He is Almost Here!

Luke 2:15 NLV
At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.)  All returned to their own towns to register for this census.  And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David's ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiance, who was obviously pregnant by this time. 

I have been thinking much lately about the state of our national government, here in the United States. The power the leaders take to themselves, as the headiness of a spirit of control takes over their reasoning, is frightening.  But as I think of this passage in Luke, I am reminded that God is still in control.  He used a proud and arrogant emperor to bring fulfillment of biblical prophecy. 

Micah 5:2 NKJV
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting." 

Let us never forget, that God is working His purpose out.  Rejoice! In all things give thanks!

Pray with me: Father, thank You for reminding me that You are on the throne. You alone know the beginning from the end and You have already triumphed. Thank You that we are right now seated in heavenly places with You, because of what Jesus did for us. Tonight we await with great expectation, once again, the celebration of Jesus' birth. Glory Abba! Amen!

A Father's Day message for Advent!

Matthew 1:18-25 (NLT)

¹⁸Now this is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹Joseph, her fiance,

 being a just man, decided to break the engagement quietly, so as not to disgrace her publicly.

²⁰As he considered this, he fell asleep, and an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David," the angel said, "do not be afraid to go ahead with your marriage to Mary. For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit. ²¹And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus,  for he will save his people from their sins." ²²All of this happened to fulfill the Lord's message through his prophet:

²³ "Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and he will be called Immanuel 
(meaning, God is with us)."

²⁴When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord commanded. He brought Mary home to be his wife, ²⁵but she remained a virgin until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus. 

As I reflected on this passage, I got to wondering about Joseph. I doing a little research on the internet I came across the following sermon written for Father's Day. It was the best I ever read! So I am sharing it here instead of my usual musings. Enjoy! Click Here to Read Sermon

Advent: Are You Getting Ready?

Photo by Paula Muehlendorf 2012

Luke 1:67-79  (The Message)
(copied and pasted from www.studylight.org)

⁶⁷Then Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,

⁶⁸Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he came and set his people free.

⁶⁹He set the power of salvation in the center of our lives,
and in the very house of David his servant,

⁷⁰Just as he promised long ago
through the preaching of his holy prophets:

⁷¹Deliverance from our enemies
and every hateful hand;

⁷²Mercy to our fathers,
as he remembers to do what he said he'd do,

⁷³What he swore to our father Abraham--

⁷⁴a clean rescue from the enemy camp,
So we can worship him without a care in the world,

⁷⁵made holy before him as long as we live.

⁷⁶And you, my child, "Prophet of the Highest,"
will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways,

⁷⁷Present the offer of salvation to his people,
the forgiveness of their sins.

⁷⁸Through the heartfelt mercies of our God,
God's Sunrise will break in upon us,

⁷⁹Shining on those in the darkness,
those sitting in the shadow of death,
Then showing us the way, one foot at a time,
down the path of peace.

For the last nine months, Zachariah had been struck deaf and dumb.  There is no doubt in my mind, that as a priest of God's people, he spent the silent days on his face before God and scouring the holy scriptures.  I can imagine the electricity that must have shot through Zachariah as he read the prophecy in Malachi 3:1, and realized that which the angel Gabriel had told him about his son, was the fulfillment of that ancient prophecy!

Behold, I am sending My messenger, and He will clear the way before Me. And the Lord whom you are seeking shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Angel of the Covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He comes, says Jehovah of Hosts.  (Green's Literal Translation)

The world was getting ready to change forever! And his son was the forerunner!  I am getting Holy Ghost goose bumps and it wasn't even my kid!

My inspiration from this text today, is to bury myself in the Word and declare this prophecy over myself and my family and the Church! I want to have God's heartfelt mercy towards those who are still in darkness! I want to be one who prepares the way of salvation for those who do not know our blessed Savior, Jesus!  In the Greek the word for prepare is hetoimazo. This is the definition given in the Strong's version at studylight.org:

1. to make ready, prepare
   1. to make the necessary preparations, get everything ready
2. metaph.
   1. drawn from the oriental custom of sending on before kings on their journeys persons to level the roads and make them passable
   2. to prepare the minds of men to give the Messiah a fit reception and secure his blessings

I especially want to prepare the path, remove obstacles and help to ignite a desire in others to know our King! I want His leading, one foot at a time down that path of peace!

Pray with me: Father help to have the focus that Zachariah must have had during his time of chastening  I want to burn with a passion that draws those in darkness to You.  Teach me to worship with all my heart and soul and mind and strength.  Glory to You as the time of Your Son's appearing draws near!! In Jesus' name, amen!

Mary did You Know?

Advent: Is God a Gracious Giver?

Glory Orb during Worship in S. Africa at ACTS Church

Luke 1:57-66 (NKJ) 
57 Now Elizabeth's full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. ⁵⁸When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹ So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. ⁶⁰His mother answered and said, "No; he shall be called John." ⁶¹But they said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name." ⁶²So they made signs to his father--what he would have him called. ⁶³And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, "His name is John." So they all marveled. ⁶⁴Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. ⁶⁵Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, "What kind of child will this be?" And the hand of the Lord was with him.


Another meaning of the name John is Jehovah is a gracious giver.  I find it interesting that when Zacharias' tongue was loosed and he began to praise the Lord, that the people all around them began to fear.  The Greek word is Phobos and it means to strike terror, dread and awe.  There are times when we experience the reality and power of God in such a way, that it overwhelms us and shakes us to our very core.  He is real.  He is here. He is awesome in power.  In those moments we are undone.

Remember Peter's response to Jesus in Luke 5:8:
When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"  

The boat they had been out fishing in all night, with no fish for their labor, went out again at Jesus' word.  They almost sank the boat for all the fish they brought in.  When I was a younger Christian, I used to wonder at Peter's response.  I thought that I would have been jumping for joy!  But life has taught me how great the Lord is in His mercy and compassion towards me.  There are times when I cannot stand in joy, but have to get on my knees and weep because of His greatness.

Recently, Jack and I had the privilege of seeing the fear and awe of God come upon a young woman.  It was during a healing service in Mississippi.  Jack and I were demonstrating a way to pray for people with bad backs, hips scoliosis, etc.  This woman joined us to learn.  She was a dedicated Christian who had always been active in many programs in her church, things like caring for the poor, women's ministry, Bible study, etc. As it happened, the woman we were praying for had suffered with severe lower back pain for over 20 years due to her hips being twisted, and one leg being several inches shorter than the other.  We had the woman sit in a chair and Jack held her feet. Our new friend was standing next to Jack observing with interest.  As we prayed and spoke to the woman's skeletal system to line up with God's Word, her short leg suddenly shot out and her hips straightened out. The woman we were praying for exclaimed the pain was gone.  I looked at our prayer partner and she was white as if she had just seen a ghost! Tears were gathering in her eyes, she put her hands to her face and told us, " This can't be!  Oh my God! What have you all done to me!"  She just was terrified as she understood for the first time that God was really here with us; He was in us and had given us the power that Jesus had told us He did!  She continued to be overwhelmed as we then had her do the praying for another person who also was in severe back pain. This time the person was healed as she was the one holding the feet and praying. 

What really spoke to me about that experience was the young woman's face.  I will never forget how terrified she was as she realized that her faith in God was now an experience with God.  Too often, we walk in a level of faith that has nothing to do with the power of God. It is a mental assent to His truth. When He demonstrates His presence that overwhelming fear, dread and awe we feel changes our lives.  He is real! He is here!  He is awesome in power! He is a gracious giver!

Pray with me:  Father, how we thank You for Your awesome gifts!  Help us to ponder Your reality in our lives during this Advent season.  Help us to understand the magnitude of what You do for us when we accept the reality of the birth of Jesus.  Help us to know Your presence in us and with us as we follow Him. Forgive us Lord, when we do not believe You. Father, we love You. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.