A PERPLEXING PROMISE

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a Son, and you are to call Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; His kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”

Luke 1:26-37

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and will call him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14

The words of the prophet Isaiah had been documented and a part of the Old Testament scriptures for 700 years before the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, a Nazarene virgin girl who was betrothed “to a man named Joseph” who was a “descendant of David”, Israel’s famous and beloved king.

Gabriel had been a busy angel for the Lord as we know he had appeared to the priest Zechariah in the temple, announcing that he and his wife Elizabeth would bear a son despite being well beyond the years of child bearing. As our scripture passage opens today, we see that Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy when Gabriel goes to Mary and proclaims:

“Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Now it’s believed that the population of Nazareth during the time of Jesus was approximately about 400 people. Comparing this with Jerusalem, where it’s estimated 40,000 people live, and you can see that Joseph and Mary lived in a very small community, one where a person wouldn’t necessarily expect an angel to visit.

And yet, on this day, Gabriel did come to visit Mary who was understandably “troubled at his words” and “wondering what kind of greeting” she was receiving.

Why was she so “highly favored” that the Lord would be with her?

Who was she and what could she possibly have done to earn such an honor?  

Was this really happening or am I simply dreaming?

These questions and more could have been racing through Mary’s mind, a mind that Gabriel worked to calm when he said the following, explaining why he had come and what was going to take place:

“Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a Son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; His kingdom will never end.”

It was a promise, a promise coming from the God Most High who had found favor with Mary, so much so that He had chosen her to bear His one and only Son. Gabriel gave Mary answers to some of the questions racing through her thoughts. He addressed the following:

1. The “what” would happen.

“You will conceive and give birth to a Son, and you are to call Him Jesus.”

and the

2. The “why” it would happen.

“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; His kingdom will never end.”

The “You will” in Gabriel’s proclamation tells us there is no doubt that God would do what He said He would do. He was delivering a promise and He never fails to fulfill His promises. Mary WOULD conceive, WOULD give birth to a Son, and WOULD call Him Jesus.

Everything would happen just as God promised it would happen for “no word from God” had ever failed nor will it ever fail.

Do we believe this today? Do we place our full trust in every promise God has made us, fully buying into all His blessed assurances found in the scriptures?

Maybe we, like Mary, can find ourselves perplexed by a promise from God, knowing the “what” and “why” but still yearning to know the “how”. For as we go back to our passage for today, we find Mary ask Gabriel the “how” question. After all, she was engaged to be married to Joseph and the law prohibited sexual relations before the marriage was consummated. So how exactly will she become pregnant and give birth to a son when she is a virgin with no plans to lay with Joseph until their honeymoon?

Gabriel has the answer, one that shows us that God often answers our how question by asking us to trust Him and His supernatural power to make things happen. The angel tells Mary:

“The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”

While Elizabeth’s conception had occurred naturally from her sexual relations with Zechariah, Mary’s birth would be far from conventional. For she would be overshadowed and impregnated by the Holy Spirit meaning that Jesus’ birth was nothing short of miraculous as it was the only birth in the scriptures not of human production. A holy, divine Son who would be called the very Son of God needed a holy, divine conception and construction, and that’s just what God would do inside the womb of Mary.

Of interest, we find Gabriel inform Mary that her relative Elizabeth was currently pregnant and through two trimesters already. This news would have been unknown to Mary but she would have well known how old Elizabeth was so as she heard the prediction about her own future and amazing pregnancy, she could be assured of the truth that there was truly nothing impossible when God was involved.

Friends, today we may know the promises of God but aren’t sure of how He will make them work out within our own circumstances. I pray that through the two incredible accounts of Elizabeth and Mary that we will refuse to allow our faith to every waver and remain steadfast in trusting that God will always carry out everything He says He will do, in His perfect time and in His perfect way.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

WHEN THE LORD BLESSES

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

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

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever experienced a blessing from the Lord?

I know I have, many times over and I am so grateful for all His many expressions of goodness and provision. They have brought great joy into my life.

Maybe you can relate.

As we see in today’s short passage from the Gospel of Luke, we find Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, in the midst of experiencing an amazing, miraculous blessing from God, one foretold by the angel Gabriel to Zechariah as he was fulfilling his priestly duties in the temple.

You’ll recall that Gabriel informed Zechariah that he and Elizabeth would have a son, even though they were old and well past conventional child bearing years. It was great news, news that Zechariah should have received with joy through faith in a God who never breaks a promise.

But that’s not happened, right?

Zechariah failed to believe that he and Elizabeth could do anything that would lead to her conceiving and because he doubted, Gabriel snatched away his ability to speak. Imagine how this played out when Zechariah returned home to his wife. We don’t know how that went but I imagine the priest communicated in some way regarding what had happened. The scriptures pick up after the Gabriel encounter with Elizabeth indeed becoming pregnant. Look again at these words here:

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

To be an Israelite woman and childless in biblical days often brought on the perception that the woman (or her husband or both) had sinned and thus the Lord’s judgment was upon them, his punishment grounded in a restriction on bearing offspring. It was a perception that led to feelings of “disgrace among the people”, something we know Elizabeth was experiencing by her own confession.

Now pregnant, Elizabeth was experiencing the fullest measure of God’s blessing to her and Zechariah who would now have a son to carry on his name into at least the next generation. In direct contrast to when a woman was childless, Elizabeth’s pregnancy, especially in the latter stages of her life, would have been viewed as her being in great favor with God and indeed this is how she saw what God had done for her. Through her conception, God was showing His favor to her and Zechariah.

It’s interesting to me that Elizabeth stayed secluded for the first five months of her pregnancy.

Why?

Because she was waiting for the Lord’s timing to reveal the miracle He had instigated. It was His place to reveal the blessing He had bestowed upon Elizabeth and Zechariah, and we will see this play out over the next several messages as a virgin named Mary enters the Christmas story and receives her own miraculous blessing after an encounter with Gabriel, an encounter where she will learn how God had chosen her to bear His Son Jesus, the Messiah, and fulfill the prophecies of old.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE PERIL FOUND IN DOUBT

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”

Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was He who sent me to bring you this good news! But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”

Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long. When he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary.

When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home.

Luke 1:18-23 NLT

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As we read through the Gospels and follow the ministry of Jesus, one of the constant things we find Him commending or rebuking people for was on their faith.

When people were healed miraculously, over and over we find Jesus proclaiming that it was their faith that healed them. Here are a few of these instances:

1. The woman with a bleeding affliction.

Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, “If I only touch His cloak, I will be healed.”

Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” He said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment. Matthew 9:20-22

2. The Caananite woman whose daughter was demon-possessed.

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”

Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came to Him and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

The woman came and knelt before Him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment. Matthew 15:21-28

3. The blind man on the Jericho roadside.

As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”

He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.

Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.”

Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God. Luke 18:35-43

Note that in all these instances, those needing help believed that Jesus could heal them in the accounts of the Caananite woman and the blind beggar, we see where persistent and persevering faith is critical. For the Lord doesn’t always immediately respond to our needs as sometimes He is trying to test the fortitude of our faith, ever seeking to help us strengthen our trust and belief in Him.

So what can shipwreck our faith and lead us to lose hope in the midst of life’s circumstances?

As we see in today’s passage, there is great peril found in doubt. Look again at our scripture for today as we continue to look at the encounter between Zechariah and Gabriel, the angel sent by the Lord:

Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”

Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was He who sent me to bring you this good news! But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”

Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long. When he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary.

When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home.

Luke 1:18-23 NLT

You’ll remember from yesterday’s message that Zechariah’s priest division was at their appointed time for temple duty and Zechariah had been chosen by lot to enter the temple and burn incense at the altar. The scriptures tell us that “all the assembled worshipers” were praying outside the temple as he did this.

As he was burning the incense, Gabriel suddenly appeared with a message from the Lord. Although advanced in age and childless, Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, would become pregnant and give birth to a son who would be named John. This son would “be a joy and delight” to his parents, “be great in the sight of the Lord”, “be filled with the Holy Spirit”, and “bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God” as he would “go on before the Lord...to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous” all the while making “ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Vv. 14-17).

It was an amazing proclamation, one that defied logic and convention but then again, it was coming from the Lord Himself, the One through which all things are possible. Unfortunately, Zechariah’s faith waned and showed us how doubting the Lord can have dire consequences. The priest erred when he said this:

“How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”

On the surface, it seemed like a reasonable question, at least for someone who might use human reason. But Zechariah was a priest in the line of Aaron and only someone in that line could hold the great privilege and responsibility to present offerings to God to atone for the sins of the people. Prior to this faith faux pas in the temple, the scriptures tell us that Zechariah was “righteous in the sight of God”. one who carefully observed “all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly”. That was his spiritual reputation and yet he allowed a moment of weakness and doubt override his trust that God could and would do what He promised.

Consequences ensued thereafter.

Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was He who sent me to bring you this good news! But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”

God expected the moment to be one of great joy as Zechariah learned that he would soon have a son, one who be greatly esteemed as he carried on the family name. But Zechariah allowed his disbelief to ruin the moment and the faithless question he asked would be the last that he would speak for some time. More on that in tomorrow’s message as the words of the angel become fulfilled.

Friends, we need to learn from the mistake of Zechariah and squelch any impulse to doubt the Lord when it begins to bubble up in our minds. We could also throw in Peter, as he started to walk on the water toward Jesus (Matthew 14:22-34), and Thomas, who failed to believe Jesus was really resurrected (John 20:24-29), in the mix. Both were rebuked by Jesus for losing faith and doubting.

In the end translation, the Bible offers us too many assurances that our Lord can and will do anything He promises and so do perfectly. He and He alone possesses the power to make the improbable probable and the impossible possible.

Today and every day, we serve a God who can do all things, despite the odds involved. All we need to do is believe.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

A CHILD WHO WOULD PREPARE THE WAY FOR JESUS

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In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

In the time of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 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.

Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

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. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Luke 1:5-17

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Over the past ten messages, we have looked at Old Testament scriptures where God spoke through His prophets to foretell the coming birth of His Son Jesus, the One who would be the Messiah of His people.

These prophecies told of a virgin who would give birth to a Son who would be King and would be named Immanuel, meaning “God with us” (Jeremiah 25:5-6, Isaiah 7:14), but before that birth came, another would happen first, one with its own miraculous and divine nature. Look at these words from the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel:

In the time of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 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.

Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

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. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”  Luke 1:5-17

Going back to the prophet Isaiah, we find God also foretelling this coming birth of the man who would prepare a way for the Lord Jesus and His ministry:

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 40:1-5

A child would soon be born who would precede the coming Messiah and announce His arrival, just as someone famous would receive a formal introduction. As we see in the scriptures, his name would be John and he would reside in the wilderness, waiting to fulfill the purpose he was born for. Indeed, we see this purpose come to fruition in the first chapter of the Gospel that ironically bears his name even though he was not the author.

Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”

They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”

Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands One you do not know. He is the One who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the One I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’ I myself did not know Him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that He might be revealed to Israel.”

Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from Heaven as a dove and remain on Him. And I myself did not know Him, but the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The Man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the One who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.” John 1:19-34

So what made John’s conception divine?

We go back to our passage from Luke where an Israelite priest by the name of Zechariah was in the temple and burning incense according to the custom of the priesthood after being “chosen by lot” (random selection like rolling the dice) when his division, Abijah, was on duty.

We know the events of that day happened during the reign of King Herod and Zechariah was a married man. His wife, Elizabeth, was also a descendant in the priestly line of Moses’ brother, Aaron. The scriptures tell is that the couple was childless because they were both “very old” but they had a wonderful relationship with the Lord, living righteous in His sight as they blamelessly observed “all the Lord’s commands and decrees”.

As Zechariah was burning the incense at the altar within the temple, he was alone in the presence of God, that is until “an angel of the Lord appeared to him”, a supernatural happening that left the priest “startled and gripped with fear”.  

The angel, Gabriel (v.19), quickly moved to calm Zechariah’s fright before announcing God’s intent to answer the prayers that he and Elizabeth had lifted up, prayers that they might have a son.

“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. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.”

Now, it’s critically important to note how an adult husband and wife would yearn to produce a male child out of their marriage, each for different reasons.

For the husband, a male child would ensure their name was carried into the next generation and this was particularly significant when there was some formal position involved, like a man being a king. A male child would ensure there was a royal heir to the throne.

For the wife, it was bad enough losing your husband and becoming widowed in biblical times but if the woman was childless, especially without a male child, the widow would not have any family to provide support. Further, some people in biblical culture viewed a childless woman as under the judgment of God for sin, an assertion that He was punishing the woman for some sin she committed.

Indeed, the announcement from the angel Gabriel from the Lord was a game changer. Not only would they have a son, against all conventional odds, but that son would be “great in the sight of the Lord” he would go before to “turn the hearts of parents to their children” and “the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous”, all while making “ready a people prepared for the Lord” Jesus.

It was news that would have seemed too good to be true and as we’ll see in tomorrow’s message, Zechariah would make a crucial mistake in his response to Gabriel’s proclamation.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

A COMING SHEPHERD

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In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a Son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.

Micah 5:3-4

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The Old Testament scriptures have much to tell us about Jesus as God spoke through His prophets to foretell the coming of His Son, the Messiah. Over the past nine days, we have looked at words spoken through Jeremiah, Isaiah, and finally Micah where we will finish today before spending the remainder of December in the Gospels and the events leading up to the birth of Jesus as well as what followed.

You may have noticed that every one of the ten messages in this opening set have began with the word “coming” as the prophets spoke words about a Son yet to come who would be divine royalty, born of a virgin and named Immanuel for indeed God was coming from Heaven to earth to be with His people in the flesh.

To date, we have seen how the coming Jesus would be:

- A righteous Branch out of the stump of Jesse, the father of David.

- A Sign as His birth from a virgin would signal that the Messiah had indeed arrived.

- A Light that would usher the people out of darkness.

- A perfect Government that would have no end.

- A wonderful Counselor who would always bring perfect counsel and guidance to anyone seeking it.

- A Mighty God Incarnate as the Lord came to live among His people through His Son.

- An everlasting Father who would perfectly protect, provide, care, and love His children.

- A Prince of Peace who would come to bridge the separation between God and man, rescuing the latter from judgment

And in yesterday’s message, a coming Ruler to would reign in the utmost authority over all things in Heaven and earth.

This brings us to today and these words from the fifth chapter of Micah as God speaks through the prophet to declare a coming Shepherd for His people. Look again at these words now:

Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a Son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. Vv. 3-4

Going back to the prophet Isaiah, here’s what he had to say about sinful Israel, the chosen people of God:

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all (53:6).

All unsaved sinners are sheep astray from their true Shepherd. Yes, the world would offer the “sheep” many paths and people to follow but there is only one real Shepherd, the Shepherd Jesus, the One who God laid all iniquity on so to bring complete atonement to all who would seek it through His son.

We know Jesus was the Shepherd pronounced by Micah, the Shepherd who was coming to lead His flock “in the strength” and “majesty of the name of the Lord His God”, because He told us Himself. Look at His words here from the tenth chapter of John’s Gospel:

“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the Shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for Him, and the sheep listen to His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. When He has brought out all His own, He goes on ahead of them, and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what He was telling them.

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the Gate for the sheep. All who have come before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the Gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

“I am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the Shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

“I am the good Shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me—just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father—and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. John 10:1-16

As Isaiah testified, God placed all iniquity on Jesus, His Son, who willingly laid “down His life for the sheep” as their good Shepherd. From there after, if any sheep would enter in through His gate and join His flock, they would “be saved” and “have life...to the full” as they “find pasture” and peace and protection in Him.

And although there are millions upon millions of sheep within the flock of Jesus, the good Shepherd, today, note that there is still plenty of room for others, those sheep who are not yet of His sheep pen. Note that He yearns for those sheep that are still astray to find Him and so to gain their salvation.

How far is Jesus willing to go to find those lost sheep?

Once again, we find the answers in His own words:

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.” Matthew 18:12-14

Every person matters to the Lord and He is not willing to ever give up searching and seeking for those sheep who are wandering around without the one true Shepherd, the only Shepherd who cares for them, the only Shepherd who can save them.

Friends, from the time of Jesus through present times, sinners have walked through life lost and without safety, on the path to sure destruction like any sheep that tries to make it without a shepherd. Thanks be to God that He, not wishing for anyone to perish, would lovingly send His good Shepherd Jesus to seek and find lost sheep, bringing them into the safety and salvation of His flock.

Rejoice and be glad for the gift of Jesus this Advent season as we continue to move toward the celebration of His coming.  

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

A COMING RULER

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for Me One who will be Ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

Micah 5:2

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

When the nation of Israel first came into being, it was composed of twelve tribes, each named after the sons of Jacob, the son of Isaac who we know later had his name changed to Israel therefore giving the new nation its title.

Not all of these tribes were equal as some were bigger and more prominent than the others with the tribe of Judah being the largest. It was from this tribe that the coming Messiah would emerge, a righteous Branch from the stump of Jesse which placed Jesus predicted Jesus would be born in the line of David.

Now, intuitively, a person would have thought that if a great leader was to emerge to rule over Israel, that leader would come out of the great and holy city of Jerusalem. But as we see in today’s words from the prophet Micah, God pronounced that the coming Messiah would come from the smallest of the Judean clans. Look at these words from chapter 5:

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for Me One who will be Ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” Micah 5:2

Approximately 700 years before a virgin named Mary would give birth to God’s only Son Jesus, not in Jerusalem but in the little town of Bethlehem, God announced what was to come through Micah. And yet, no one was ready when the birth happened.

When Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem to participate in the national census ordered by Caesar because Joseph was in the line of David, there wasn’t a welcoming party there with reserved accommodations and health care providers at the ready to assist in the birth. Rather, the young couple found no rooms available anywhere except for the shelter of a stable where Jesus was born with only his parents and the animals in attendance. Such were the circumstances when the great Ruler sent by God occurred.

It’s not as if the Jewish religious authorities had forgotten about the prophecy. For when the wise men arrived in Jerusalem, seeking the One who had been born the King of the Jews, the chief priests and teachers of the law told Herod that the Messiah was foretold to be born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1-8), quoting the words of Micah. And so Herod dispatched the wise men to Bethlehem with the order to come back and report to him the child’s whereabouts so that he could worship Him, a ruse because Herod really wanted to eliminate the threat to his power.

And so it was, just as God had said it would be. Jesus was born out of Bethlehem, home of the Ephrathites who were the smallest of the Judean clans, and He was destined to be a Ruler, not just over Israel but all mankind. At His coming, as it is today, He was the King of all kings and Lord of all lords, reigning in the greatest authority and majesty.

As we continue to make our way towards Christmas day, come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

A COMING, ENDURING PEACE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called...Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

This Christmas season, maybe as much or more as any other before, I am remembering these words from a classic Christmas carol, I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day:

And in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor does He sleep,
For Christ is here; His Spirit near
Brings peace on earth, good will to men.”

In so many places today as we approach Christmas 2023, it seems like things are upside down in our world.

A war is waging in the Middle East that has polarized and divided nations through differing ideologies within their populace. Terrorist threats outside the war zone are increasing as are attacks on maritime and land based entities.

Crime in the United States alone seems to be at an all time high. Daily stories of shootings and stabbings along with bold thefts of retail merchandising, often by groups of coordinated robbers, are the norm, so much so that a person barely raises an eyebrow anymore. Lawlessness has appeared to become an accepted part of our society.

And raging inflation in America has led to elevated prices on everything that people need to make it through life every day. Housing and gas prices are through the roof. Ditto for food. Meanwhile, salaries haven’t tracked with this rise in expenses, stressing budgets and leaving more and more families seeking assistance.

If there was ever a time our world needs peace on earth, it’s now.

Thankfully, it’s here and has been here since God came to earth incarnate in the form and flesh of Jesus in a lowly Bethlehem manger more than 2,000 years ago. As we have seen within these opening messages of the Christmas Advent season, this amazing, world-altering birth was foretold well before it occurred as God spoke through His prophets, especially Isaiah who proclaimed the following in the ninth chapter of the Old Testament book that bears his name:

For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. v.6

In today’s final message in this four part series on the titles given to the coming Jesus, titles that gave insight as to His character, we look at our Savior as the Prince of Peace.

First, the Prince part tells us that He was the Son of royalty, the Son of the God Most High, the Maker and Master of all things in Heaven and on earth. Indeed, God would place all authority in Heaven and earth on His Son before placing Him at His right hand to rule and reign over all.

Since the Son was One with the Father, than the fullest perfection of God was in Jesus. He was sinless but became sin (2 Corinthians 5:21) so to serve as the final sacrifice ever needed for atonement. Anyone who would believe in Him after His crucifixion and resurrection would not perish in eternal judgment but gain everlasting life (John 3:16).

It’s this truth and assurance that makes Jesus, the Prince of Peace, as we only find peace and reconciliation with a God that hates, despises, and judges sin by accepting His offer of salvation and pardon through His Son. Through Jesus, we are justified and freed from the penalty of sin and given the guarantee of joining Him and God in their Kingdom forever.

This is the kind of good news we can anchor ourselves to as Christian believers, no matter what rages around us in this world or in our personal lives. Like it’s known that at the center of a great hurricane there is calm, so too do we find peace in Jesus when we place Him at the center of our lives in the midst of difficulty and hardship.

My prayer for you in the run up to Christmas this year is that you will join me in drowning out all the turmoil that would seek to steal away our joy and solace from the holiday season and center our full mind’s attention and heart’s affection on the manger in Bethlehem where the world received a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace who would dwell with all mankind forever.

Thanks be to God for all He has done, is doing, and is yet to do, and especially for the gift of His Son Jesus, the Savior of the world.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.