Praise the Lord! Count Down Day 23
It’s hard to believe it is December
23rd already. Not only is it
two days before Christmas, or Christmas ‘Eve—Eve’, but it is the amazing last
week of the year 2022. Some people pick a new word for the new year, I am pretty
sure of my word choice and mostly because it keeps coming up, including in one
notebook I had left somewhere but it came back to me with this word circled in
it! Wow, right? Well, just as it amazes
me that a certain word can pop up so many places, or one year can seem to have
gone so fast, I know Mary and Joseph were even more amazed at what was being
said about Jesus! In the Scriptures below we hear that Simeon and Anna were also
amazed at Jesus. Today I was focused on Anna. Her story is pretty good too. She
lived so long in the Temple and when she realized that Jesus was who He was
well she began praising God! Then she went and told everyone about the baby who
had been waiting expectantly for God to send a Messiah to rescue Jerusalem.
Again, I am ashamed at the fact
that I am not telling enough people of the excitement of Jesus. So today I am
telling you! I am excited to tell you that Jesus was born! He is the Messiah,
and He has come to save us people from our sins! He is Lord!
Jesus’ parents were amazed at what
was being said about him. Then Simeon
blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined
to cause many in Israel to fall, and many others to rise. He has been sent as a
sign from God, but many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many
hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.
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.
When Jesus’ parents had fulfilled all the
requirements of the law of the Lord, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee.
There the child grew up healthy and strong. He was filled with wisdom, and
God’s favor was on him. Luke 2:33-40
O’ come all ye faithful
Joyful and triumphant!
Worship Him in song and praise!
In His Love
Teresa Wilson