Friday, December 19, 2014
Mentoring Woman: "ANTICIPATION"
Mentoring Woman: "ANTICIPATION": Well, we are getting down to the final countdown to Christmas 2014 aren't we? As I write this, all the packages are wrapped for our ...
"ANTICIPATION"
Well, we are getting down to the final countdown to Christmas 2014 aren't we? As I write this, all the packages are wrapped for our children and grandchildren, but I was sweating it until this past Tuesday. One of the main gifts for our grandson had not arrived yet. Now, I realize it wouldn't have been the end of the world, but I had ordered on December 5th and here it was 2 weeks later but still no package. I was tracking it on line and if this package could talk I am sure it would have quite a story to tell! First it traveled South and then it headed North to Michigan. But finally it arrived here this week all safe and sound. Each day, however, I anxiously looked on the porch as I anticipated its arrival!
You would think this would lead me straight into a discussion on the "Three Wisemen" wouldn't you? But ever the rebel that I am, I wish to talk today about Anna. "Anna?" "Who is Anna?" She is really a part of the Christmas story as well. She is spoken about in Luke 2:36-38. Two short verses that say a whole lot about this extraordinary woman! The bible says this about her:
"There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the
tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband
seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was
eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and
day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them (Mary, Joseph, and Jesus)
at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child
to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem." (NIV)
If there ever was a woman who was filled with anticipation, it was Anna! Can you imagine just seven years of marriage and then her husband dies. What does she do? She dedicates herself to worshiping night and day and all the while, fasting and praying for a Messiah to deliver her and her people! God honored her prayer with an extraordinary encounter with the living God! Eight days after Jesus is born, Mary and Joseph take the baby Jesus to the temple to circumcise him, according to the law, and Anna's pray is finally answered at the age of 84!
Just shows you that God's timing is His! As we anticipate Christ's return, it is easy for us to get discouraged. The world is getting much worse and so sometimes our tendency is to loose hope. But listen to II Peter 3:3: "First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own desires. They will say, "Where is this coming he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." Later on in 3:8 our answer comes "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."
We must wait for the fullness of time! Anna waited....84 years she waited! Anticipate it! Believe it! He's just over the horizon and He will be here soon!
Friday, December 12, 2014
Mentoring Woman: "WHEN SUDDENLY'
Mentoring Woman: "WHEN SUDDENLY': Working the night shift had always been hard! While the rest of the world was lying in their warm comfy beds, he was out here trying ...
"WHEN SUDDENLY'
Working the night shift had always been hard! While the rest of the world was lying in their warm comfy beds, he was out here trying to make a living. It wasn't only himself that felt this way, but he saw it in the faces of his coworkers as well. All of them trying to stay awake, to stay diligent, trying to be on their toes for their shift! "I mean honestly," he thought to himself, "why would he ever expect to get a different job?" "He was untrained, uneducated, trapped doing the same work that his father did, and his father did before him." " But why, didn't he get more acknowledgement for the skill that it took to do his meager work?" "Still", he thought to himself, "Shouldn't just knowing that he was good at what he did, give him some sense of pride?" "Yet" as he continued on wrestling with his thoughts, "it was monotonous work!" "Don't think about all that", he chided himself, "at least in this economy you still have a job and a steady way to put bread on the table!" Little did he realize, that on this one special night, his world would forever change..."when suddenly!"
Wonder if that is how the shepherd's felt that night? They certainly did not expect anything out of the ordinary to happen as they tended to their flocks. They were just doing what shepherds do, watching and caring for their sheep. "When suddenly" an angel appeared to them. They were not ready for that one! I mean they were experts in killing wolves and bears that posed a danger, but they weren't prepared for an angel and an encounter with the Living God! And the bible says it made them terrified! (Luke 2:9, NIV)
Ever have one of those "when suddenly" moments? Things are going along in a regular routine "when suddenly" you get a call that there was an accident? Or "when suddenly" the doctor calls and your test came back with a suspicious looking shadow? Or "when suddenly" your husband looses his job after 34 years and your world turns upside down and the future looks so uncertain. All of these "and suddenly" times have happened in my life and I admit, that I too, was terrified at the moment! But who wouldn't be?
After the shepherds visited Bethlehem and saw what the angel proclaimed, the scripture says they were amazed and "returned glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen". (Luke 2:20) Notice the scripture says they returned. Did that mean they returned to their shepherding job and their same old monotonous routine? I don't know, but it does make us wonder! How did that night affect them the rest of their lives? The Bible remains silent to this question, but as in all of us, when God touches our lives, it is always for the better, and it is never remains the same!
Soon Christmas 2014 will be a thing of the past. Everything will be packed up tight in the attic until next year. But the question remains for all of us, will this "when suddenly" moment, that changed the shepherds lives, also change us? " For God loved us so much, He sent His one and only son not to condemn the world but to save the world through Him." (John 3:16)
"Packed Away"
The tinsels all packed with the holiday past,
but I wonder how long this good feeling will last?
A feeling of giving, a heart filled with love,
the joy of a baby, sent to earth from above.
It's a joy to spend Christmas with family and friends,
But what about later? Is that where it ends?
As I pack up the manger, each piece carefully lay,
does all of this have special meaning today?
I think of you, Jesus, as my packaging starts.
How many just pack You away from their hearts?
Away from their life, away from their mind,
and then when in trouble, they hurry to find,
some help from you, Lord, in their time of need.
It seems selfish and cruel, and it's sad indeed!
If only they knew you're there, come what may,
You're God, and You're working in lives everyday!
To draw from each moment, to help with each task,
A close friend to talk with. What more could we ask?
A redeemer, a comfort, a rock, where we stand.
You'll lead, if we place all our life in Your hand.
You never forsake us, or leave to despair,
you're constant, and faithful, and always right there!
So Lord, hear our prayer, as we start each new day.
Help us Lord, know You more, not just pack You away!
Written by Becky Swymeler, 1982
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Mentoring Woman: TREASURE IT ALL IN YOUR HEART!
Mentoring Woman: TREASURE IT ALL IN YOUR HEART!: He was born as payment for us all! I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am for the next few weeks! Not for the gifts and the exc...
TREASURE IT ALL IN YOUR HEART!
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| He was born as payment for us all! |
I would like to share some of these thoughts about the people who surrounded that first Christmas. I will try to stick closely to what the scripture teaches, but also stir us to contemplate about the possibilities and wonder of those events and the people involved.
I am dwelling on "Mary" this week. The scripture says that she was a virgin pledged to a man named, "Joseph". We don't know her exact age, but probably very young, due to the history and customs concerning marriage of her time. We first meet her when she encounters the angel "Gabriel". Gabriel is sent by God to deliver an important message to this young woman. As he delivers the message (Luke 1:30-33, NIV) it says that she is "greatly troubled at his words". I would be too, wouldn't you? He tells her that the child she will carry "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, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, his kingdom will never end." (Luke 1:32-33, NIV)
First observation: Instead of letting the words soak in about his reign never ending, Mary begins to question the logistics about how all this will happen. And isn't that just like us? We may be convinced that the Lord is giving us some task to accomplish, but instead of trusting in His faithfulness to complete it, we desire to know all the in's and out's on exactly how it will happen! Gabriel has the perfect answer to her question in this trust issue, "For nothing is impossible with God." (Luke 1:37, NIV)
Fast forward to the end of her nine month pregnancy. It is the time of her baby's birth, and she is giving birth in a stable of all places! Not quite the "Comfort Suites" she had envisioned! The shepherd's have just paid a visit and began proclaiming the "Good News" about the birth everywhere. Now we come to my all time favorite verse concerning the Christmas story "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." (Luke 2:19, NIV)
Second observation: Isn't that what we moms do? We treasure up each little event when it happens to our children! I remember all the plays, the awards, the sports events, the times when they were reciting some poem or verse and I was busting my buttons. This is not intended to be a slam to men, but they do not do this! I am always saying to my husband, "remember when one of our kids did this or that?" And usually it takes him some time to recall it. But we treasure these things ladies!
When Mary and Joseph dedicated Jesus at the temple in Luke 2:33 it says, "The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him." But notice the next verse, Simeon, a devout and righteous man, tells Mary, "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too" (Luke 2:34, NIV) A sword? Just like the one her son was pierced with upon his death? No, a hurt so deep that no one could touch! Perhaps some of you can relate to that.
Third observation: We moms desire others to see all the wonderful things that we see in our children and it hurts us when they don't! I wonder if Mary remembered Simeon's words as she saw her son so badly beaten and hanging on a cross?
Fast forward a few years, Jesus is now 12 years old. His parents have taken him to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. Jesus stays behind to speak in the temple but they were unaware that he had done so. When they finally find him, Mary says to him "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."
Fourth observation: Did you ever lose a child for a minute in the store and panic? I mean they were right there and then they were not? Yeah, me too! It used to be that they would page you over the loud system and call you to the front of the store and as you went forward to claim your wayward child, you would feel like the biggest loser mom ever! But instead of feeling that way, Mary must have suddenly had an "ahh haa moment" and a glimpse of what the future of her son looked like. Jesus says to her "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" Notice Mary's response in Luke 2:51 again the same phrase, "But his mother treasured all these things in her heart." Amazing isn't it?
Bear with me, I know this is lengthy today, but I am almost there. In Matthew 12:46, Mary and his brothers were wishing to speak with Jesus. Someone said "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." Jesus says, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" "For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." My tendency as a mom is to say "Ouch, that hurt!" But we know that Jesus, due to his sinless nature, meant no disrespect to his mother. We see this to its fullest when he saw to her needs as he was suffering on the cross by giving her to his disciple John. (John 19:26-27) But he was making a point that God's plans are always greater.
Fifth observation: I have been having some conversations with moms of teenagers. It is hard for us as moms to realize that the boys and girls we have raised, are now being called to become the men and women that God have called them to be. Just as God has worked in us, He is working in them and we have to let them go.
As Mary saw he son hanging on the cross and witnessed "bullying" at its ultimate peak, I really don't know how she stood it! It causes me such pain and it breaks my heart just to think of it! My mind immediately goes to my own children and how I would feel. But God gave me a thought this past week that I can not get out of my mind. We do not know how long Mary lived. I imagine John took very good care of that woman! But as Mary was ushered into the gates of glory, she immediately sees her son, the one she carried, the one who she raised, the one she saw suffer and suffered for us all, sitting at the right hand of the Father! What a sight! I am sure she finally understood Gabriel's words to her that first day, "He will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." How does one respond to that? I don't know, but I imagine she just fell at His feet, as we all shall one day! What a wonderful conclusion to a simple woman used by God!
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| The Christmas card I designed for this year. |
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