The (Sometimes) Uncomfortable Work Of Faith

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” Matthew 2:13

They had a house to stay in, perhaps rented, and the gifts from the east had been given. Joseph may have settled into his new business with jobs lined up or a timeclock to punch at his employer's place. They were settling into Bethlehem, and what better place for the Son of God, child of David, and future King of Israel? Well there could be the force of prophecy at work in the land and their new baby had a LOT of prophecies working on His young life. Well this latest visit from the angel of dreams brought what a young family dreads - an uncomfortable flight in the dead of night, leaving without saying 'goodbye', the terror of getting caught and killed by the armies of the evil king, and oh, moving to a new place in a foreign nation. If all that doesn't test the faith of a young man and his bride, I'm not sure that anything will.

The testing of faith may be uncomfortable for us, maybe even terrifying, but fear not, the Lord is always with us!

Bucky

Great Joy

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.  Matthew 2:10

The wise men from the east had made it to Jerusalem, and were from there directed to Bethlehem by Herod. This may explain one reason they were called wise, them being one of the very few groups of travelling men to stop and ask for directions. The star they had seen in their homeland had apparently given only a sort of over-this-way sort of direction to get them on the road. One might ask why the star didn't direct them around Jerusalem and so avoid stirring up Herod, but that would be to forget about prophecy. The stop in Jerusalem set fulfillment of prophecies in motion, and then as they were leaving the star appeared to the wise men once more and they rejoiced. The purpose in Jerusalem accomplished, the star then leads them directly to the house where Jesus and His mother are staying. 

When they saw the star again, the wise men rejoiced with great joy, but when they saw the newborn King, they fell down and worshiped. Oh yes! God's Son has come down!

Bucky 

Waiting For Him

And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Luke 2:25-26

We are waiting for Him, and so too was Simeon, but the scripture does not say how long this man waited for the Lord's Christ. Many generations have waited for the return of our Lord Jesus, and yet He has not returned. We think it would be an easier wait if, like Simeon, we knew it would be within a man's lifespan. What a fine joke it would be if the Lord kept that one waiting person alive for oh, fifteen hundred years or so. At present, there is no temple in Jerusalem for the person to wait in, but those final years could begin at any moment. Without a scripture telling us, we have no idea how long Simeon waited. And, without a day, hour, month and year, we have no idea how long until Jesus returns. All we have is that Simeon waited, and that is our task as well, just to wait on Him.

I hope you had a grand Christmas this year. And now, we can wait for the next one!

Bucky

The First Message: Do Not Be Afraid

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10-11

A strange thing had come to the shepherds that night near Bethlehem and they needed some calming words to still the fear that had come over them. Look, the angel said to them, it is good tidings of great joy. For the shepherds it was a simple fear - angels did not normally appear to them suddenly in the darkness. It was a mercy that just one appeared at first, because the heavenly host came just as suddenly and they had a message too. Without that first one to ease their fear, those shepherds might have taken flight before the message could be delivered. Strange, unusual, uncanny even? Absolutely, but this was and is the most unusual birth in all of history. And yet, the baby to be named Jesus also came into the world in the usual way. When the shepherds arrived to see the child, they may have wondered who could be afraid of the little baby. And yet, the powers of darkness called for child sacrifice before that birth and they have desired it since that time, so they must be afraid of something to come from the birth of a child. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world has been born in Bethlehem! Such tidings of gladness and joy for us and those shepherds.

Have a Merry Christmas Day in Christ our Lord!

Bucky

It's Close!

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
Glory to God in the highest,
​​And on earth peace, goodwill toward men! -- Luke 2:13-14

The holy day is close, but should we celebrate it? Before we all jump to "Of course we should!", let's check the scriptures. In our verses for today, it seems the angels thought so as a multitude of the heavenly host gathers to celebrate the birth of Jesus. In a few moments the shepherds who stood sorely afraid will think so too as they visit the divine birthplace. That's one powerful heavenly recommendation, and one rather mundane earthly one. Whether you feel powerful and heavenly this morning, or more along the lines of those shepherds, the answer would seem to be a hearty, "Yes! Let's celebrate the birth of the Christ child!"

So, may you all have a very, merry Christmas!

Bucky

Save The Innkeeper!

So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.  Luke 2:6-7

The season of the celebration of our Lord's birth has come this year, and as usual I get to save the innkeeper. Often I and many other writers and preachers do this by pointing out that the scriptures do not say that there was one. However, for those who like to add a greedy innkeeper to the story, there certainly could have been one. The opportunities available to the residents of Bethlehem when that decree went out from Rome may well have allowed a man of a certain, shall we say, business sense, to seek a position as keeper of the guesthouse or inn in order to fleece the tourists coming back to register. This same man may have gone on to a lucrative career as a tax collector in the following years.  It is possible that no room at the inn may have been due to Joseph and Mary not being able to pay quite as much as other guests in town. Of course debating whether there could have been an innkeeper takes away from the important part of the scripture: God came down and was born in Bethlehem. 

And there in the verses is that cute little baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. 

Have a sweet and happy Christmas in Christ our Lord!

Bucky

The Son Is Conceived

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.  Luke 1:34-35

This did not happen in the usual way, as Mary indicates by her question. Which could tend to make one a bit curious as to the means and methods employed in the accomplishment of the task at hand. However, this idle curiosity may never be satisfied. Ya know, a little privacy for the Holy Spirit and the young lady, please! 

When it comes to matters of faith, we don't always get to know how the thing is or was done. A man was born with eyes that did not provide sight. Jesus gave the man sight without transplants or surgeries or anything that we can see in the Bible. In another case there was spit and mud involved in the sight restoration. Imagine the shock and outrage if an eye doctor tried that method later today! And yet in both cases we do not know the mechanism or means by which our Lord's healing worked. The holy mud? That I believe was not needed by Jesus, but as a little boost to the blind man's faith. Sort of like the little assurance Mary needed as Gabriel told her, the Lord will take care of it. 

Faith, it's what makes a believer out of us!

Bucky

The Place, But What Day?

But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
​​Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
​​For out of you shall come a Ruler
​​Who will shepherd My people Israel.
  -- Matthew 2:6 from Micah 5:2

Hundreds of years before Christ was born, the place was named by the prophet. Our Lord Jesus has a great many prophecies about Him, His birth, and even His return. That alone serves to remind me that there is something special about this man who was born in Bethlehem.

So, we have the place, but about that 'when'? Yes, there does seem to be something rather more special about that time and date. There is doubt that He was born on December the 25th, and it may be that He was not even born in 1 A.D. It seems that the when is something held extra special to the Lord God. We see that in the day and hour of our Lord's return, since no one knows that but the Father in Heaven, not even the Son.

In some things, we just keep our faith in Jesus!

Bucky

Everyone To Your City

And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.  Luke 2:1-3

Everyone to your own city, get back there, let's go! For a Friday, imagine a world ruler sending out the decree today, that everyone must go back to their own city to be registered. Try to imagine billions of people griping about doing it online instead. The next verse would throw even more confusion into the works, as Joseph went up to the city of his lineage. City of my lineage? According to the powers that be, a whole lot of us over here, come from this place over there, and we're pretty sure they don't want us back there, so...help! Even comparing it to our time, we can see that this decree would cause a huge inconvenience to everyone. As our Lord's time to be born arrived, even the Son of God had to be born in a stable because of that decree from far away in Rome. 

A world ruler, Ha! Try to imagine that happening anytime soon. Like a great many Bible prophecies though, it will take dern near forever to arrive and yet arrive faster than anyone thinks possible. How does He do it?

Merry Christmas!

Bucky

O Bethlehem!

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Luke 2:8

Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem because they were of the lineage of David. The shepherds were in the field keeping watch over their flock. About a thousand years ago in time from that night in Bethlehem, David was in the field keeping watch over the flock when Samuel arrived to anoint the new king of Israel. Jesus, the child born that night in Bethlehem is the Good Shepherd. If I sat down to write a book and made up stuff like this, it would be dismissed as too far-fetched for even a suspension of disbelief. And yet the question marches before you, will you believe in the Son of God?

Rejoice, for unto us a Child is born!

Bucky

It's 3:00 AM, Wife!

Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS. Matthew 1:24-25

Up to this point, Joseph had been thinking a quiet divorce would fit the bill for Mary's sake. However, he has the first of his angel dreams and it comes with a command. We might assume that ol' Joe waited for the dawn, but the scripture says that he was aroused from sleep - could just as well have been earlier. Of course it may have been tough to find her room as Joseph didn't even know her at the time. Yeah, we're not that slow. Imagine Mary being awakened by her betrothed in the dark of the night by a shout at the window, "It's 3:00 am, wife!" However it happened, the Lord worked it out between the mother of His Son and her husband.

I wonder if those angel dreams of Joseph's were precipitated by Mary's dad dismissing his future son in law as a 'dreamer'...

Love to you this Christmas season!

Bucky

Too Unbelievable?

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”  Matthew 1:23

This one prophecy trips up many a person, including Mary when her time arrived. Centuries before the blessed event, the prophet Isaiah passes along this word from the Lord. And it begins with the part that tripped up Mary, virgin + conception = eh? She had likely been taught about the birds and the bees, as we used to say, and one of them was missing. The angel Gabriel then assures Mary that it is possible for the Lord. Next, those hundreds of years before even Mary and Joseph were born, God called it a male child. While this one might seem easier with a 50/50 chance, how many of us can even tell if our family will be around in a few centuries? And then comes that name we do not use often enough, Immanuel. The name that Gabriel appeared to refute when he told Mary to name the kid, Jesus. We know now that the 'they' was not the parents, but those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God, or God in the form of a man, truly God With Us - Immanuel. 

So unbelievable, or at least unbelievable without help, and we too would be among those unbelievers without the help of our Lord's dear Spirit. Blessed be the name of Jesus who is Immanuel. 

Bucky

Pondering Things

But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1:20

The leap to the angel part of this verse is quite understandable. But for a few moments this morning, let's think about Joseph's thinking. One thing we can notice right away is that Joseph didn't take the Hollywood route of immediate, blowing up, self-righteous anger. Joseph also thought his decision was already made in the previous verse, and that he would quietly put her away. "What?!" the movie exec shouts, "there's no movie in quietly! We need emotional outrage and fireworks!" Well, not everyone is like those shouting, overemoting actors we are presented with these days. Joseph was doing as all might want to do a bit more of these days, he was pondering things. An emotional explosion over things isn't the only way to live life, in spite of how popular that seems to be in the social media of our age.

So, Joseph finished pondering things and got on with his plan... heh, heh, until the plan was changed for him!

Do not be afraid, you and I may have our plans changed by the Lord today too!

Bucky

An Unbelievable Birth

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. Luke 1:26-27

We could list the many things odd, different, and unusual about our Lord's birth and family, but you have seen those already. It may be that the Lord made sure His birth was unusual enough to comfort all those in the coming ages whose birth or raising did not fit the usual or ideal pattern of their culture. But nothing is quite so unbelievable as an angel walking in to say, 'Hey virgin, you will be pregnant in the morning by the power of God's Spirit! Congrats.' Uh, huh, the first thing to do is go and tell Dad, because surely that prophecy from Isaiah will be the first thing he thinks of when he hears the news, right? We know that Joseph, the betrothed, did not believe Mary right away, as he prepared to quietly end the engagement. Was all of Nazareth then waiting to see who the kid would look like and wagging their tongues with guesses? Actually, that would be kind of normal.

The method of our Lord's birth is so unbelievable that only faith can bring us to believe it. And faith is the domain of the Lord's Spirit. Hmm, it seems that Mary and all who believe know the work of the Holy Spirit inside of us!

Love to you by the unusual faith we hold in Christ Jesus!

Bucky

Christmas Breadcrumbs

So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations. Matthew 1:17

Interesting, but just how important is this symmetry of generations really? Well, it delighted Matthew after he wrote down this long list of generations going back to Abraham, and that gives us a breadcrumb along Matthew's trail to follow to the man. As we read the Christmas story and pass along the bits that delight us, we too leave a trail of Christmas breadcrumbs telling something of ourselves. You may have noticed that I like to pass along the awesome surprise of those shepherds watching their flock by night. "See, it's good news, Avi, quit shaking and let's go to Bethlehem!" Yes, I like that something capable of inducing such fear brings only good news, happy news, and long awaited tidings to those serving in a most humble occupation. The pretty celebrities and swell royals of the time probably had little or nothing to do with those shepherds. God sent His messengers out to the field though and not to the palaces of the land to announce the birth of His Son. And at this time from a distant land, some observant wise guys are on the way to see the newborn King too!

Have a happy Christmas!

Bucky

A Christmas Job

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  Luke 2:8

We work jobs to pay for the cost of living. Sometimes the cost of living runs a little wild and gets out of the control of those we elect hoping they will make it a little better for us. We gripe and moan a bit, and those shepherds out in the field likely had similar conversations in their day. We are about 3 weeks from Christmas Day, and by now you probably know whether you have one of those Christmas jobs; the ones where a person must work through the holiday. The shepherds had just such a job, but they didn't know it in this verse. This is one of those setting verses that get us going as we know that the knowledge of their Christmas job is about to be announced to them in a spectacular way. So spectacular is the announcement that these shepherds will find themselves sorely afraid. But the news is nothing but the good news of our Lord's arrival! 

The good news of Jesus Christ may come as a shock to someone, but announce it anyway!

Bucky

Just Standing There

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.  Luke 1:11

Each Christmas season I come upon this passage of scripture and try to imagine the expression on Zacharias' face in that critical moment. It surely must have been priceless. In the usual Biblical understatement, the next verse says that he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. If angels told tales as we do, the statement might be more like, "Dude, you should have seen your face!" But perhaps angels do not understand that sort of humor we have. Instead, the angel had an equally startling message for that old and shaken priest, it was baby time! Zacharias reaches down and picks up his priest hat for the second time in as many minutes. 

Angels and old folks having a special child, the Christmas story is filled with startling moments to gain our attention. Some use that as an excuse to call it a myth, others... we just believe and rejoice! 

Have a faithful Christmas season!

Bucky