the SON OF GOD!!! Can you imagine the legion of angels He had with Him? You know they were all begging for guard duty! I can picture the Archangel, Michael, with his sword drawn the whole time, ready to attack anyone or thing who dared to threaten His King!

The verse that began the above narrative is Luke 2:40. I want to take a closer look, because we sometimes miss little nuggets in our English translations.
And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. Luke 2:40

The word in this verse for spirit is pneuma, which is the third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit. And here is what we are told in Isaiah about the Branch/Jesus and the Spirit of the Lord….
"Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And He will delight in the fear of the Lord….”Isaiah 11:1-3

So when did Jesus know evil from good? The following prophecies give us a clue it was much earlier than twelve years old…

"You are He who brought Me forth from the womb; You made me trust when upon My mother’s breasts. Upon You I was cast from birth; You have been my God from my mother’s womb." Psalm 22:9-10

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold a virgin will be with child and bear a Son and she will call His name Immanuel. He will eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good." Isaiah 7:14-15

Curds and honey were common foods for people to eat in Bible times. They were also the first foods a baby was given to eat as “solid food”. Honey would be given first, and they would then graduate to curds. To paraphrase with that in mind…
“He will eat baby food at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good.”

These verses tell us Jesus would know from the womb, and from a very early age He would know to refuse evil and choose good. Why would this surprise us when His forerunner, John the Baptist, leaped for joy in his mother’s womb when he heard Mary’s voice? He was also filled with the Holy Spirit in his mother’s womb. So why would anything surprise us as far as what Jesus knew and when?

But here is what we know beyond any doubt…..our Lamb was without spot or blemish. He was perfect and became sin for us....

He made HimWho knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21

But with precious blood, as a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. 1 Peter 1:19

And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation. Hebrews 5:9

Jesus lived a life without sin, but not without temptation. He is our perfect High Priest BECAUSE of this.

“Therefore, since we have a high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest Who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:14-15

May each day of this Christmas season be a precious gift to you and your family.
God bless you!!

Advent Day 16

LORD and King....

Speaking through His prophets, God revealed the One He would send into the world is Lord and  King. This was not just going to be some guy who would ride in on a white horse, slay the dragon, and then ride off into the sunset. He will one day return and take His rightful place on the throne of David! He is the King of kings! He is the Lord of ALL!!

What does "LORD" mean? When the first letter of Lord is capitalized it tells us it is a name for God, and not just a title of respect for someone. The personal name of God in the Bible is Yahweh. It is a Tetragrammaton, which is composed of four letters, but it has no vowels, YHWH. The anglicized rendering of this is Jehovah. This is because the pronunciation of YHWH is unknown. Some Bible translations let you know the word they are translating is YHWH, the personal name of God, by putting the whole word in capitals as in… LORD.

Here are just a handful of the verses in the Old Testament that speak to the coming Messiah being called Lord…..

"Behold the days are coming," declares the Lord, "When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely, and do righteousness and justice in the land........And this is His name by which He will be called, the Lord our righteousness." Jeremiah 23:5-6

For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; He will save us. Isaiah 33:22
The Lord says to my Lord; Sit at my right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet. Psalm 110:1

In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted with the train of His robe fillin the temple. Seraphim stood above Him.........And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory." Isaiah 6:1-3
And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only, and His name the only one. Zechariah 14:9

Hear O' Israel, the Lord our God is One Lord. Deuteronomy 6:4

A voice calling in the wilderness, Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God." Isaiah 40:3

The fulfillment to these prophecies begins while He is still in the womb. He is called LORD…..
"When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she cried out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. " Luke 1:41-4

After Jesus is born, and the angel is making the birth announcement to the shepherds….

…for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the LORD.” Luke 2:11

Here are just a few examples  during Jesus' ministry...

"I and My Father are One." John 10:30

He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me." John 12:45

For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says, "THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET." Acts 2:35
Then He said to them, “How is it that they say the Christ is David’s son? For David himself says in the book of Psalms, ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.”’
"Therefore David calls Him, “Lord”, and how is He his son?” Luke 20:41-44

In other words…the one who is not born yet, is David’s LORD.

This next verse is after Jesus heals a blind man. Later the same day Jesus hears the Pharisees put the man out of the synagogue because the man won’t give them the answers they want about Who Jesus was….

Jesus heard that they had put him out and finding him, He said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
He answered, "Who is He Lord, that I may believe in Him?"
Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking to you."
And he said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped Him. John 9:35-38

During His trial….
Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world: If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm."
Therefore Pilate said to Him, "So You are a king?"
Jesus answered, "You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." John 18:36-37

Taking His departure from the disciples....

"So then after the LORD had spoken unto them, He was received up into heaven and sat on the right hand of God." Mark 16:19

And if we take a peek at the future actions of our King….

These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is LORD of lords and King of kings, and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful. Revelation 17:14

That at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:10-11

Praise the LORD!!!!

Now, let’s back up again to the personal name of God. Remember it is YHWH. Hebrew letters each have a meaning. Let’s take a look at the meaning of the letters in YHWH.
The first letter is a "Yod". It is masculine in gender and is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. It portrays the symbol of an entire hand, or closed hand from the wrist to the fingertips.
Next we have a "Hey". It is feminine and means “to behold”, “show” or “reveal”.
We then have a "Vav". It is masculine and stands for a nail, peg or hook, signifying being nailed or bound together.
Hebrew is read right to left. So when we read the name of God in Hebrew , God’s name is:
“Behold the Nail, Behold the Hand” or “Behold the nailed hand.”

In other words, the personal name of God draws us a picture of Jesus!!!
Praise you, Lord Jesus!! You are worthy to receive honor and glory and power!!

I pray you feel His loving arms holding you tightly. I pray you hear Him speaking quietly and personally to each one of you.
Merry Christmas, Dear Ones!!

Advent Day 15

He Would be Rejected…

After waiting so long for the Messiah you would think it would have been a much different reception than the one Jesus received. But this was not the case, nor was this a surprise to God. He told us in His word these things would take place…..

"Who has believed our report and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot. And like a root out of the parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him; Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face. He was despised, and we did not esteem Him." Isaiah 53:1-4

But I am a worm and not a man, a reproach of men and despised by the people. All who see me sneer at me; They separate with the lip, they wag the head saying, “Commit yourself to the Lord; Let Him deliver Him; Let Him rescue Him, because He delights in Him.” Psalm 22:6 - (Fulfilled Matthew 27:40, Mark 15:30,32)

"Those who hate me without cause are more than the hairs on my head; Those who would destroy me are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies; what I did not steal, I then have to restore…..Because for Your sake I have borne reproach, Dishonor has covered my face. I have become estranged from my brothers and an alien to my mother’s sons. For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me…….Those who sit in the gate talk about me. I am the song of drunkards…..Reproach has broken my heart and I am so sick. And I looked for sympathy, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. They also gave me gall for my food and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink…..But I am afflicted and in pain; May Your salvation, O God, set me securely on high." Psalm 69:4,7-9,12,20-21

"Just as many were astonished at you, My people, so His appearance was marred more than the sons of men….." Isaiah 52:14

These verses give us a just a glimpse of the suffering Jesus endured during His thirty-three years on earth. They also give us a glimpse of His anguish on the cross as He bore our sins and reproach.
Jesus was the brunt of drunkards’ songs, most likely because people believed He was a child of fornication. If you read John 8:41 you see the Jews say to Jesus, “WE were not born of fornication!!” Wow! Can you imagine saying that to God’s face, and not ending up a smoking heap of ashes?!

Jesus’ brothers thought He was completely off His donkey…thinking He was the Son of God. Hadn’t they all shared the same family their whole lives? Didn’t they all sleep on the same pile of hay? They didn’t believe in Him until after the Resurrection!

In Psalm 69:12 Jesus said He looked for comfort and sympathy but found none. It makes me think of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, right before He is arrested and crucified...

Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour?” Matthew 26:38-40

When Jesus was arrested He was mocked, spit on, and beaten beyond recognition. His appearance was so marred, and this may be why the disciples did not recognize Him after the resurrection. He bears the physical marks of His crucifixion. We know He still has the nail marks in His hands and feet. Jesus also had His beard torn out before He was crucified.

“I gave My back to the smiters, and My cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; I hid not My face from shame and spitting.” Isaiah 50:6

Why am I talking about His adult life and the crucifixion when this is about Christmas and His birth? Because He was born to die…

It is easy to compartmentalize the birth of Jesus from the death and resurrection of Jesus. The birth of Jesus can take on the identity of a sweet children’s story that fits the Christmas season of feeling warm and fuzzy. This sweet baby was born on a starry night, He got to camp out with the barn animals. It is all wonderful and so precious to think of our Savior entering the world as this little baby. BUT….I guarantee on the night Jesus was born, and all the days after, Michael, Israel’s angel, was on DEFCON 4 with his troops of God’s angels. This was a night and an event Satan had been trying to prevent for thousands of years. Satan and his troops were in attack mode to kill this child who was to be born. We get a glimpse of Satan’s murderous rage when Herod orders all the babies in Bethlehem, under the age of two, be put to death.

Yes, the birth of Jesus is a precious event for us to celebrate. Jesus was born to die.….that we might LIVE. He was born to be the ransom for many and defeat death with His resurrection, that we might have eternal life in His presence. He was born to breathe life into our dead souls. He was born to bear our reproach. His gift to us began on the night He was born, but it was fulfilled the morning of His resurrection and continues to be fulfilled every day when someone accepts Jesus, or goes home to be with Him. We should not separate the manger from cross. To do so is to lose the AWESOMENESS of WHY we celebrate Christmas.

Advent Day 14

He would come in all humbleness and meekness….

He is the King of kings. He is the Lord of Lords. He is God Almighty…..and yet…….

“For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.” Isaiah 53:2

“And speak unto Him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold a man whose name is THE BRANCH; and He shall grow up out of His place…” Zechariah 6:12

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9

With the above scriptures from the Old Testament in mind, let's jump ahead to the New Testament.....

“And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:7

“Jesus, knowing that the Father has given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.” John 13:3-6

“They were saying, Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He say, I have come down out of heaven?” John 6:42

“Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men….”Philippians 2:6-7

""The disciples went and did as Jesus instructed and brought the donkey and the colt and laid their coats on them; and He sat across their coats. Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road and others were cutting branches.....The crowds were going ahead of Him shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord..." Matthew 21: 6-9

“Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28

The arrival of the Messiah was missed, in part, because people were looking for the arrival of a “KING” and a “MESSIAH”. They were expecting trumpets and fanfare that you think should herald the arrival of someone important. They wanted signs of power and might as the world translates power and might. Also, many Jews believed it would be two messiahs that would come. They thought one would be the suffering Messiah and the other would be the Mashiach Nagid, Messiah King. It was hard to imagine the prophecies could be about just one man because they seemed to contradict themselves. And yet that was exactly the case. It would be one Man fulfilling all of it. Jesus came the first time as the suffering Messiah. When He returns to earth next time it will be as the Messiah King, the Mashiach Nagid, to reclaim possession of the earth from His enemies.

When God said, “Your ways are not My ways,” in Isaiah 55:8, He was not kidding!! When Jesus came the first time, He entered His creation in the most humble of ways, and spent the next thirty-three years living the most humble of lives. Jesus was born into poverty. Leviticus 12:2-6 outlines the offering for a newborn child. If you had the means, you offered a lamb. If you were poor, you offered two turtle doves.  Luke 2:22 tells us Mary and Joseph brought a pair of turtle doves to Jerusalem to offer as their burnt offering after Jesus was born. Mary and Joseph were poor.


Second Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

This verse is referring to God, leaving His glory and power in heaven for us to empty Himself to become the propitiation for our sins. But it is also a picture of His life on earth. Jesus was born in poverty, lived a life of poverty, and died in poverty. He came to live in and amongst the people He created. He was fully human, living a fully human life.

Jesus was surrounded by the injustices and hardships of the world He lived in. His humble life made Him more accessible to the people. They could find Him sitting in a boat, standing on a rock, or sitting on the grass teaching. Little children could come running up to Him, climb all over Him, and He loved it!! A blind man could cry out to Him for healing, a leper could approach Him, or a woman who was ill could touch the hem of His garment and be healed.

He did not live in a palace. Our King had no place to lay His head. He did not have the   hands of a palace prince. His were the calloused hands of a servant. Those precious, calloused hands,  that would one day be nail scarred, could build a table, turn over the table of a money changer, heal the sick, cook fish for His disciples, or bless a small child. Jesus didn’t come to observe life on earth. He came to live it. He humbled Himself to enter His creation as a baby, to grow up living a fully human life. Our King knows what it means to be poor, go hungry, be hated, abused, laughed at, tempted, rejected by family, and the list goes on.

By coming in meekness and humility Jesus fulfilled so many prophecies spoken of Him in the Old Testament. This speaks to the truth…He is Who He says He is!! He is the Son of God.

Christmas is the time of the year set aside for the purpose of celebrating our Savior, Christ Jesus. We set it aside to celebrate the birth or our Lord, whose purpose in coming was to be the Savior of our souls. And yet, how often during the Christmas season do we actually stop and think about this baby we celebrate? Every day during the Christmas season, and every other day of the year I want to keep the focus of my life on WHO truly matters. THE NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES!!!!

Merry Christmas, my dear family and friends!!!

Advent Day 13

 His Name would Be called.....

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign; “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14

…And the stretching out of his wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel…. Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; State a proposal, but it will not stand, For God is with us.” Isaiah 8:8, 10

Name...

s are of extreme importance to God. He is the one who created naming after all. Names are meant to tell WHO the person is, or who they are going to be. There are many times in the Bible when God renamed someone to reflect a change in who they were, or who He was calling them to be.

In the Bible, the person who is given the authority over something or someone is the one who does the naming. In Genesis God names the sun, moon and stars. These are not things He gave man authority over. He does give Adam dominion over the cattle, beasts of the field, and the birds of the sky, and He brings them to Adam to name. God has given parents authority over their children. Throughout the Bible it is one or both of the parents naming the children. Eve named her children, Abraham and Sarah named Isaac, Rachel and Leah named the twelve sons of Jacob, and the list goes on.

Who named the newborn Messiah, and how would they know what to name Him?

Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel. He was to deliver the most joyous message. The Messiah was to be born, and Mary had found favor with the Lord. She was to be the mother of the Messiah. Gabriel tells Mary this news and what she is to name her son, God’s Son, when He is born.

Luke 1:31-32 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His Father David.”

I get so excited thinking about this! Jesus…the name above all names!!! HIS NAME has just been announced to a human being for the first time in history. The name that is now spoken as a blessing and a curse the world over was first revealed to a precious, pure, young girl as she received the most incredible news, not of her life, but of all our lives. JESUS!

It is wonderful to see how God includes not just Mary in the naming of Jesus, but Joseph, His adoptive father. This is like a pat on the back to Joseph saying, “I am giving My Son into your care for a while. I am calling you to be His earthly father.” Wow! What an assignment, being the adoptive father of the Messiah!

Growing up, Joseph had no idea that each day, with each situation he encountered, he was being prepared to be “Abba” to the Son of God. God chose Joseph for this role before Joseph was born. He had been chosen before the foundation of the heavens and earth had been laid. No pressure there! Not much is spoken of him in scripture, but what we know speaks volumes about this man and his strength of character. Matthew 1:19 tells us Joseph was a righteous man. His actions when he finds out Mary is with child clearly demonstrate this fact.

Can you picture Joseph? He is betrothed to this lovely girl named Mary. He has been working hard to get the house ready for her arrival. He is so excited about the night he will get to bring her to their home as his wife. The time is getting close for him to go and get her! Then he hears through the grapevine that his beloved bride, his sweet Mary, is with child…..and he has never been with her. Can you imagine the anguish and betrayal he must have felt?
Here we catch a glimpse of one of the reasons God chose Joseph to fill the role of earthly father to His only begotten Son. We see the character of Joseph come shining through.
It was his right, by law, to have Mary stoned to death, or he could have humiliated her and made her an outcast. Although he must have felt so hurt and betrayed, he wanted to protect Mary. He wanted to send her away quietly, so as not to disgrace her. As Joseph is thinking through his plans, God reveals His PLAN…….

But when he thought on these things, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, fear not and take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet; “BEHOLD THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,’ which translated means “GOD with us.” Matthew 1:20-23

Joseph decided to go with God’s plan. How honored he must have felt…how humbled and overwhelmed....and a little afraid, I am sure! When the angel visited him to clear up the misunderstanding about Mary and the baby, the angel also tells Joseph what they are to name the Child. They are to name Him Jesus, because He would save people from their sins.
Jesus means “Jehovah is salvation”, which breaks down further to mean, “The Existing One is Salvation”.
The name Jesus is Who He is. He IS our salvation.
Immanuel means “God with us”. The name, Immanuel, is a statement of Who He was and Who He is. He is God with us.

The name of our Savior is: Jehovah is Salvation. The Existing One is Salvation. God with Us. That is HIS NAME!!!!
He is with us and He is our salvation.
I pray you feel the presence of Jesus in the midst of your Christmas celebrations. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Advent Day 12

Advent Day 12 - The One Who Would Come Is the Son of God…..

I think sometimes as we picture the Nativity, we picture the sweetness of a baby all swaddled, and lying in the manger, with a mother looking adoringly at her newborn son…all of this is right and true, but this was not just a sweet little baby…this was our HOLY GOD lying in a manger. This was the Creator of the Universe! This was the Maker of heaven and earth!!

The sheer magnitude of what was taking place on that night is so overwhelming and awesome to me!! It leaves me speechless…almost! This was God in the flesh. He had entered into His own creation in the most indescribable act of selfless love ever. This was the long planned arrival of the Son of God….the Savior of the world!!!

Below are just a few of the glimpses God gives us in the Old Testament into His plan for His only begotten Son to enter into the Creation and be our Lord and Savior. Below each one is a New Testament verse that confirms or fulfills it….

Psalm 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto Me, Thou art My Son: This day have I begotten Thee.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Psalm 2:11-12 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from THE WAY, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.
John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father but through Me.”
John 3:17 For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Isaiah 43:11 “I, even I, am the LORD (Yehovah), and besides Me there is no savior.”
1 John 4:14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the World.
Proverbs 30:4 Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name or His Son’s name? Surely you know!
Luke 1:30-32 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."

Hosea 5:14-15 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim And like a young lion to the house of Judah….. I will go away and return to My place Until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.
Luke 13:34-35 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!'”  -  this is Jesus speaking as He overlooks the city of Jerusalem.

I truly don’t think we will fully grasp the enormity of the sacrifice He made for us until we are standing in the glory of His presence. I think in that instant, when we see His nail scarred hands and feet, the scars in His forehead from the crown of thorns, ….and don’t forget the pure love and joy shining from His eyes upon seeing us entering His presence…only then will the veil be completely lifted from our eyes, of what was undertaken for us before the first word was spoken on Day One of Creation. He was willing to leave heaven, to become a man, so that he could lay down His life and conquer death that we might live...because He LOVES us!!! I think we will be filled to overflowing with the praise and thankfulness for a Savior Who loves us so much.

1 John 3:16a We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us...
1 John 4:9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
First Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.
I pray we continue to keep the focus on Jesus this Christmas season. May God bless each of you.

“I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.” Psalm 2:7 

I love that last verse! Again, we have Jesus in the Old Testament speaking of the plan He has for entering into His creation. How incredible!!! It makes me want to shout with sheer joy!! 

Advent Day 11

He Would be Born in Bethlehem….

"But as for you Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little anong the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me, the One to be ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Micah 5:2

The birthplace of the Messiah was prophesied hundreds of years before the actual event took place.  In this prophecy God is very specific, so we have no doubt as to the town He is referring to. At the time of Jesus’ birth there were two towns with the name Bethlehem. One was Bethlehem Ephrathah.  This Bethlehem is in Judah. Bethlehem Ephrathah is sometimes referred to as the city of David, because he was born there. It is also referred to as Bethlehem of Judea.  The other town of Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth was in Zebulon. Bethelem of Zebulon was close to Nazareth. In the prophecy we are told it is Bethlehem Ephrathah, in Judah.

This is not the first appearance in the scriptures of Bethlehem Ephrathah.  Rachel, Jacob’s beloved wife, died and was buried on the road to Bethlehem Ephrathah. Bethlehem is where the love story of Ruth and Boaz took place. Boaz became Ruth’s kinsman redeemer and husband in this sleepy little town. They went on to become the great-great grandparents of King David. As I mentioned previously, King David was born in Bethlehem, but he wasn’t born a king. He was born to be a shepherd first and then he would on take his role as king……sounds a bit familiar.

Look at Micah 5:2 again. I don't want you to miss the wording. It is too wonderful!!

"But as for you Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity." Micah 5:2

God is making sure there is no misunderstanding as to WHO is coming….”His goings for are from long ago, from days of eternity.”  Or as it says in the KJV, “Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” This is not just a great leader or ruler coming out of Bethlehem. This is He Who is eternal! ONLY God is eternal!!!

The promise of the One to be ruler in Israel coming out of Bethlehem was made, and then one starry night hundreds of years later……

Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David……While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:4, 6-7

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold wise men came from the east to Jerusalem saying, “Where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet.  And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not least among the princes of Judah, for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Matthew 2:1-6

Hath not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was? John 7:42

I don’t know about you, but this makes me want to shout, “THAT”S MY GOD!!!! HOW AWESOME IS HE???!!!!” 

Praying the Lord continues to bless each one of you and your families!!

Merry CHRISTmas!!!!!!!

Advent Day 10

He would come in all humbleness and meekness….

He is the King of kings. He is the Lord of Lords. He is God Almighty…..and yet…….

“For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.” Isaiah 53:2

“And speak unto Him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold a man whose name is THE BRANCH; and He shall grow up out of His place…” Zechariah 6:12

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9

With the above scriptures from the Old Testament in mind, let's jump ahead to the New Testament.....

“And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:7

“Jesus, knowing that the Father has given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.” John 13:3-6

“They were saying, Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He say, I have come down out of heaven?” John 6:42

“Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men….”Philippians 2:6-7

""The disciples went and did as Jesus instructed and brought the donkey and the colt and laid their coats on them; and He sat across their coats.Most of the crowd spread their coats in the raod and others were cutting branches.....The crowds were going ahead of Him shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord..." Matthew 21: 6-9

“Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28

The arrival of the Messiah was missed, in part, because people were looking for the arrival of a “KING” and a “MESSIAH”. They were expecting trumpets and fanfare that you think should herald the arrival of someone important. They wanted signs of power and might as the world translates power and might. Also, many Jews believed it would be two messiahs that would come. They thought one would be the suffering Messiah and the other would be the Mashiach Nagid, Messiah King. It was hard to imagine the prophecies could be about just one man because they seemed to contradict themselves. And yet that was exactly the case. It would be one Man fulfilling all of it. Jesus came the first time as the suffering Messiah. When He returns to earth next time it will be as the Messiah King, the Mashiach Nagid, to reclaim possession of the earth from His enemies.

When God said, “Your ways are not My ways,” in Isaiah 55:8, He was not kidding!! When Jesus came the first time He entered His creation in the most humble of ways, and spent the next thirty-three years living the most humble of lives. He came to live in and amongst the people He created. He was fully human, living a fully human life. He did not have the hands of a palace prince. His were the calloused hands of a servant. Those precious, calloused hands, that would one day be nail scarred, could build a table, turn over the table of a money changer, heal the sick, cook fish for His disciples, or bless a small child. He didn’t come to observe life on earth. He came to live it. Because of this, He understands sorrow and suffering. He was surrounded by the injustices of the times He lived in. Our King knows what it means to be poor, go hungry, be hated, abused, laughed at, tempted, rejected by family, and the list goes on.
He humbled Himself to enter His creation as a baby, to grow up living a fully human life. He lived a life without sin, but not without temptation. He is our perfect High Priest BECAUSE of this.

“Therefore, since we have a high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest Who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:14-15

His humble life made Him accessible to the people. They could find Him sitting in a boat, standing on a rock, or sitting on the grass teaching. Little children could come running up to Him, climb all over Him, and He loved it!! A blind man could cry out to Him for healing, a leper could approach Him, or a woman who was ill could touch the hem of His garment and be healed.

By coming in meekness and humility Jesus fulfilled so many prophecies spoken of Him in the Old Testament. This speaks to the truth…He is Who He says He is!! He is the Son of God.
I could go on for hours, but I won’t! Let me just end with this. Isn’t it incredible that every year we have Christmas set aside for the single purpose of celebrating our Savior, Christ Jesus. It is His coming as a baby to be the Savior of our souls. And yet, how often during the Christmas season do we actually stop and think about the WHY of baby Jesus coming? Every day during the Christmas season, and every other day of the year I want to keep the focus of my life on WHO truly matters. THE NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES!!!!

Advent Day 9

His Mother Would be a Virgin…

To retrace the steps we have taken so far…..the Messiah, the King of kings, will come through the line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Jesse and David. He will have someone who comes before Him to prepare the way.

We now come to the miracle that has never been, nor ever will be repeated again. And what a miracle it was!!! It was to be a sign….the Messiah would be born of a virgin. There would be no human father, because God would be His Father.

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold a virgin will be with child and bear a Son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14

“I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.” Psalm 2:7

I love the last verse! Again, we have Jesus in the Old Testament speaking of the plan He has for entering into His creation. How incredible!!! It makes me want to squeal with sheer joy!!

Jesus was born of a virgin, but God provided Him with an earthly father. We spend a fair bit of time talking about Mary and thinking about what she would have been like, but think about what a special guy Joseph must have been. Here is a guy who was born with such a special purpose, but he is not even mentioned until it is time for him to take his active role in the most AMAZING event in His-story!! The entrance of the LIVING GOD coming as a helpless baby!! This guy was Mary’s birthing coach, for goodness sake! And by the way….he wasn’t surprised when it was a boy!! We are so impressed with sonograms and technology today! Mary and Joseph didn’t need it! They had each received a SON-o-gram from the angel Gabriel!! I am really looking forward to meeting Joseph when I get to heaven. I want to know what it was like to tell the Son of God to go and get His sandals on for synagogue, or to chew with His mouth closed! Talk about intimidating!

Joseph was descended from King David, but when you look at the genealogy listed in Matthew and in Luke they are the same up to a point, but then each one goes through a different son of David. Matthew goes through David’s son, Solomon. Luke goes through David’s son, Nathan. The problem is both have Joseph listed in their genealogies. This is not an error or contradiction in the Word of God. This is PERFECT planning by God. Are you ready?!

(The genealogies of Jesus are given in Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3:23-38)

The Matthew account is presenting Jesus’ claim to the throne of David through Joseph as His legal father. But here we hit a bit of a snag with regards to Joseph’s bloodline. There is a wicked descendant of King David’s by the name of King Jeconiah, also known as Coniah or Jehoiakhin. He was so evil and idolatrous God had this to say:

“Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days; for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.” Jeremiah 22:30 KJV

In other words, God has just put a blood curse on the royal blood line that comes down from King Jeconiah to Joseph. You might think God shot Himself in the foot with this one, but wait…..there’s more. Are you surprised? Of course not! It’s God! He loves to keep things interesting!
Hundreds of years before the blood curse being put on King Jeconiah, there is an obscure event recorded in the book of Numbers about the daughters of Zelophehad. This event took place in the time of Moses, after the Exodus from Egypt. You can read the account in Numbers 26:33, 27:7, but I will try my best to summarize it here.
There was a man named Zelophehad. He had five daughters, but he had no sons to inherit. The daughters of Zelophehad came before Moses, the priest, the princes, and the entire congregation to state their case. Their father had died in the wilderness, but having no sons, his name would die with him. The girls asked Moses to give them a hereditary possession among their father’s brothers. Moses inquires of God and God tells him the daughters were correct to request this. They would marry within their own tribe to keep the inheritance within their family. The daughter would then be entitled to inherit as if she were a son of her father.

With that in mind, let’s get back to the genealogy of Jesus. The genealogy in the Gospel of Luke shows Jesus has a claim to the throne of David both legally and by bloodline.

“And Jesus Himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli….” Luke 3:23

The actual rendering in the original text is “reckoned as by law”. In other words Joseph was the son by law of Heli, because Heli had no sons, only daughters. This means two things; Jesus had a legal right to the throne of David through His adopted father, but without the blood curse. It also means He had the bloodline to the throne of David through His mother, Mary. God does not believe in loose ends!

I think about the planning that goes on at my house for Christmas. I think of the looks I will see on the faces of my kids when they open the gifts we have so lovingly chosen for them. Then I stop and think of the enormity of God’s love for us and the planning He did with regards to EVERY SINGLE DETAIL of sending His gift to us on that first CHRIST-mas. I stop and think of how He so lovingly sent HIS precious, beloved, only begotten Son into this world to become a sin offering for us, so that we might have eternal life and be in fellowship with Him for eternity. He waits to see the look on our faces when we choose to accept the GIFT. He is heartbroken when it is rejected by anyone. I am so completely humbled and in love with our Lord!!! Merry CHRIST-mas!! I pray the Lord blesses each of you reading this.

Advent Day 8

There would be a forerunner who would come before the Messiah to prepare the way.

In ancient times a messenger would always precede the arrival of a king. The job of the messenger was to clear the road, and make sure the bumps were smoothed out before the king travelled that route. They prepared the people along the route to expect a visit from their king.

“The voice of him that cries in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God…..” Isaiah 40:3-5

“Behold I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me.” Malachi 3:1

I love the verse from Malachi! It is Jesus speaking! He is revealing preparations that will take place in anticipation of HIS arrival….into the midst of His creation!! Think about that! It takes my breath away!

The fulfillment of the prophecy regarding the forerunner…

JOHN THE BAPTIST....

In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias who was visited by the angel, Gabriel and was told he and his wife Elizabeth would have a son, even though they were “advanced in years”. But this was not going to be just any little boy. He would grow up to be the man prophesied of by Malachi and Isaiah. He would have a very special purpose to fulfill. His job was to be the forerunner of the Messiah. Imagine being his dad and getting that information…”By the way, your little Johnnie won’t be your average little guy. Oh, and when he gets a bit older don’t worry about his strange diet of honey and locusts, or his clothing choice of camel’s hair.” This was going to be one unique guy!

“He will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor; and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb…..It is he who will go as a forerunner before HIM in the spirit and power of Elijah…….so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:15-17

Zacharias voices his uncertainty about what the angel says and ends up mute for the duration of the pregnancy. But seriously, could you imagine what your reaction would be?! I would have passed out flat on the floor just at the sight of a mighty angel of God!

Mary, receiving a visit of her own from the angel Gabriel and finding out her cousin Elizabeth is expecting, decides to pay her a visit. I love to try and picture what this scene looked like as Mary approached and called out to Elizabeth…..

“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice saying, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me that the mother of my Lord would come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.” Luke 1:41-44

The full telling of the events surrounding the birth of John the Baptist can be found in Luke 1:5-25; 39-80.

Fast forward to John as a young man….

“In the high priesthood of Annas and Caiphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT….” Luke 3:2-4

“Now in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, “THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!” Matthew 3:1-3

And to make sure we don't somehow miss it, Jesus testifies to John being the forerunner:

And as these were going away, Jesus began speaking to them about John,....

..This is the one about whom it is written, "BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSANGER BEFORE YOUR FACE, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.' "Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is geater than he." Matthew 11:7, 10, 11

The prophecies foretelling the ministry of John the Baptist were given hundreds of years before his birth, and they were all fulfilled to the letter!! John the Baptist was the forerunner of the King!

There were hundreds of prophecies fulfilled when Jesus entered His creation as a baby and lived amongst His creation. There are hundreds yet to be fulfilled when He returns. Prophecy is an incredible and reassuring gift from God letting us know HE IS GOD AND HE IS IN CONTROL. He does not want us to wonder or second guess His word or power to accomplish all He declares. He has given us His Word and it is truth!

“God is not a man that He should lie, Nor a son of man that He should repent; Has He said and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" Numbers 23:19

Advent Day 7 (Originally posted Decembe 2011)

Advent Day 7 - The seed would come through the line of Jesse and from the throne of David…

As we touched on yesterday, Rahab and Salmon had a son named Boaz. Boaz and Ruth had a son named Obed. (we will come back to Ruth and Boaz next week). Obed has a son named Jesse….Let’s pick up there to see what God reveals as to where the next branch of the Messiah’s genealogy will go….

JESSE:
“Then the shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.” Isaiah 11:1
“Then in that day the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, who will stand as a signal for the peoples; and His resting place will be glorious.” Isaiah 11:10

Here again we have a bit of a problem. Jesse had eight sons. The Messiah could come from any one of these sons. The envelope please…..

DAVID:
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that I will raise to David a Branch of Righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth….” Jeremiah 23:5

“In those days and at that time, will I cause the Branch of Righteousness to grow up unto David; and He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.” Jeremiah 33:15

God gives David a hint of things to come when He is talking to David about his son Solomon. But in the words from God there is a dual telling about His Son!

“When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your seed after you, who will come forth from you and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a Father to him and he will be a son to me….” 2 Samuel 7:12-14

Fast forward to the Gospel of Luke where a young lady is getting a visit from Gabriel, an angel of the Lord...

“And behold you shall conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and e will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Luke 1:31-33

Hallelujah!!! How it must have tormented Satan to know from what family his defeat would come. Oh, the things he tried to do and is trying to do along each step of the way to thwart God’s plan. For some reason…. it didn’t work then and it’s not working now! It’s almost like God knew what Satan would do even before Satan knew himself! What a comfort to know that no matter how impossible or out of control things seem, that it is OUR GOD who is in control. He is the one who knows the end from the beginning. He has a plan that He established before He laid the foundation of the world, and it will not be thwarted! His plan for a Redeemer was not a last minute panic plan. It was and is His Perfect plan for us to be with Him in fellowship for all of eternity. Thank you, Jesus!

Advent Day 6

The Promised Redeemer’s lineage would include some of the following ….bravery, heroism, brilliance, faith, courage, prostitution, treason, deception….and this is just one person in the line of the Messiah….

After the children of Israel had wandered in the wilderness for forty years, it was time for them to enter the Promised Land. Joshua 2 tells of Joshua sending two spies on ahead into the land and into the city of Jericho. In Jericho the spies take lodging in the home of a harlot by the name of Rahab, who lived on the  outer wall of the city. The king of Jericho hears through the grapevine of the spies. He also finds out  they are lodging with Rahab.  The king sends her a message ordering her to bring the men to him. Rahab quickly hides the spies. She then proceeds to tell the king the men had already left, and that she had had no idea who they were when they lodged with her.  She finishes up this portion of her covert op by sending the king and his men on a wild goose chase after the men!

Rahab has just committed serious treason. She and her entire family can be put to death for this act. But she is unflappable. She waits until dark, and then helps the men escape from her roof, down the city  wall. She not only helps them escape; she gives them their instructions on how to avert capture. She was one seriously smart cookie. However, before they departed, she extracted a promise from them. In this  I will let her speak for herself.…

"I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. Now therefore, please swear to me by the LORD, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father's household, and give me a pledge of truth, and spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death." Joshua 2:9-13

The men agreed. They told her, her life for their lives. They instructed her to tie a scarlet cord to the window and not remove it. This would identify her home when the Israelites came. They also told her only the family members who took refuge under her roof would be saved.

What a woman!! She was not just concerned about her own skin. She wanted to save as many of her family from destruction as she possibly could. What we may miss in reading this passage is the serious jeopardy she would have to place herself in to try and save her family members. She would have to tell them what she had done, and then pray none of them turned her over to the king. I am in awe of her bravery and faith in God! In AWE!!! She is named in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11:31, and in James 2:25 she is given as an example of faith right alongside Abraham!

After Jericho falls, Rahab lives with the Israelites. She marries Salmon and has a son named Boaz, who marries a Moabitess named Ruth. We will visit them later, but for now…they have a son named Obed, who has a son named Jesse. His youngest son becomes King of Israel….King David!!

Do you think Rahab ever thought as she was lowering the men over the wall of Jericho what honor her faith would bring? Could Rahab have guessed, she, a woman of ill-repute…a Gentile….would be the great-great-great-grandmother of King David…..let alone be listed in the genealogy of KING of kings, the Messiah King?! She is one of only five women listed in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus! Because she lived her faith through her actions, not just her words!!!!

One more thing before I close this out today….during a German excavation of the tell of Jericho that spanned 1907-1909, something interesting was uncovered. There was a portion of the northern wall that had not collapsed like the rest of the walls around Jericho, and within this wall system…there were houses built against the wall. I love it!!!!!

May the blessings of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, pour over your homes this Christmas season!

Advent Day 5 - this one is a bit long winded, I know!

We pick up the scarlet thread with Judah, and visit a part of Bible history that is not so comfortable to visit. But sometimes our comfort has to be upset or overturned in order for us to grow…. that is the case with regards to this next part, both literally and figuratively.
In Genesis 37 we encounter the dysfunctional (to put it mildly) relationship of Jacob’s children, the ancestors of Jesus. We read of a brother hated by the other brothers because he is their father’s favored son. We see how this hatred increases as he shares the dreams he has with them,  in which they are bowing down to him. The brothers want to kill Joseph, but first Reuben and then Judah avert the planned murder. Chapter 37 ends with Judah convincing the brothers to sell Joseph to a travelling caravan of Midianites, who in turn sell him into slavery in Egypt. And here is where we once again will see a very personal,  very hands on God, ensuring nothing happens to thwart His plan….
Chapters 37-50 of Genesis tell of Joseph in Egypt, but there is an interruption in the telling. It begins right after Joseph is sold into slavery, and this chapter covers the next two decades. Genesis 38 will be an example of how God’s perfect plan WILL NOT be thwarted, regardless of how badly we mess things up.
Genesis 38:1 tells us at the time the brothers sold Joseph, Judah left his family to live among the Canaanites. My guess is he could not even contemplate looking his father in the face, because of what they had done to Joseph. Judah marries a Canaanite woman and has three sons. Judah’s sons are growing up, so he finds a wife for his oldest son, Er. The bride is a Canaanite girl by the name of Tamar.  Her bridegroom, Er, is wicked beyond belief. In fact, the Hebrew word used to describe Er implies it is an evil that needs God to intervene and put a stop to. So the Lord took Er’s life. It may sound harsh, but it was necessary.  Er died childless.
In those days, when a man died without having a child, his brother would marry the widow. The first son of that union would be considered the dead son’s child, and the child would inherit accordingly. This ensured a man’s name and line would not die with him. This was a common practice in the Middle East in ancient times. 
Judah follows this practice, and his second son takes Tamar as his wife. But he is not an upstanding guy.  He is more than happy to sleep with Tamar for pleasure, but he has no intention of letting his brother’s name be given to a son who might come from the union with Tamar. So during the act, Onan would withdraw and spill his seed on the ground to prevent this from happening. We miss it in our English translations, but the wording in Hebrew implies this did not just happen on one occasion. This was not a onetime slight of his obligation. This was not pleasing (to put it mildly) to God, so Onan is taken out of the picture. Now Judah is a bit freaked out. He now has two dead sons. He sends Tamar back to her father with a promise of calling her back to marry his third son, Shelah, when he is old enough to marry. Judah has no intention of doing this. Genesis 38:11 gives us a glimpse into his thoughts. He worries his third son will die if he marries Tamar. This implies he thinks she is either cursed or brings bad luck into marriage. He does not seem to consider his sons’ actions may have brought about their deaths. 
After a time Judah’s wife dies and he completes the mourning period.  Meanwhile Tamar realizes her father-in-law has no intention of keeping his word.  With this discovery Tamar does something that is hard for us to understand. You can read the account in Genesis 38:12-30, but for our purposes, let me just say….Tamar disguises herself as a temple prostitute and waits for her father-in-law to pass by the gate of Enaim. Judah sees her and is deceived by the disguise. He believes his daughter-in-law is a prostitute for hire, so he goes in to her. She takes his signet ring as a sign of good faith that he will come back and “pay” her. She is not there when he sends the payment through a friend. He finds out the truth of her identity three months later, when he finds out his daughter-in-law is pregnant. He orders her to be punished and burned to death for her “harlotry”. However Tamar has a card up her sleeve, or a signet ring to be exact. She is able to prove who the father is by the signet ring. Judah acknowledges he was the one in the wrong for not fulfilling his promise to marry her to his youngest son. There are twin boys  born from this one time union, Zerah and Perez. The lineage of Our Savior, Jesus Christ, will continue through the line of Perez.
Now why does all this matter, and how does it fit in our story?  For starters, let’s take Judah….he left his family to live with the Canaanites. He married into the Canaanite culture. His morals had become loose enough for him to defraud his daughter-in-law. They were also loose enough for him to have no problem going in to a prostitute, or any shame sending his best buddy back to pay for services rendered. He was not just in the culture…he was OF the culture. How would his ten brothers be any different? Or if not them,  then their sons after them? I am going somewhere with this, I promise.
Abraham chose Isaac’s wife.  Jacob’s wives were his mother’s relatives. Now we have twelve sons who are supposed to become the nation of Israel, but they seem set on their own paths. How do you build a nation of people, when the eleven guys who are to make up that nation are living in a land where there are opportunities all around to go and intermarry with any of the surrounding nations?  They could spread out and blend in with the other cultures, never becoming or having the national identity of Israel God had declared they would have.
How would the Messiah come from a nation that did not exist? How does God handle this threat to His plan for a nation and the Savior of the world?
First, He allows Joseph to be sold into slavery.  Think of it as sending His recon guy on ahead to prepare the way. After a time, he sets Joseph up as second in command in Egypt. Joseph prepares Egypt for the coming famine.  As the famine ravages the face of the earth, God implements the next phase of His plan. He uses the famine to bring the sons of Jacob into Egypt.
The family lives in Egypt for a time because there is plenty of food and they are taken care. This removed them from the temptation of drifting apart as a family and disappearing into other nations. They are given the land of Goshen to live in and tend their flocks.
But what about intermarrying with the Egyptians? This was not a concern. The Egyptians wanted nothing to do with these shepherds of the wilderness. They considered them unclean. Joseph tells his brothers the following…
“you shall say, 'Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,' that you may live in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is loathsome to the Egyptians." Genesis 46:34 
Good grief, the Egyptians wouldn’t even eat at the same table as Joseph because they knew he was a Hebrew….even though he was the prime minister of Egypt!!
Finally, they become slaves and have no choice but to stay in Egypt. This is because after Joseph dies, a different Pharaoh is in power, and he is a bit intimidated by the size of this family. So he figures the best way to deal with the Hebrews is to oppress and persecute them.
Why would God allow this? Remember at the beginning I said sometimes our comfort needs to be upset or overturned in order for us to grow? That was literally the case here.  Am I saying God oppressed Israel? No, but I am saying that once again God used the choices and actions of man to bring about His plan and purpose. God used the cruelty of the Egyptians to grow His people. This is how God turned a family ,who on arrival in Egypt numbered seventy,  left Egypt a nation of millions. This is the nation in whom the Messiah would come through.  This is not to say there would not be Gentiles in the Messiah’s bloodline. Quite the contrary…so far we have only Gentile brides. The time in Egypt was God bringing about the  birth of the  nation Israel.

‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’ Jeremiah 29:11
“I know that you can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.” Job 42:2
 Here is the big “THANK YOU, JESUS!!!” for me in all of this. I am so thankful God uses regular, everyday, flawed human beings….even in the genealogy of Jesus!! I am so grateful for the missteps, mistakes, and misdemeanors I see in the people God chooses to use throughout His-story.  He wants us to see and understand this, so we don’t miss out on the blessings of being used for His kingdom, because we think we are too flawed, or not good enough, or whatever our insecurity may be.  I am thankful for such a compassionate, understanding, loving God!!! What a gift!! Merry Christmas!!!

Advent Day 4 (Originally posted Christmas 2011)

Our Savior would come through the line of Isaac, Jacob and Judah...

 Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, but God was very clear about which son the promised seed would come through.

"But God said to Abraham, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called.’" Genesis 21:12

The seed would come through Isaac.

 Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob. So here again we have a dilemma as to the direction the Messiah’s genealogy would take.  Once again God does not leave any room for confusion.


"God said to him, ‘Your name is Jacob; you shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name...A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come forth from you...’" Genesis 35:9-12


The King of ALL kings would come through the line of Jacob!!

But Jacob has a rather large family. He had twelve sons who would become the twelve tribes of Israel. Now we have not just one or two possibilities for the line the Messiah will come through, but twelve! True to His character God makes sure we know where to follow the scarlet thread.



"Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father's sons shall bow down to you....The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples." Genesis 49:8-10.

The Messiah, Shiloh, will come through the line of Judah!

Now here is something awesome about the above verse. God declares the scepter will not depart from Judah until Shiloh comes. So imagine how horrified the Jews were in 6 AD when the Romans removed the scepter of government from Judah and Jerusalem. Rome placed governors over the Jews and took away their right to administer capital punishment. The Jews dressed themselves in sackcloth and ashes. They went into mourning. They believed the Word of God had been in error. They thought Shiloh had not yet come. Little did they know, He had been born in a stable just a few years before in a little town called Bethlehem. So true to His word, God had not allowed the scepter to depart until Shiloh had come. Thank you, Father, for the unfailing truth of Your word and Your promises to us.
One more thing.....the name Judah means "Praised".  
“Judah, your brothers shall PRAISE you….”

Advent Day 3 (Originally posted Christmas 2011)

Advent Foretold Day 3 - The seed,  promised in Genesis 3:15, would come from Abraham.

Genesis 12:3"....in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."
Genesis 22:18 "...in your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed."

God is revealing a bit more about His plan of the promised seed. He is making a big promise about the Messiah coming from Abraham.

God makes this promise, and then He has Abraham carry out what seems to be a strange act....until you examine it more closely. When Isaac is a young man God tells Abraham to take Isaac his son, his only son, whom he loves (sound familiar?), to the land of Moriah and make a sacrifice of him. God will reveal the exact mountain he is to go to when Abraham gets close. I am sure Abraham was taken aback, but Abraham had complete faith in God. He knew God had made a promise about the descendents of his son Isaac. He also knew God does not lie. So either God would prevent the act of sacrifice or raise Isaac from the dead. Either way Abraham knew his God was faithful to His word and all powerful. The problem of keeping Isaac alive was God's problem, not his.

When they reached the mountain three days later, Abraham laid the wood for the sacrifice across Isaac's shoulders. Isaac carried the wood up the mountain to the place he was to be sacrificed. Sound familiar? When Isaac asks where the "Lamb" for the burnt offering is, Abraham answered with this...."My son, God will provide HIMSELF a LAMB for the burnt offering..." Genesis 22:8 KJV
As we know when Abraham raises his arm with the knife, showing his complete and utter obedience, God stops him and provides a ram for the sacrifice.

God's purpose for this event was twofold. One was to ensure that Abraham would withhold nothing from Him in complete obedience. BUT the bigger picture here is God wanted us to have an example of a father willing to sacrifice his son out of love. Here is a detail of this event that thrills me. That mountain Isaac climbed with the wood across his back is the very same mountain that his descendent, our Lord and Savior, Messiah Jesus, would climb carrying the wood for his cross to become the ultimate sacrifice. It is the place where He would willingly provided HIMSELF as the LAMB to pay the penalty for our sins.

As we enjoy all the fun and festivities of this Christmas season, may we thank our Heavenly Father for the Ultimate CHRISTmas gift. May we keep the focus of this season on Him.

Advent Day 2 (Originally posted Christmas 2011)

Advent Day 2 - the first promise in the Bible is the promise of our Savior, Christ Jesus, crushing that old serpent, Satan.

Genesis 3:15 "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel."

How precious it is that the planned virgin birth of Jesus was announced at the very beginning....in the garden!!! How incredible it is that God did not leave us wondering what would happen after sin entered the world. He did not announce, "Game over!! Scrap the humans!" Even before he took Adam and Eve to task he made a promise to beat all promises!!! He promised to send His son Jesus to die for us. Satan may have "bruised" Jesus' heel with the crucifixion, but that was part of God's plan. Thank you, Father, for your Son. Thank you for loving us THAT much.

"For God so LOVED the world that He GAVE His only begotten Son that WHOSOEVER believes in Him SHOULD NOT PERISH, but have EVERLASTING LIFE." John 3:16
I love CHRISTmas!!!!!!

Advent Foretold Day 1

Advent Day 1… Why?

Why do we have a need for this Child Whose birth was foretold and Whose birth we celebrate every Christmas?  Why did this little One need to be born with the express purpose of dying? Why did He need to be a blood sacrifice for us?  To do any of these questions justice would take volumes, but here is my attempt at putting just a tiny scratch on the surface…

God made man in His image, and God made man with the purpose of being in a personal , loving relationship with Him. God loves us and has loved each one of us since before the foundation of the world. He longs for us to know Him, love Him, and experience His overwhelming love for us, but love is not something you take….it is something you give freely, otherwise it is not love.  When God created us, He created an environment where the choice would be ours to give that love or withhold that love. This is the domain He created for man to make that choice…earth. This is why He had to give Adam and Eve the choice with the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He had to give them the choice to obey or disobey. He did not create programmable robots. If He did, the relationship would be a lie, and God cannot and will not lie.

Now, do you think that for a moment God was surprised by the choice Adam and Eve made to disobey Him? Um…no.  He created them with free will and with minds of their own. He knew the journey man would embark on with that first sin. He knew all before He spoke the first word of Creation. He already had His plan locked and loaded for how He would bring about the possibility of our redemption. I say possibility because it is still with the same stipulation He had all along. We must choose to have a relationship with Him. It is our choice.  He is not going to force us to live in His presence for eternity. God is a gentleman through and through.

So, why a baby? Why a blood sacrifice? Now I am going to sound like a parent….because GOD said so!!

First of all, God is a holy God. God is pure, perfect,  just, and righteous. His holy nature is one that will not allow for sin to be accepted and in His presence. Picture oil and water, or light and darkness.  In order for sinful man to live eternally with a perfect, pure God we would need to be redeemed from our sins. The redemption for our sins would have to be given by someone perfect, holy…someone equal to God in purity and worth.  It would have to be given by One in Whom there was not even a hint of sin to be found. In other words….GOD.

Why a baby? Why a human being?

“Therefore just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people because all sinned…. Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people….so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Romans 5:12, 18, 21

First Corinthians 15:45 tells us, “So also it is written, ‘The first Man, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.”

To summarize, sin and death were ushered in by one man, the first Adam, but the defeat of sin and death would be ushered out by another Man, the last Adam. So, our perfect Creator God would become flesh, and enter into His creation as a helpless babe. He would become flesh so He could become the ULTIMATE GIFT to us. 

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In other words He came to save us from eternal death and damnation. He came as the atonement for our sins.

But why a blood sacrifice?

Leviticus 17:11 says, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make an atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.”  

When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, God had to shed the blood of an innocent animal to cover them.  Can you imagine the grief Adam and Eve must have felt watching one of the precious animals that had been placed in their charge have to be put to death because of their actions….their sin. When Cain tried to find his own way to make his sacrifice by a method other than the one God had ordained, it was rejected. God had established how sin was to be covered, and when Cain offered Him fruit, this was trying to find another way to become acceptable and in relationship with God. But we don’t get to choose the way to forgiveness. Our sovereign God has already declared how this is to be accomplished. Jesus said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father, but through Me.”  

Why a baby born in a manger? Why a blood sacrifice? It is God’s perfect plan for our redemption. It is His Ultimate Christ-mas gift to us for eternity. Merry Christmas!!