Month: May 2019

And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. Luke 2:52 (Matthew 2:1-23 and Luke 2:39-52)

According to Jewish Law, every first born son was to be presented at the Temple following the period of purification, or 40 days.  At this time, the child’s parents were to offer a sacrifice of a yearling lamb and a pigeon. Jesus’ presentation reveals how very humble His earthly life was. His parents were poor, so instead of an expensive lamb, they were allowed to offer two pigeons.

Jesus’ supernatural birth came with a supernatural announcement. A brilliant star attracted the attention of astrologers/scholars from Persia. These pagan men of knowledge encountered the Messianic prophecies in their associations with the Jews of the Dispersion. They knew something spectacular was occurring and went in search of the ‘King of the Jews.’  Herod, who was suspicious of everyone, was alarmed by the Magi’s visit. In his distrust, he ordered all infant boys of Bethlehem slain. However, Joseph was forewarned, and with the valuable gifts from the wisemen, a trip and short stay in Egypt became possible. They remained until Herod died, then returned to Nazareth where Jesus became known as The Nazarene.

There is only one event in Jesus’ childhood recorded in scripture. Pentecost of His twelfth year was a special time. All Jewish boys of this age began their training in the Temple. When His family left Jerusalem to return home, Jesus was still deeply engaged in his conversations with the rabbis and was accidentally left. Three days later His worried parents found Him in the presence of His Father. It seems Mary was reminded at this time just who she was rearing and she treasured it in her heart.

There are some other known facts. Jesus had four brothers, James, Joses, Jude and Simon as well as sisters who are not named. He apprenticed as a carpenter with his earthly father. Joseph’s story ends before Jesus ministry begins, so it is surmised he died, leaving Jesus, the elder brother, as sole support for his mother and younger siblings, until He was 30 years of age, the time of spiritual leadership for Jewish men when Jesus’ ministry begins.

Little is much when God is in it, and this is especially true of these small vignettes in the life of Jesus the boy. God is sovereign, His love knows no end, He cares for those who’s trust is in Him.

Merry Everything!

Gretchen

The angel answered, “I am Gabriel, I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. Luke 1:19 (Luke 1:5-80 and Matthew 1:18-25)

A new age was dawning. Matthew and Luke are the only two Gospel writers that tell the story of Jesus’ birth and early years. The divine story is wonderfully miraculous and the human side is touching and poignant. The intimate announcements to Elizabeth, Mary, Zechariah and Joseph show God’s love for the smallest details of life. Blended with time and place far beyond happenstance God’s purposeful work is comfortingly evident.

As Rome became a world power Palestine was divided into provinces. Mary and Joseph lived in the village of Nazareth in the province of Galilee. Because Rome needed a current census to know how much income they could expect from taxes and what sort of military presence they needed to maintain across the empire, Joseph was required to take his family and return to Bethlehem in Judea. The prophets Isaiah and Micah foretold these events of a virgin birth in Bethlehem 100’s of years before there was a Judea!

Bethlehem is a very special place. Long before it was the birth place of the Prince of Peace, it became the burial site of Jacob’s beloved wife Rachel. Ruth met Boaz and called on him to fill his obligation as her kinsman. They became the great grandparents of King David who was born and raised there, giving it the name, City of David. Jerome chose this site to write his Latin translation of scripture. But above all, because the world needed a Savior, Heaven’s Son became Man’s Salvation. And that’s why we celebrate Christmas 365/24/7.

Happy Friday,

Gretchen

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. John 1:1 (Matthew 1:1-17, Mark 1:1, Luke 1:1-4 and John 1:1-18)

After so many years of military upheaval and falling to the whims of the stronger nations around them, Israel longs for an earthly conquerer, a King that will start a new world order. Instead, God provided a new dynamic in the relationship between Himself and man……a servant, not a powerful, charismatic emperor, but God Himself.  The LORD of Heaven submitted Himself to earth’s pain and sorrow. 

Geneology ends the Old Testament narrative and the New Testament story begins the same way.  Matthew, a Jew, shows Jesus’ lineage from King David through His earthly father Joseph. Mark tells the story of Jesus as told by Peter and focuses on Jesus’ super human power. Luke, a non Jew concentrates on the humanity of God’s Son, and son of Mary.  His kindness and suffering as an outcast are highlighted. John, known as Jesus’ very best friend, connects Jesus to infinity. He is God’s son, and God Himself, the Word, God’s revelation of Himself, a light in the darkest of times, Immanuel that has always been and always will be.

Jesus, Son of God, the Great ‘I AM’, was given many titles, each perfect to His character, but His own favorite name was “Son of Man.” Jesus embraced his human experience while leading all who had open hearts to understand He was the Son of God. This challenged the traditional teaching and hopes of Israel, but as the Gospel writers give their testimonial biographies rather than a history, Jesus’ purpose to save the world comes breaths life and extends to all eternity.

Love,

Gretchen

The LORD has established His throne in the Heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all. Psalm 103:19 (I Chronicles 1-9)

Ezra, the diligent scribe, created a national archive. Not the most inspirational passage in the Bible but it is crucial to Israel’s history and the story of God’s infinite workings in the life of man, the fulfillment of prophecy and proof of Messiahship through the line of David. While It is vital that all generations to follow understand God’s Law brought man an elevated moral consciousness and established a new beginning for earth’s humanity, God reveals His unique relationship to Israel and the whole world through His works and His messengers, who show that over and over again, sin brings death, but God’s unending love brings hope and life. 

As the Old Testament narrative comes to a close, Israel’s history continues to evolve. There are writings, the Apocrypha, Biblical history that is not considered divinely inspired in origin, that continue to shed light on these years of struggle for Israel. Persia remained an influence in the daily lives of the diaspora. Their culture, language, diet, and infiltration of mysticism led to decay of moral Jewish tradition. The knee jerk reaction in religious leadership was legalism and the evolution of synagogues and rabbis. It was in these years that Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots and Essenes make their appearance and influence future theologies, interpretations and actions that are still felt today.

Even though there was no prophecy in the years 425 B.C. – 5 B.C., God is at work through history. Greece and Hellenism begins to have a profound effect on God’s people, preparing a means for the Gospel to spread throughout the entire world. Alexander, by his military conquests, linked the East to the West and Greek became a universal language. Once again, Palestine is caught in the middle of a struggle for world domination and its population was taken for colonization of other areas. Jewish intellect met Greek philosophy and over the course of many years the Gospel was efficiently spread and an early translation of the Old Testament was created in the Greek language.

The work of God in the years following Ezra and Nehemiah is vast. When it seems God is silent, still your heart and trust His. He’s working miracles in the quiet of your fears and failures.

Love,

Gretchen

All the people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel. Nehemiah 8:1 (Nehemiah 7-13)

Following the completion of the wall, Nehemiah sets out to organize national life. Jerusalem covers a large space and is still mostly rubble with not enough housing reconstructed and commerce unstable. The city needs a larger population so funds and direction are given for relocation as hearts turn to spiritual matters. Nehemiah was not content with pious preaching while sin was rampant.

On the first day of the Jewish New Year Ezra began reading from the Law that was given to Moses and carried into the Promised Land. A new awareness of Israel’s colossal failures brought about confession and repentance. The people agreed to sign a renewal of the covenant complete with promised loyalty to the One True God and ratified with a curse on anyone who breaks it. As a final act, Nehemiah lead reforms regarding intermarriage, honoring the sabbath, proper tithes and care for the Temple. Pagan gods bring out the lowest places in human nature, therefore, a Holy, set apart place for God alone must be the corner stone of all aspects of life.

As a memorialization of God’s grace, Israel observed the Feast of Tabernacles and remembered the work and power of God in delivering them out of slavery, into a homeland and eventually the world’s most powerful nation. In this moment, they were of one heart and mind and their singular objective was to obey and honor God. A confession heard and sins forgiven is earth’s highest reason to celebrate.

Love,

Gretchen

So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart. Nehemiah 4:6 (Nehemiah 1-7)

Jewish tradition credits Ezra as the chronicler of the Nehemiah’s story. He was the cup bearer to Persia’s ruler Artaxerxes when his brother brought disappointing news from Jerusalem. Progress on restoration and rebuilding had come to a halt. Nehemiah, a man that always turned to prayer first, prayed for four months before he took his burden to the king. Artaxerxes sent Nehemiah back home with the resources he would need to rebuild Jerusalem’s wall.

Back in Jerusalem, rubble on top of rubble was still the scene even though the Temple had been rebuilt. When surrounding enemy nations realized this once great city was on its way to becoming a fortress again, they used all manner of force, ridicule, terrorism, intrigue and misrepresentation to stop progress. They succeeded for a time. If that wasn’t enough, the wealthy Jews were exploiting the poor, something God strictly forbade. This scandal hindered constructive progress toward a restored homeland. But, God’s plan outweighed any personal concerns a prayer warrior and courageous man of action like Nehemiah might have.

Nehemiah secretly inspected the walls before he publicly announced his mission. This brilliant civic engineer organized laborers and protectors so that life could continue as work began and in 55 days 1.5 miles of wall was complete.

Respect for God and His Law was paramount to Nehemiah’s objectives. His anecdote to evil (and there was plenty to go around) was prayer followed by action.  As a side note, Artexerxes’ step-mother Esther was probably still living and had a strong influence on his positive position toward Palestine. This is another story of miraculous timing and God’s sovereign power over all things. Long before the day Nehemiah was burdened with Jerusalem’s sad state of affairs, God had a plan of victory……..and He still does today!

Love,

Gretchen

Today I give you the words of my little sister Gwen Lane. She is the mother of six, three beautiful young women and their handsome husbands. We share a common passion for teaching and love to talk shop, whether we laugh till we cry or cry till we are giggling like little girls. I look back across the years and thank God that we are not who we once were, but are marvelous works of Grace. Enjoy her inspiring thoughts of perseverance and faith.

                                                                    I Saw God Today                                                                                                                A Half Marathon Personal Testimony                                                   April 27, 2019

Several months ago, I started on a journey. At first, this journey did not seem that big of a deal. I had already done two half marathons with my walking buddy, Nona Richey. I had revelled in my personal accomplishments and labeled myself a strong woman because of my ability to endure and overcome obstacles. I was proud.  I was also becoming more and more convicted of “idols” I was setting up in my life. God was showing me that if I was going to have any kind of influence in the lives of other people, some things needed to change. So along with my physical training, I began some serious self examination of what I was putting on the high places.

So my training began and soon the Holy Spirit put the thought in my heart and mind that I needed to do this on my own, without my security blanket of Nona that I had become so comfortable with. I would embark on long training walks on my own. I had to fill the time with something other than conversation. God brought me in to conversation with him. I learned to use this time as a time of prayer and worship. My theme verse became Habakkuk 1:5, “ Look among the nations and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.” I could not have ever imagined what the Holy Spirit would teach me on this journey.

In the beginning, I believed that God would heal me of my physical infirmities through this journey. I would learn to put aside my food addictions and my lazy tendencies to lose the weight that doctors have told me I needed to lose in order to free myself of the chronic pain that held me captive. I was wrong. Physical healing has not occured, though I did wake up this morning without the usual pain. In fact, the weeks leading up to the race, I was plagued with the pain growing more intense and changing in nature. After each long training session, my body would rebel as if it were begging me to stop. In these darkest times, the Holy Spirit would whisper the words, “Believe” and “Trust”. So I trudged on. Going in to the race, I was still not sure what my lesson would be.  My plan was to do what I had been doing, which was to pass the time in prayer and worship. Which I did, however, let me just tell you. God delivers every single time. He is faithful and true. I did not achieve a new PR today, which I thought might be possible early on. In fact, I struggled. But God showed up and showed out. I saw God today.

I saw God in the relentless love and devotion of my husband. He was there to offer encouragement and fruit snacks. He supported me even though he had spent months watching me struggle and cry out in pain and mental anguish. I saw God in the rain that fell at just the right time when loneliness threatened to take control of my mind. Gentle drops of coolness to remind me that he was walking with me. As I walked, I prayed. When the intense pain of calf cramps began about mile 9, I was gently reminded of two precious little girls that I know who are suffering the agony of cancer and the resulting treatments. They suffer more than just leg cramps and their suffering will not end in three and a half hours. I prayed for their complete healing. I prayed for Christian sisters who are suffering the pain of despair and have lost their hope and joy. I prayed for coworkers who are suffering from fear and uncertainty.

I saw God in the faces of the volunteers who were there to encourage me to “keep going” and “you got this”. I saw God in the police officer who saw the pain on my face and quickly offered to help relieve the pain and then a bicycle volunteer who appeared and offered a banana. He rode along with me for a bit just to make sure I was going to make it. I saw God in my youngest daughter who had already run the entire race but came back to make sure I got up the most difficult part of the course. Finally, I saw God in the faces of the rest of my family who had been patiently waiting at the finish line to celebrate with me and make sure I was ok.

So, my lesson through all of this………………………………………

It is not about me. It is not about my pride and self-reliance. It is not about being a strong woman. It is not about accomplishments and personal records. It is about putting God and God alone on the high places. He wants to be “the Only” in your life. The only way we can have a real influence in our world is to let our lives reveal the truth, strength, power, and glory of the One True God. A God that pursues and loves relentlessly. A God that does not leave you lonely or without comfort or relief. A God that if the mountain is not to be moved will climb it with you hand in hand. A God that sent his only Son to suffer and die. A God that declared in the resurrection of Jesus that pain, suffering and death has been defeated.

O Lord, let my life reveal that there is only One.

 

From the days of our forefathers until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the sword and captivity, to pillage and humiliation at the hand of foreign kings, as it is today. Ezra 9:7 (Ezra 9-10)

When Ezra arrived in Jerusalem he finds the priests and Levites have intermarried with foreign women who have not set aside their gods. Under this leadership, layman followed, some forsaking their Jewish families while others kept Jewish wives as well. The state of God’s Holy people was a risk from the crumbling foundation of familial integrity. Do NOT mistake this as an act of prejudice. We see in the narratives of Ruth and Jonah, God reaches out to extend love and Grace universally. This is the Blessing Israel is expected to be, however, these unions were detrimental to Israel’s survival.  They were toxic and a death knell for the remnant.

In Deuteronomy 7:1-5 God gave a boundary to keep His people safe, whole, healthy and Holy, both emotionally and physically. He said, DO NOT INTERMARRY WITH HEATHENS! The wilderness wanders who did not heed God’s command met with disaster. Ezra stated the spiritual crisis and went immediately into prayer, seeking God’s direction. The conclusion; men would have to divorce their wives, heathen children and their detestable practices OR forfeit their property and all ties to Jewish heritage.

This complete purge is extremely severe by today’s standards, but the future of this fragile nation depended on it.  The result was a complete cure of idolatry.

God knows best. He is serious about His care, but we must GIVE Him access to our choices and rights, He will NOT overstep our free will. Again I say, God knows best. He will take care of you if you trust and obey.

Love,

Gretchen

There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. Ezra 8:21 (Ezra 7-8) 

God’s active work in the lives of those who trust Him is always perfect in time, place and quantity. This I have learned over and over again, but never is evidence of an active, loving God’s constant care as poignant as it is in this episode of a man getting up everyday and doing God’s will.

A scholar of The Law with a pedigree that reached all the way back to Aaron, Ezra was God’s prepared hope for the present life of Israel in the years after Esther’s miracle.  As the exiles assimilated into foreign populations, the Hebrew language, in which Moses’ Law was originally written, became a less familiar exchange of the every day Jew. Ezra was chosen to teach God’s Law, beautify the Temple, restore Temple service, but first he must lead more that 1500 men, with their families, and all the gifts from Persia’s king, in a second return to Palestine.

Esther’s stepson Artaxerxes had a likening for the God of the Jews and instead of approaching this reestablished nation with suspicion, he decided to embrace them as a peaceful, geographical buffer between Persia and Egypt. He sends utensils and embellishments for the Temple, man power and herds for sacrifice. It will take a four month trek through foreign territory, to arrive in Jerusalem. Ezra does not want to ask for a military escort after the King has been so generous. Instead, he stops at the first water crossing and leads his entourage in fasting, prayer and worship, asking for God’s protection.

God is good. When the job seems far bigger than we can imagine, when we’re scared for ourselves and those entrusted to our care, God is good and faithful.

Love,

Gretchen

And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not. Malachi 3:18 (The Book of Malachi)

Total annihilation as a nation cured Israel of their idolatry, but now, in the 20 year gap after the miracle of Esther and the justice brought to Haman, the people are discouraged and become casual and careless with their sacrifices, marriages and priesthood.  They wonder where this awaited Messiah and His glorious Kingdom are and was their previous good fortune just luck and coincidence. The neighboring heathen peoples are doing quite well while God’s people still struggle. This lead to one question we all face on bad days of despair and discouragement, “Does God even care?!”

The remnant that returned to Jerusalem and Judah had an enormous job waiting. But God promised His presence and an eternal Kingdom. Over the years they began to let the little things go. The scrimped on their tithes, offered sacrifices even their own municipal leaders would have been offended to receive, they put aside their Godly/Jewish wives for heathen women and soon followed their pagan gods, leaving children without Godly homes. Malachi speaks of sorcerers, adulterers, perjurers, those who defraud laborers of their honestly earned pay, who oppress widows and orphans and exact injustice on aliens. This is quite a list, but very familiar to each generation still coming. Never, in any time or place, or any circumstance, will God tolerate these behaviors from those who believe in Him.

So what are the weary to do, then and now? Wait patiently and lead a life that is befitting the Kingdom of God. Your heart is God’s earthly residence, and someday you will dwell forever in His presence.

Happy Thursday,

Gretchen