The modern day Christmas story
I'm seriously considering buying that lottery ticket.
Today's post is about belief. Do I believe that God can give me six numbers and I could hit it big? You bet I do. Do I believe He will? No. In the first place, I don't want the responsibility. In the second place, there's a Scripture verse my pastor shared yesterday on Facebook that sums up what I want from God. Just enough. Not too much. Not too little.
I believe that God is and does control events. It often doesn't look like it, so when I talk about belief, I want to start at the Christmas story, because it seems a good place to deal with unbelief.
The Christmas story starts with the conception of John the Baptist. This was a point in the sermon on Sunday which I loved because of what it says about belief. I actually e-mailed it to someone else so she could read what I heard on Sunday. John was born to a couple who were advanced in years. Kind of reminds me of the story of Abraham. An angel of the Lord was sent to tell them that and John's father didn't believe what he was told. To prove it, he asked for a sign and got one. He got to be quiet until John was born. Gideon asked for not one, but two signs and got what he asked for. Zacharias got a little more than he bargained for.
And then there's Mary, who believed what she was told. OK, if an Angel shows up and tells me something, I'm gonna believe. I'm not gonna ask a bunch of questions...I'm gonna hit the ground on my face, and probably pee myself in the process. I don't say that irreverently or to make you laugh. I love God. I FEAR GOD. It's a healthy fear, kind of like the fear that kept me from joy-riding in stolen cars when I was a teenager. When the parents got called, my mother was one of the first, and I was home with her ALL NIGHT. Fear of getting my butt beat kept me out of a whole lot of trouble. It was good to fear mom. It's GOOD to fear God but on a much larger scale.
But let's get back to Mary, who is now pregnant and has never been with a man. OK, so she has to explain this to Joseph. When he hears it, believing her is not his first choice. Joseph has it in his mind to just quietly "put her away", which was the term back then for divorce. (even though they weren't married, being engaged would have resulted in him having to "put her away". And now she's got to tell this unbelievable thing to Joseph. Mary KNOWS what happened to her because she was there. She's got to explain this unbelievable thing to Joseph. Joseph would have known the words of the prophets from Scripture. But to believe it? From MARY? Given what he knew about the world?
That's asking a lot.
So God sent a dream to Joseph to tell him to believe. Joseph believed and that's that. You know the rest of the story.... or do you? You know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Chances are you have a little Nativity set as part of your holiday tradition. But how did Jesus GET born in Bethlehem?
It was in prophecy that Christ would be born in Bethlehem. Now, prophecy also said that Elijah would come before Him, and we read in Luke 1 that John would go before Jesus in the spirit and power of Elijah. That was told to Zacharias and Elizabeth by an Angel of the Lord. God sent an Angel to do this. God sent an Angel to Mary. Joseph got a dream and believed. So God said through the prophets that the Christ would come from the stump of Jesse (this is where Joseph comes in) and the line of David (who was Jesse's youngest son) and be born in Bethlehem. All God had to do was appear to Joseph in a dream (this is how God spoke to Joseph three different times) and tell him to get going. Chances are, that there would have been room at the inn, and Jesus still gets born in Bethlehem.
That's not what happened. If you keep reading, you will find that the most powerful man on earth at that time (the Roman Caesar) decided that there would be a tax and that people would have to go to where their family was from to be taxed. Joseph was the head of his family and he hit the road with a very pregnant Mary in tow. So did a lot of other people with the result being that there was no room at the inn, and Jesus came into this world in a barn. God manipulated the course of human events by using the most powerful man in the world so that the most significant human life ever lived started off by being born in a barn. To suit HIS purposes.
That's God. Three very distinct and different ways of communicating with each of the principles involved in the story. An Angel and a baby boy to an old couple. An Angel and a baby born to a Virgin. And Joseph got a dream. Caesar got the thought of having a tax, and we have the Christmas story.
Do you believe it? If you call yourself a Christian, this, boys and girls, is EXACTLY what you believe.
So let's move forward some two thousand years to two very confused people who are trying to decide what they believe about their own future. Neither of us has had a dream, but I have my own incredible relationship with the Living God. God works in my life in visual ways and through the prompting of the Holy Spirit. That's not an outlandish thing to say. It's not inaccurate, either. Convincing someone else of that though is a tough sell sometimes, because sometimes what happens is kind of unbelievable.
But not as unbelievable as the Christmas story had to be to Joseph.
Sometimes it takes things happening like the story Miss June would be happy to share about a picture flying off a wall. It's her story, she can tell it better than I can. Was it an Angel? Was it a ghost? I know what I believe and it was cemented today by something that occurred to me that didn't before. My dogs bark. My dogs go absolutely nuts when they sense something evil about someone. We've had shifty people come to the door selling stuff before and all the dogs wanted to do was protect the house...at any cost. When the picture flew off the wall (June's story, not mine), the dogs didn't bark.
I needed to get off my butt and get moving. That had to happen because when I thought I heard that still, small voice...I ignored it. I didn't believe it would be probable, let alone God's plan for me. I mean that...I didn't believe.
See, we believe in God but we don't.... we sometimes try to put God in this box He won't be confined to. I could tell you all about the stories of things that've happened that would only matter to me and the other person, but you probably wouldn't make as much of it as I do because I don't believe things happen by accident. I believe that things happen for a reason. I believe that God is in the chaos. It doesn't mean we don't have choice...but it also doesn't mean that God just lets things run on autopilot. So why did I ignore it? Because all I saw was the circumstances as they were...not as they would be.
So the point of the story, dear reader is to invite you to examine what you believe. Did God quit being involved when Jesus left the tomb? If so, why do we pray? Do we pray to God with expectation of an answer, or just to feel better? What form do we expect those answers to take? If I pray for something and I get it, is it just life, or is it God in my circumstances? What do I believe? Jesus said I should pick up my cross and follow Him. Should I expect Him to lead, and if so, how should I know where to go if He doesn't?
Do I think God has a plan for my life? Scripture says He does. When He shows me that plan, should I ask for a sign like Gideon? Or should I expect one like Zacharias? Should I believe like Mary, or wait on a dream like Joseph? Should I think that's how God will reveal that plan to me or should I look for God in the circumstances in my life, like He was when he used Caesar to disrupt things for a lot of people to accomplish His purpose?
We're in our own little story of belief this Christmas. God really does have plans for us and sometimes, despite what we do to disrupt them, they'll come about. In this case, it's gonna take some Divine intervention and accepting that what we see is coming from Above. I was skeptical about the picture. I've been a little unsure about things up until last Wednesday night when both had to be at the same place at the exact same time. I can only speak for me, but as for me:
I believe!
Today's post is about belief. Do I believe that God can give me six numbers and I could hit it big? You bet I do. Do I believe He will? No. In the first place, I don't want the responsibility. In the second place, there's a Scripture verse my pastor shared yesterday on Facebook that sums up what I want from God. Just enough. Not too much. Not too little.
I believe that God is and does control events. It often doesn't look like it, so when I talk about belief, I want to start at the Christmas story, because it seems a good place to deal with unbelief.
The Christmas story starts with the conception of John the Baptist. This was a point in the sermon on Sunday which I loved because of what it says about belief. I actually e-mailed it to someone else so she could read what I heard on Sunday. John was born to a couple who were advanced in years. Kind of reminds me of the story of Abraham. An angel of the Lord was sent to tell them that and John's father didn't believe what he was told. To prove it, he asked for a sign and got one. He got to be quiet until John was born. Gideon asked for not one, but two signs and got what he asked for. Zacharias got a little more than he bargained for.
And then there's Mary, who believed what she was told. OK, if an Angel shows up and tells me something, I'm gonna believe. I'm not gonna ask a bunch of questions...I'm gonna hit the ground on my face, and probably pee myself in the process. I don't say that irreverently or to make you laugh. I love God. I FEAR GOD. It's a healthy fear, kind of like the fear that kept me from joy-riding in stolen cars when I was a teenager. When the parents got called, my mother was one of the first, and I was home with her ALL NIGHT. Fear of getting my butt beat kept me out of a whole lot of trouble. It was good to fear mom. It's GOOD to fear God but on a much larger scale.
But let's get back to Mary, who is now pregnant and has never been with a man. OK, so she has to explain this to Joseph. When he hears it, believing her is not his first choice. Joseph has it in his mind to just quietly "put her away", which was the term back then for divorce. (even though they weren't married, being engaged would have resulted in him having to "put her away". And now she's got to tell this unbelievable thing to Joseph. Mary KNOWS what happened to her because she was there. She's got to explain this unbelievable thing to Joseph. Joseph would have known the words of the prophets from Scripture. But to believe it? From MARY? Given what he knew about the world?
That's asking a lot.
So God sent a dream to Joseph to tell him to believe. Joseph believed and that's that. You know the rest of the story.... or do you? You know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Chances are you have a little Nativity set as part of your holiday tradition. But how did Jesus GET born in Bethlehem?
It was in prophecy that Christ would be born in Bethlehem. Now, prophecy also said that Elijah would come before Him, and we read in Luke 1 that John would go before Jesus in the spirit and power of Elijah. That was told to Zacharias and Elizabeth by an Angel of the Lord. God sent an Angel to do this. God sent an Angel to Mary. Joseph got a dream and believed. So God said through the prophets that the Christ would come from the stump of Jesse (this is where Joseph comes in) and the line of David (who was Jesse's youngest son) and be born in Bethlehem. All God had to do was appear to Joseph in a dream (this is how God spoke to Joseph three different times) and tell him to get going. Chances are, that there would have been room at the inn, and Jesus still gets born in Bethlehem.
That's not what happened. If you keep reading, you will find that the most powerful man on earth at that time (the Roman Caesar) decided that there would be a tax and that people would have to go to where their family was from to be taxed. Joseph was the head of his family and he hit the road with a very pregnant Mary in tow. So did a lot of other people with the result being that there was no room at the inn, and Jesus came into this world in a barn. God manipulated the course of human events by using the most powerful man in the world so that the most significant human life ever lived started off by being born in a barn. To suit HIS purposes.
That's God. Three very distinct and different ways of communicating with each of the principles involved in the story. An Angel and a baby boy to an old couple. An Angel and a baby born to a Virgin. And Joseph got a dream. Caesar got the thought of having a tax, and we have the Christmas story.
Do you believe it? If you call yourself a Christian, this, boys and girls, is EXACTLY what you believe.
So let's move forward some two thousand years to two very confused people who are trying to decide what they believe about their own future. Neither of us has had a dream, but I have my own incredible relationship with the Living God. God works in my life in visual ways and through the prompting of the Holy Spirit. That's not an outlandish thing to say. It's not inaccurate, either. Convincing someone else of that though is a tough sell sometimes, because sometimes what happens is kind of unbelievable.
But not as unbelievable as the Christmas story had to be to Joseph.
Sometimes it takes things happening like the story Miss June would be happy to share about a picture flying off a wall. It's her story, she can tell it better than I can. Was it an Angel? Was it a ghost? I know what I believe and it was cemented today by something that occurred to me that didn't before. My dogs bark. My dogs go absolutely nuts when they sense something evil about someone. We've had shifty people come to the door selling stuff before and all the dogs wanted to do was protect the house...at any cost. When the picture flew off the wall (June's story, not mine), the dogs didn't bark.
I needed to get off my butt and get moving. That had to happen because when I thought I heard that still, small voice...I ignored it. I didn't believe it would be probable, let alone God's plan for me. I mean that...I didn't believe.
See, we believe in God but we don't.... we sometimes try to put God in this box He won't be confined to. I could tell you all about the stories of things that've happened that would only matter to me and the other person, but you probably wouldn't make as much of it as I do because I don't believe things happen by accident. I believe that things happen for a reason. I believe that God is in the chaos. It doesn't mean we don't have choice...but it also doesn't mean that God just lets things run on autopilot. So why did I ignore it? Because all I saw was the circumstances as they were...not as they would be.
So the point of the story, dear reader is to invite you to examine what you believe. Did God quit being involved when Jesus left the tomb? If so, why do we pray? Do we pray to God with expectation of an answer, or just to feel better? What form do we expect those answers to take? If I pray for something and I get it, is it just life, or is it God in my circumstances? What do I believe? Jesus said I should pick up my cross and follow Him. Should I expect Him to lead, and if so, how should I know where to go if He doesn't?
Do I think God has a plan for my life? Scripture says He does. When He shows me that plan, should I ask for a sign like Gideon? Or should I expect one like Zacharias? Should I believe like Mary, or wait on a dream like Joseph? Should I think that's how God will reveal that plan to me or should I look for God in the circumstances in my life, like He was when he used Caesar to disrupt things for a lot of people to accomplish His purpose?
We're in our own little story of belief this Christmas. God really does have plans for us and sometimes, despite what we do to disrupt them, they'll come about. In this case, it's gonna take some Divine intervention and accepting that what we see is coming from Above. I was skeptical about the picture. I've been a little unsure about things up until last Wednesday night when both had to be at the same place at the exact same time. I can only speak for me, but as for me:
I believe!
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