Advent Reading ~In His Word ~
December 12, 2020
We are almost halfway there! The day we celebrate the birth
of Christ is coming soon.
Luke 1:1-4 tells us the accounts we read were that of people who had seen, and were there to witness the things recorded in the book of Luke. Being a witness to the Christ is an exciting thing we can tell by the words that they told the author. Let's do the same thing and share what Jesus has done for us today!
Not unlike the anticipation for a child waiting for
Christmas to open a gift was that of Simeon waiting to meet the Messiah. As with
the other Messianic Jews who were dreaming of the day when the King of Kings,
the Messiah would come to save them. The thing is they had a different view of
who that man would be. They did not realize that Jesus was this King. They,
unlike a child who expects something huge, were looking for a king, not a mere
man or a baby. They had great expectations,
and many were blinded by their unbelief that Jesus could be this Messiah.
Anna a woman who was
a prophet was also waiting on the Messiah.
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. 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. 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
Anna talked to everyone; she as did the shepherds because
she was so excited, they also told everyone they could about Jesus the Messiah!
There were also wisemen, or Magi who had studied to find
this Christ Child and they came from the eastern parts of the world to find
Him. They were students of astronomy and watched the planets and stars. They listened to God too we know this because they
were warned not to tell the authorities where Jesus was. In fact, they went out
of the way to avoid returning to the king of the country once they had seen him. They were walking according to the direction
God gave them.
When it was time to leave, they returned to their own
country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to
Herod. Matthew 2:1-12
Sometimes we do not know that what we are walking through
will somehow affect someone else. Sort of like when you walk across what you
thought was dry dirt until you walked onto the white tile entry way and saw the
print of your boot that left a muddy imprint. When we walk as Christ followers,
we will leave a better imprint than if we are walking about self-satisfying and
being all about our own wills.
It is a matter of paying attention to what God is telling us
each day, in His Word. Just as those Shepherds we spoke of yesterday were
following the directions and words of the Angels that came to speak and sing to
them, we can follow God’s direction to do what is right each day.
The wise kings, shepherds, and Anna could have just ignored
the dreams and visions but instead they chose to listen to the Holy Spirit
guide them. They may not have known that was what they were doing, but it was.
Sometimes the Holy Spirit guides us without us knowing why we made a choice,
but we make the right decision to do the right thing even in hard
circumstances. Good things will come out of it when we walk where the Holy
Spirit shows us to walk. Take the steppingstones carefully, and you will walk
through the mud and not get dirty!
Sometimes we do not know where a door will lead until we
open it. Sometimes you do not know what you are about to read until you turn
the page of the Word. I did not remember reading about Anna until today and now
she will be a part of the imprint of Christmas to me.
In Jesus’ name…