Advent Reading~ in
His Word – December 3, 2020 ~Day 3
John was born to bring people into the time of Jesus, the
Messiah, our savior and Lord, His ministry here on earth. In several places in
the Old Testament we can read prophecies of the Messiah coming. From Genesis
3:15 to Hosea 11:1 Then in Galatians 4:4 and many verses in Matthew and Luke
there are answers to the questions of if those prophecies were fulfilled, of course
they were.
In Matthew 1:1-2 This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus
the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham. Abraham was the father of
Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and his
brothers … we can follow his lineage to find that He was truly of the line of Jacob
as promised. I could post all of the scriptures but If you begin at Matthew
1:18 where most people start you would read of the birth of Jesus in the short version
that Luke 1 and 2 brings to us in a more detailed story.
Most of the beginning story was about trusting God. Zacharia
had to trust God, Elizabeth had to trust God, Mary had to really believe that
God was making her pregnant while she was still a virgin. Her soon to be
husband Joseph really had to trust God, and they had to be obedient and
faithful to follow what He said, we saw what happened if they did not believe… Zach
showed us that one!
Psalm 37 tells us to trust God, then we will be okay, in
fact we will be better than okay! We will come out on the other end if this
thing ahead of where we started!
Trust in the Lord
and do good.
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take
delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit
everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. He will make
your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine
like the noonday sun. Be still in the presence of the Lord and wait patiently
for him to act. Psalm 37:4-7
About the time that John was born Mary would have been 6
months along at least. We know the story of how she and Joseph traveled to
Bethlehem for the census. We will read about that later in the month. I want to
think for a moment or two about how we can focus on being faithful in trusting
our Lord. Psalm 37 is full of encouragement to not worry, just trust Him and
that w would see the good things that come from it like dwelling in the land
etc. for todays reading. Focus on trusting God in your life today, and for
tomorrow. Just as Zacharia, Elisabeth, Mary and Joseph had to walk through the
time of their children’s lives trusting that God knew what He was doing with
them; we need to trust God with this time in our lives.
Though things may be different this year God will still be the
same loving, caring God who is patiently waiting for us to call out to Him and
invite Him into our lives. He is the same God we cant trust to walk with us
through this time no matter what we face and still be with us at the end.
Let’s thank God for His faithfulness to us today! Think of a
time in your life that you came through wondering how you made it through in
one piece. I can think of a few!
From His abundance we have all received one gracious
blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses, but God’s
unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen
God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has
revealed God to us. John 1:16-18