Why is it so dark in here?

Remember when you were a teenager hanging around your friends bedroom listening to music, and their Mom would walk in and turn on the big overhead light and say “Why is it so dark in here?”. There would be a little night light on the dresser or maybe it was just after twilight with mostly shadows in the room. Your friend would answer “Mom! It’s not dark we could see fine, we were just talking anyway”. We can sometimes be oblivious to the darkness, to the state of our being. We think the fading twilight or the night light on the dresser is enough to live our lives with.

I am going to ask you a favor this week. Find a Bible in your home, if you don’t have one go out and get one. If you want me to send you one for free, send me your address in the comments and I will be sure you get one. I am going to trust that each of you will read through the first chapter of Luke.

In Luke 1:57- 80 we hear the circumstances of John the Baptist birth. There is much celebration by family and friends, and then confusion when they ask Elizabeth what will be the child’s name. “He shall be called John”. This is almost a humorous passage, I can almost hear the exclamations “John, John what kind of name is John”, “We don’t have any relatives named John”, “Do you know a relative named John”, “Maybe Elizabeth is confused”, “Let’s ask Zacharias”. Much to their surprise Zacharias writes down on a tablet the same thing: “His name is John” and immediately he is able to speak. They recognized the miracle and knew the child would be special.

Now the Holy Spirit filled Zacharias and he began to prophecy. I just want to look at these verses:

Luke1:76 “ And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people
By the remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;
79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

John the Baptist will have a special mission to prepare the people for Christ coming. How was he to prepare them? By giving them knowledge of salvation. Salvation granted by God’s tender mercy, by the remission of sins. Oh, oh there is one of those weird religious words remission. I thought remission was when someone has their cancer stop, but it might come back later. Well in a sense, sin is a sickness, it confuses us, we walk in darkness because of it. The remission spoken of here has to do with getting rid of sin, specifically through forgiveness. As we are forgiven the consequences of sin is removed.

I want you to think about the last verse. What does it mean to “sit in darkness”? It means we are going about our daily lives, sometimes unaware of the growing darkness. And just like Mom walking into your bedroom and turning on the big overhead light and proclaiming “Why is it so dark in here”. We will see John walking into the lives of many, to prepare them for the coming of Jesus by calling people to repent (turn back from) and accept God’s forgiveness for the remission of sins. John will shed a great light, that will guide our feet to peace with God.

His Mercy is on Those Who Fear Him

I want to thank the readers of this blog for their faithfulness in reading this each week and praying that the things I write about are true to the revelation given to us in God’s Word. As we look at each passage I am struck over and over again about the relevance of the lives in these passages, to who we are as a society.

How do we view ourselves, is God real, does He care, what is his view about how we live, how we relate to each other, who does He bless, what is required to get His attention, does He answer prayers, what about family values, marriage, men, women, terrorists, war, peace, teenagers, drugs, domestic violence? I believe as we continue to study God’s Word we will see more and more of these answers.

Remember last week we saw Mary visiting Elizabeth because the angel had told her she would have a son, who would be the Son of God. This was incredible news that she wanted to share with her cousin Elizabeth, who was also expecting a son in her old age that would become John the Baptist. After hearing Elizabeth’s praise to God for what he had done in Mary’s life, we now are going to look at Mary’s response.

Luke 1:46 “ My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
54 He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

First of all I am going to remind you once again about these two women.

· Both were of low social status. Basically Mary was a peasant woman, and Elizabeth lived in the hill country and was the wife of a lowly priest.

· Mary was very young and was betrothed to Joseph

· Elizabeth was old and had carried the stigma of not having had children

· They knew that God had performed a miracle through their pregnancy.

· The both viewed their pregnancies as a personal blessing from God and a fulfillment of the promises of God for his people.

This is a song of praise to God, not composed to be song in a worship service but a very personal testimony to how Mary feels. The first two lines are an expression of trying to put pure emotion into words. God is great, He has made me happy, I am busting out of the seams with joy, my spirit is soaring!

Why is Mary so elated?? She is acknowledging God as her savior. This is why several weeks ago I asked you to have an open mind about who Mary is. We see here that Mary is someone who needs a savior. She acknowledges her position is not worthy as a lowly maidservant. But God has revealed to her through these circumstances that our wisdom of who is worthy and important is just the opposite of God’s wisdom. Look at the contrast between these two statements.

48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

51 He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones,

We can clearly see what is revealed to Mary is that God cares about you no matter who you are. What is significant that we are seeking Him, that we recognize we have a need for God, that we recognize that we are not worthy. Who has been put down by God? The proud, the mighty. These could even be religious leaders who used there power in Jesus day to oppress the people. Just like there are religious leaders today who use their position to control, manipulate and abuse those who have trust in them.

It is clear from the story of these two women that God’s favor isn’t because of things they have done, not because they do religious things, but because they seek and desire to know him.

50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.

Lets be clear about what this verse means. We see the word fear and might think it is a fear that creates doubt and a relationship where I need to look over my shoulder to be sure God does not get me. Remember this is included in the same song of Mary’s where she rejoices for God’s blessing on her who did not deserve it. From this verse we see the fear of God is an acknowledgment that He is God, who is the creator and sustainer of all things. He shows mercy of those who seek Him.

I want to be sure that you know that His promises are true. He is ready for you. You don’t have to wonder if you are worthy. Your seeking and accepting Him is what is needed. Praise God that we have so many lives blessed already in just this first chapter of Luke, as we prepare to see the Son of God be born and come into the world to bring us all salvation.

Special Mother's Day

It is always a bittersweet time of year for me as we celabrate Mother’s day. It’s been 22 years since my Mom passed away. She was someone who provided a secure home with love dispite the hardships that she experienced her entire life. My grandmother and my mother were abondaned when my mother was about 7 years old, and lived part of the time of the streets of Boston in the mid-nineteen twenties. Forced to quit high school to go to work in the factory, my mom was to have over 20 jobs in her lifetime. My Dad married her on Christmas day, 1946. My mom was in and out of the tuburculousis sanatarium over the next several years. My father wrote here love letters every day and sometimes twice a day during this time. Even after I was born she still had to spend a couple of years at the sanatarioum, while I was taken care of by a loving aunt. My Mom had sole responsibility for 2 boys, aged 11 and 17 when my father passed away. I was never aware even as I became an adult that any of these hardships had an effect on my mother’s attitude or actions. She always seemed truly grateful for her blessings no matter what they were. At the same time I think of the blessing of God in my life through my wife who has cared for and loved my four children through the grace of God’s Holy Spirit working in her life. My oldest age 29 is about to give birth to our first grandchild next month. Well I could go on and on about my Mom and my daughter, but I would at least like to spend some of this week looking at Luke 1:39 -45. It’s interesting that the story we are looking at in Luke revolves around a Mary who is newly expectant and Elizabeth who is about as far along as my daughter.

Luke 1:39 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

Our story picks up after Mary had received word from the Angel Gabriel that she would have a son and name Him Jesus and that he would be the Son of God. At the same time the angel informed her of Elizabeth also expecting a son who would become John the Baptist. If you received this incredible news you would be anxious to share it especially with someone who would understand and believe you. So Mary doesn’t just casually go and visit Elizabeth, she went “with haste”.

So what happens after Mary enters the home and greets Elizabeth? It says that the baby leaped in Elizabeth’s womb. Was the baby turning, did Elizabeth have gas or was the baby kicking. The interpretation is not left to chance or human explanation. Instead we see that Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit. That means the words she is about to speak come right from God.

Elizabeth repeats what the angel told Mary “Blessed are you amoung women”. And then she adds “Blessed is the fruit of your womb”. These are things that Elizabeth did not know about. At the same time that the baby leapt in her womb she knew it was joy, and that Mary was expecting a baby that would not become Elizabeth’s Lord, but already was her Lord.
Without prompting by Mary, Elizabeth gives her the words she wants to hear for encouragement “Blessed is she who believed for there will be fulfillment of those things which were told to her”.

I think sometimes we don’t realize that folks in the Bible had the same needs as us. They needed fellowship for encouragement to understand the promises and blessings that God has given to them. Look at this passage and see the special blessing God has granted to both Elizabeth and Mary by allowing them to share together this experience.
Next week we are going to be looking at Mary’s song of praise in response to the words of encouragement from Elizabeth. In the mean time, let me take this opportunity to remind you to love and encourage the Mother’s in your life, by reminding them of the blessings that God has given to them.

How Can this Be?

I set expectations that my blog would be updated on a Friday evening, so I was not sure if some folks might be checking it first thing Saturday morning. If you did check for a new posting yesterday, then I apologize for not being ready. I was invited to a chartered trip to Boston to see the Red Sox game on Friday, it was rain delayed and since it was a bus charter we could not leave till the game was over. I got back to my house at 4:00 AM Saturday.

After looking over last weeks blog with the Bible passages and all I went way over my planned one page blog limit so I will keep it brief and refer to the same passage as last week. It is my prayer and hope that last week my comments about Mary did not offend anyone. My desire is for you to know the truth from God’s word, and that it will truly set you free.

We are looking at Luke 1:26-38, where we read the story of Gabriel letting Mary know that she would be the mother of Jesus the Son of the Highest. First of all let me be clear this is a story of God’s grace and compassion by fulfilling His promises to us. The announcement from Gabriel is about Jesus “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end”.

But this passage has a lot of human drama. Just like we read several weeks ago, when Gabriel announced the birth of John the Baptist by telling Zacharias do not be afraid in the same way he also tells Mary to not be afraid. Then he gives her the good news. Now this is where it gets interesting, Mary responds “How can this be, when I do not know a man?” It would appear that Mary is not expressing doubt about the miracle as was Zacharias as the announcement about John, but she must be wondering about the nature of the miracle. What is she supposed to do, how is this going to happen? Gabriel is not dismayed at her question and again I would imagine he was expecting it, since he had the explanation all ready. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God”. Wow this is an incredible declaration, God will be the father by the power of the Holy Spirit, the full trinity will be involved in the conception of Jesus the Son of God.

Finally Mary proclaims , “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” If God has promised blessings in your life, isn’t this a great example about how we should respond. I am ready God to be your servant, I am ready to live and trust in your Word.

So leaving all tradition aside, what have we learned from this passage?

She is blessed and favored by God

• She will be the mother of Jesus the Son of God
• She was a virgin when Jesus was conceived
• She views herself as a maid servant.