As a father of three, I can relate to being surprised by questions from a toddler. I had to chuckle at the story of a young mother who was reading the story of Christmas to her preschooler. When she got to the part where the Bible said, “Jesus was born of a virgin.” Her son asked, “What’s a virgin?” The surprised mother looked at her Bible praying for help and replied, “It was the King James Virgin.”
The story of Christmas is often overlooked in the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Political correctness has pushed the manger out of the mainstream. The most you might see is a lonely nativity scene on private property. But the history of Christmas is more like a saga than a story. There are a lot of moving parts. The Christmas story has many characters, sub-plots, twists and turns, and some wonderful surprises. When you put them all together – you get the greatest story ever told. It all begins with the most miraculous event that took place since creation. Two Jewish teenagers carefully selected the perfect spouse and honored God in every way. If Israel had Facebook, there would have been countless selfies posted of the young innocent couple. An engagement back then was as binding as a marriage, but the couple wasn’t living together. Then, all of a sudden, their lives were turned upside down. Luke 1:26-38, “God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you...Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 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, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” 34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 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...Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.” Mary was a virgin and was chosen by God to be worthy of giving birth to the Savior of the World. God gave Mary favor above all other women in history. Now there is only one miraculous conception ever mentioned in scripture, so don’t go getting any ideas. Even Mary needed an angel to explain her case to Joseph. We’ll take a look through his eyes next week.
0 Comments
How do you see your life unfolding? Some view their life haphazardly as a leaf on the wind just floating wherever the breeze takes it; but they are seldom satisfied with where they end up.
Others see their life as a puzzle to be figured out and solved; so they are always searching for the missing pieces and the tricks to reach the perfect conclusion. Unfortunately, there will always be missing pieces and life will never be completely solved. There are those who attack life with determination, attempting to force their ambitions to become reality; it works sometimes but they often end up exhausted and frustrated. Finally, there are those who trust in the Lord and continually seek His divine plan for their lives. The truth is that sometimes discovering God’s divine plan feels like you are floating on the wind; other times it requires us to figure it out; and sometimes it takes determination. In this series of articles, I want to help you understand what it takes to passionately pursue God’s divine plan for your life. When you are following God’s divine plan, you should feel energized rather than exhausted; and you will experience contentment rather than confusion. God does have a divine plan for you whether you have recognized that or not. You are not an accident. You were born ON purpose FOR a purpose. God says in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” In order to discover God’s divine plan, the first thing you need to know is that God’s divine plan for you is GOOD! God’s plan is the best thing you could ever discover and pursue. Some people are afraid to learn God’s will because they think they will hate it once they find out what it is. But the truth is that God’s will for you is exactly what you would choose for yourself if you knew everything that God knows. “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2 You see, God’s will is good and pleasing and perfect. He has created you for a divine purpose that will lead to your true joy and fulfillment and He wants you to search that out and discover it for yourself. What is it that you want out of life? What is it that you live for? What drives your ambitions, passions, and enthusiasm? You were made by God and for God. Discovering God’s divine plan begins with trusting that He has your best interests at heart. God’s divine plan for you is good. -Pastor John |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
March 2020
Categories |