Daily Archives: August 20, 2013

Amazing Grace!

Bible Study, , ,

AMAZING GRACE!

“When Elizabeth was full-term in her pregnancy, she bore a son. Her neighbours and relatives, seeing that God had overwhelmed her with mercy, celebrated with her.

“On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child and were calling him Zachariah after his father. But the mother intervened: ‘No. He is to be called John.’

“‘But,’ they said, ‘no one in your family is named that.’ They used sign language to ask Zachariah what he wanted him named.

“Asking for a tablet, Zachariah wrote, ‘His name is to be John.’ That took everyone by surprise. Surprise followed surprise — Zachariah’s mouth was now open, his tongue loose, and he was talking, praising God!

A deep eventual fear settled over the neighbourhood, and in all that Judean hill country people talked about nothing else. Everyone who heard about it took it to heart, wondering, ‘What will become of this child? God has His hand in this.'” Luke 1:57-66 (The Message).

Zachariah was finally released from his silence because of his unbelief. What transpired in those nine months when he spent a lot of time with his own thoughts? Whatever went on in his mind, he was completely transformed, especially when he saw Elizabeth’s girth beginning to increase and he realised that the angel’s promise to him was for real.

It was a discipline he probably would not like to go through again but it was necessary and he learned his lesson well. He was quick to obey the Lord’s instruction regarding the naming of his son. Contrary to custom and culture, he would not allow the present company to call him Zachariah. He backed up his wife’s declaration that the baby’s name would be John – meaning “grace”.

With this act of obedience came Zachariah’s moment for truth. Through the angel Gabriel, God has spoken an amazing prophecy over the child that was to be born. Now the baby boy had safely entered the world and all the things spoken about him were about to be played out from this time on. He and Elizabeth would be witnesses to and a part of the life of this unusual boy, filled with the Holy Spirit from his birth and ministering in the power and spirit of Elijah.

What did Zachariah feel like, especially as an elderly first-time father, when he looked into the pink and wrinkled little face of his new-born son, knowing that this was a very special and hand-picked child who was his responsibility to raise and train in the ways of the Lord? Did he also think of the fact that he might not even live to see his son into adulthood or into the fulfilment of his calling to be the forerunner of Messiah? Who would take over his role when he was no longer there?

This must have been an overwhelming moment for the old man. He displayed his confidence in the promises of God by giving him the name John. Why John? Was it because everything about the child was pure grace?

It was God’s grace that produced the miracle of conception and birth for an elderly couple who were well beyond childbearing years. It was God’s grace that gave them this special child, whom Jesus called “the greatest of the prophets”. It was God’s grace that took away the reproach of barrenness from Elizabeth and flooded her heart with gratitude for His mercy.

Most of all, it was God’s grace in its fullest measure that would be revealed through the Messiah who would be coming into the world, and who would be the focus of John’s ministry. “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 (NIV).

Mary’s Song

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MARY’S SONG

“And Mary said, “‘I’m bursting with God-news; I’m dancing the song of my Saviour God.
God took one look at me, and look what happened — I’m the most fortunate woman on earth! What God has done for me will never be forgotten, the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others. His mercy flows in wave after wave on those who are in awe before Him. He bared His arm and showed His strength, scattered the bluffing braggarts. He knocked tyrants off their high horses, pulled victims out of the mud. The starving poor sat down to a banquet; the callous rich were left out in the cold. He embraced His chosen child, Israel; He remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high. It’s exactly what He promised, beginning with Abraham and right up to now.’

“Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months and then went back to her home.” Luke 1:46-56 (The Message).

Mary was so ecstatic about the great things God had done for her that, at this stage, she was not concerned about the practical realities of having a child out of wedlock. I don’t think she was unaware of the consequences, but she was not troubled by them because she knew that her pregnancy was a miracle of God, whatever people thought of her.

Had she told Joseph of the angel’s visit and her subsequent pregnancy yet, or did she only tell him on her return to Nazareth? The Bible does not tell us when she told him. We only know that when he found out he was deeply troubled. It took an angelic dream to reassure him that Mary had not been unfaithful to him during their betrothal period. He married her as planned but did not consummate the marriage until after Jesus’ birth.

If Mary was highly favoured of God, so also was Joseph. He was an honourable man, not wanting to disgrace his fiancée’ publicly when he thought that she was guilty of fornication, and refraining from demanding his conjugal rights until after the birth of the child conceived by the Holy Spirit.

Mary was blessed and favoured of God in many ways. Unlike ordinary people who never make it into the history books, her name would never be forgotten. She would always be associated with Jesus the Messiah as the young village girl who was privileged to bring Him into the world.

Never for one moment was she intended to be worshipped as the “Mother of God”, nor did she ever see herself as anything but an ordinary mother. How ridiculous to think that a human being can ever “mother” God. She was the vessel who bore His human form, but Jesus was more than just human. He was Emmanuel, God with us, as Charles Wesley so aptly put it, “Our God contracted to a span, incomprehensibly made man.”

Mary recognised that, in the Son she was going to bear, the promise God made to Abraham was finally about to be fulfilled. And He was bringing it about, not in the palace of a great king or as the offspring of a noble family, but through the womb and in the home of a nobody. That’s just who God is and how He works!

Wily As A Snake

Christian Life, , ,

WILY AS A SNAKE

“The aides were scandalised.’How dare you talk to God’s Chief Priest like that!’

“Paul acted surprised.’How was I to know he was Chief Priest? He doesn’t act like a Chief Priest. You’re right, the Scripture does say, “Don’t speak abusively to a ruler of the people.” Sorry.’

“Paul, knowing that some of the council was made up of Sadducees and others of Pharisees and how they hated each other, decided to exploit their antagonism: ‘Friends, I am a stalwart Pharisee from a long line of Pharisees. It’s because of my Pharisee convictions — the hope and resurrection from the dead — that I’ve been hauled into this court.'” Acts 23:4-6 (The Message).

Paul was in a critical situation — knowing that his life was on the line and that, whatever he said would be taken up the wrong way and used against him. It was up to him now to get as much mileage out of the situation as he could, and to use it to his own advantage. He was a shrewd and quick thinker.

The bullying action of the High Priest was a good opportunity to show him up for what he was and Paul was quick to respond, pretending that he was unaware of the high priest’s position because of his behaviour and making him look like the bully he was in front of his peers.

Jesus counselled His followers to be as wise as serpents and as gentle as doves, especially when they were dragged before the High Council. Paul also knew of the deep divide between Pharisees and Sadducees down both religious and political lines. Pharisees were fully convinced of the supernatural and of the resurrection while Sadducees rejected both ideas. They were the more secular and political wing of the Sanhedrin.

All Paul had to do was to use his rhetorical skill to turn them against each other, and the heat would be off him, and that is exactly what he did. He used his background and training as a Pharisee to identify with the Pharisee section of the Sanhedrin, and they knew it because Paul had been a prominent Pharisee before his conversion, contending for the law to the extent of persecuting the church.

“The moment he said this, the council split right down the middle, Pharisees and Sadducees going at each other in heated argument. Sadducees had nothing to do with a resurrection or angels or even a spirit. If they can’t see it, they don’t believe it. Pharisees believe it all. And so a huge and noisy quarrel broke out. Then some of the religion scholars on the Pharisee side shouted down the others: ‘We don’t find anything wrong with this man! And what if a spirit has spoken to him! Or maybe an angel? What if it turns out we’re fighting against God?'” Acts 23:7-9 (The Message).

Paul got exactly what he wanted and the Roman captain got his answer as well. Now he could see that the whole furore over Paul was nothing more than an internal religious squabble and nothing to do with lawlessness or criminal activity. Paul’s shrew move had blown the whole thing open and forced a “not guilty” verdict from the mouths of at least half of the Sanhedrin.

“That was fuel on the fire. The quarrel flamed up and became so violent that the captain was afraid they would tear Paul apart, limb from limb. He ordered the soldiers to get him out of there and escort him back to the safety of the barracks.” Acts 23:10 (The Message).

Paul was in custody, not because he was guilty, but because he was in danger. It was up to the captain to decide what to do with him. If he released him, the Jews would attack him and start the whole process all over again. God was still in charge, slowly moving in Paul’s life to get him to Rome, where He wanted him to be.