God's Love for His Son - Israel (Hosea 11:1-11)

Even if you do not read the Blog entry below, please take 5 minutes to watch this video, and have a Very Merry and Blessed Christmas in the name of Immanuel.                  (GOD WITH US)

The Lord our God has patience far beyond our imagination! On this Christmas Day we are drenched in love for the Christ child and the beauty that accompanies the miraculous, healthy birth of a newborn baby; so innocent and dependent, yet strong and thriving with promise.

Jesus was sent to us however, as what I can’t help but see as a last resort. God’s grace love and forgiveness wasn’t enough for his people (Israel). He took extreme measures for the mercy of us all by sending Jesus to model how to live. How many more years will it take for us all to get it? What else could he possibly do?

In the Old Testament, Moses wrote Exodus as a lasting memorial of God’s goodness to the people of Israel. Verse 4:22; the Lord instructed Moses; then say to Pharaoh, “This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son…”

Hosea, one of “The Minor Prophets” of the Old Testament also wrote; “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more I called Israel, the further away he went from me.” Hosea 11:1-2

This reading in Hosea is also a prophesy about the world being no different then than it is today. Though the Lord took care of and healed his Israel, they did not realize it. He led them with kindness and ties of love, but they did not respond. They refuse to repent.

Though God would be angered, he would not carry out that anger; “For I am God, and not man-The Holy One among you. I will not come in wrath.” Hosea 1:9

We are Israel, and we still depend on “Immanuel.” God is truly with us here on earth because of Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection. Alleluia!

Read/Listen to Hosea 11:1-11

Love is the answer. What was the question?

I enjoy writing, the entire process of selecting a topic, doing research, thinking everything through and then starting. Flash writing is often the way I get started. Today, the topic of love has me stumped.

Love. We can't live with it, we can't live without it. We feel pain because we love, but then we feel pain when we don't love. We are devastated when love ends or when death claims a loved one.

1 Corinthians 13:4-5 (MSG) Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always "me first," Doesn't fly off the handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, Doesn't revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end.

Love can be more emotion than reality. It can feel painful and love can feel positive and right. But one thing is certain, the word is bantered about much too readily for it to be a simple process.

When I am feeling fearful and doubts begin to assail my mind, I turn to the Bible, trusting God to speak to me. He does. I spend hours questioning God about things of love. Because God is love, He has an answer to every plea.

During many of my sessions with God, I look back over my journal pages and am often stopped on days of significant note. Often these dates mark when love (of some sort) began; like April 7th my wedding date, or June 2nd the day my first child was born.

By the same token, there are dates noted when love ended (at least earthly love). October 23, May 13, March 28, February 18th mark days when love hurt. I am sure you have such dates on your calendar as well.

It takes diligence to accomplish many things in life worth achieving. Love is probably the most worthy goal; love of God and love for one another. Love keeps going to the end.

Read the 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 text

Matthew 1: 18-25 and 2:13-23

The Birth of Jesus

I have the privilege of working with an honorable man of God facilitating a youth group on Friday afternoons in our public school. We are blessed to be working within a district that values faith and allows us to gather in the name of God. We are also cautious and prayerful regarding our ability to continue this valuable ministry for our youth. I am a teacher and he is a counselor. Our group is called FROGS (Fully Rely On God). Friday we visited the scripture we address today.
Matthew 1:18-25 “The Birth of Jesus.”

It was very encouraging to hear the comments and questions of our young people, with a heart for God, and a yearning to understand this complicated world through scripture. Some of the young teens had a great deal of biblical background and others very little. Questions were posed by young hearts eager to understand, and their classmates jumped in to respond with passion for scripture and wisdom beyond their years….so cool!

“So why did God send his son here? If God can do anything why didn't he just fix things instead of going through all that with Mary and Joseph and everything?” asked one newcomer. A confident 8^th grade young man couldn't hold back blurting out; “He came to save us all from our sins!” A great deal of conversation ensued from there, and we sat back with confidence, observing the teens go back and forth.

Every year it is different. We do not always have students so well versed and confident in scripture they can share with their peers in such a comfortable manner, but when they can, it is a beautiful thing because teens appeal to each other more effectively than we can as adults, and in turn make a difference out there in the hallways, lunch rooms, and classrooms.

We must continue to teach our youth the realities of then and now. Mary was a teen herself. It is never too early to share the truth of Jesus’ time here as being much, much more than simply a reason to celebrate Christmas. That baby in the manger has such significance it is impossible to put into words… but we must continue to try. The evening in the stable was merely the beginning of “The greatest story on earth” and it affects the heart and soul of each one of us.

Thank you Lord for Mary, and for youth everywhere. They are the future of this world and the world to come..... with YOU.

Read/Listen to Matthew 1:18-25 

                        Matthew 2:13-23

Psalm 72:10; Matthew 2:1,11

When my first grandchild was born, many wanted to come and visit, to hold him and coo over the long awaited precious bundle.  They wanted to bring gifts and bless the family with love.  Just think, if this is how we feel when someone close to us has a child, how much greater would it have been for those who knew that The King of Salvation was born. 

At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God's praises:  Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him. (Luke 2:13-14)

  

Even without the benefit of email, Facebook or Twitter, word spread quickly and to distant lands as well.  Jesus' birth was proclaimed by an Angel.  Shepherds, witnessing the angel, went to Bethlehem to see what was going on.  They when they left they spread the word too.  Perhaps these lowly shepherds can be considered among the first evangelism team.

While it is never easy, Christmas must be one of the easier times of year to tell the Good News.  People, whether Believers or not, acknowledge Christmas as a special time.  Many people will attend church on this holiday when they might not any other day.  What an opportunity to show off the new baby; to tell everyone His name and to share just a little bit of family history.  

"They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh." (Matthew 2:11 MSG)

Read the texts here.

Luke 1: 26-38 The First Christmas Mother

"The Birth of Jesus Foretold" is the name of this section in my bible. Chills surged throughout my body as I read again, of this incredible moment in Mary's life when Angel Gabriel was sent to Nazareth with the most important message of all time! "Do not be afraid. Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High......." Can you imagine?!

As a mother, I have been on my knees many times thanking God for the undeserved blessings of my children. Words cannot express the incredible gift that dwells within that tiny being when born, or the deep, deep love that walks down the aisle with them, arm in arm on their wedding day. It is an intense love that only a mother can know. Thank you once again my God, for giving me the opportunity to serve you through motherhood. I am honored.

We experience joy, strife, happiness, uncertainty, great excitement and even greater pain when raising children. The intensity of those emotions while being a mother to the Son of God must have been overwhelming to say the least. I can see Mary overflowing with pride when Jesus healed, fed the masses, and gently carried out the Lord's plan to save the world. I can only imagine the anguish and total misery her heart ached with, as he carried that cross. Even when we know that in the long run things will be better because of an experience our children have, it still hurts us incredibly to see them suffer. Praise God for the gift of our sons and Daughters, and for the best Christmas present of all, Jesus, the son of Mary.
Jesus the Son of God!