verseoftheday

But if she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering... Leviticus 12:8 NIV Not the most popular Christmas Day verse. Luke 2 tells us that when Jesus parents took him to the temple, they didn't have a lamb. They had a pair of birds. They had the offering that the poor took. Christmas has become about buying and consuming, almost an exercise of power. If I can't give you the lamb, if my gift isn't goid enough, I'm not good enough. There's that word again. Shame. In His divinity he left the glories of heaven for the broken reality of what his world had become. Humbled In his humanity he joined a poor family in a colonised country and became a refugee. He came as a baby, in a small, vulnerable package. Dependent on his creation. Adopted. Most people in the world won't get to enjoy Christmas Day like I will. I can't save the world. God's plan to do that came...

After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. "The Lord has done this for me", she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people." Luke 1:24-25 NIV Here at the beginning of the Christmas story we have one of the great hidden themes of the Bible. Something we all share with Elizabeth. Shame. Here's the first inkling of what God is up to. He's stepping into the story in the most unexpected way, making Himself small, powerless, so that He can take our shame. Take our disgrace. And overwhelm it with His Grace. The world would have us think that some tinsel & fairy lights will fix everything. They're nice, but they won't. Liz knew that God was at work to remove her shame. He took ours as He was nailed to the Cross. Yes the tinsel is nice. But the real Christmas story has a much bigger purpose, to open the way for a Saviour, a Rescuer, a Redeemer. #chris...

Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.  ...But the angel said to him: Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Luke 1:6-7, 13NIV Faithful. Old. Suffering. Heard Not words we usually associate with Christmas. Zach & Liz were old. They'd spent their lives serving God, doing what was right and good. And they were suffering. Children were a sign of Gods blessing and important in the culture. And they had none. They were second class. Looked down on. Them When everyone else is successful, they were not. Not. Yet they remained faith full. They served God And their prayers were heard. Heard Even when we don't think God hears us, this Christmas story tells us something different. God does hear our prayers. Zach & Liz chose to remain faith full for decades even when God didn...

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John." Luke 1:11-13NIV Angels! Fear! Zach was a priest & in church & this was clearly not an everyday occurrence for him to be terrified. Christmas is a time of craziness but this was something literally out of this world! What's the Angel's message? Don't be afraid. Where am I gripped by fear? Fear of what others think? Fear that I don't measure up? The angel knew of his fear and knew his situation. And knew his name. Our fears, our situations are known. Our God knows. For decades Zach had been praying about this. Was God really listening? Was He really there? In a moment of spectacular supernatural goodness Zach knew. And w...