verseoftheday

Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. [37] Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. [38] She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem. Luke 2:36-38 NLT We don't have anyone live at my church (maybe we should?).  But I wonder how Anna would describe her life? Would she say her life is defined by loss, sorrow? Or by service and dedication, a life that contains suffering and loss? What we do know is that she recognised something important was going on with Jesus - the Rescuer she had been waiting for was here. By our standards we might judge Anna's life as a bit of a waste - yet he...

At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel.  The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Messiah. That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there. Luke 2:25-28 NLT Here was Simeon, devout, dedicated, and listening to the Holy Spirit, waiting for Jesus. And because Simeon was listening and moving with the Spirit, he was there. In the temple. When Jesus turned up. Because Jesus parents were following the law. The intersection of the law, the Spirit, listening, obedience, following, moving, and the redemptive threads can be followed... Perhaps today we are being asked to be devout, obedient, to do what is right. Perhaps the Spirit is prompting us to wait, to stop, to move, to reach out, to connect with someone, to be somew...

Luke 2:22-24 NLT [22] Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.  The law of the Lord says, "If a womans first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the Lord." So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord - "either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons." Luke 2:22-24 NLT Kind of crazy to think that Jesus is taken to the temple and His life is dedicated to God by his parents... Leviticus 12 contains the "law" referred to here, and it requires a lamb as the sacrifice.  Unless you can't afford one. Then a couple of small birds are OK. Joseph and Mary have followed the practices required of them, even tho they had to walk 2.5 hours to Jerusalem, even tho they were poor, even tho they were figuring out this parenting thing, even tho the child they were holding was the Messiah, the lamb of God, and they...

Sunday Psalms: Mary responded, "Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,  and from now on all generations will call me blessed. For the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me.  He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him.  His mighty arm has done tremendous things!  He has scattered the proud and haughty ones. He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands. He has helped his servant Israel and remembered to be merciful. For he made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever." Luke 1:46-55 NLT This is Mary's response to the blessing she received from Elizabeth which ended with "you are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what He said." Mary's response starts with acceptance and thanks. She connects h...

Luke 2:20 NLT [20] The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them. Luke 2:20 NLT What do you notice in verse 20? Can you see the excited shepherds praising God? Can you hear them going over the details that the Angel had told them and what they saw and experienced? Did you notice that after this massive spiritual, physical, and emotional experience they had just shared, they went back to work. Back to the ordinary. Back to the everyday. And our God is no less there in the everyday.  While the curtain between heaven and earth had been pulled back to let the angels thru announcing Jesus' arrival, he was also just another baby born that day, in a very ordinary village, and the witnesses went back to their very ordinary work. But something had shifted. God is now with us in a different way. The author of the story has entered in to the story, written himself in. Just as the shepherds ordinary ...

Luke 2:16-19 NLT They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.  After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds' story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.  Luke 2:16-19 NLT The shepherds who were working the night shift went and told anyone and everyone about what they experienced. Mary kept things to herself. Sometimes we need to find that place of expression, excitement, passion, & action, especially when we're with others like the shepherds were. And sometimes we need some solitude, quiet, contemplation, mulling things over.  And that's OK. When our world, a parent, pastor, church, tell us we should be more like the shepherds when we can rest in knowing that Mary was accepted for being quiet and reflective.  Sometimes we may need to step out of our comfort ...

Luke 2:1-7 NLT 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 ancestral 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, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.  And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. Luke 2:1-7 NLT Just another imposition put on a people group who were seen as "less than". The Romans wanted to count them, so made them go back to a place of origin. Just another couple expecting a baby. Just another ordinary story of lack of choice...