Not As Expected

Image result for disrupted images

The sermon series for this Advent season at my church is aptly titled, “A Disrupted Christmas.” If you can’t relate to that this year, then you’ve missed a good chance! It seems this global pandemic has turned everyone’s life upside down in one way or another. Nothing is as expected in 2020.

Disrupted Plans

It seems we may have something in common with Mary & Joseph. It wasn’t a pandemic, but rather a couple of angels who disrupted their plans, hopes, and dreams. After Mary and Joseph were engaged, they were busy making wedding plans and dreaming of their future as husband and wife when God sent the angel Gabriel to give Mary a message:

“You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”  

Luke 1:31-33 NLT

When Mary questioned how that was possible for a virgin,

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.

Luke 1:35 NIV

Gabriel left Mary with one final message:

“For no word from God will ever fail.”

Luke 1:37 NIV

As you can imagine, the news of Mary’s pregnancy didn’t sit well with Joseph. He had decided to break their engagement quietly when he, too, had an encounter with an angel.

“As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:20-21 NLT

Upon waking from his dream, Joseph did as the angel directed and married Mary.

Not As Expected

I have a feeling that this wasn’t quite how Mary & Joseph drew it up when they got engaged. But God had far bigger plans for them than they could have ever imagined. These angelic disruptions, coupled with Mary and Joseph’s obedience, changed not only the course of Mary & Joseph’s life, but also the course of eternity for all who have placed their faith in the Son of God. From the womb to the tomb, Jesus fulfilled His Father’s purpose and saved his people from their sins. Furthermore, His resurrection conquers death. Believers everywhere can look forward to everlasting life.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16 NIV

Because of love, He came for us;

Because of grace, He died;

Because of hope, He gave us life—a living sacrifice.

Jesus truly is the Ultimate Gift—believe and receive.

Image result for religious Merry Christmas images

The Rest of the Story

After Jesus drank he said, “It is finished.’ Then he bowed his head and died.”

John 19:30 NIRV

Finished. Dead. The End.

Think of the disappointment Jesus’ followers felt at that moment. The man who once stood among them performing countless miracles and wonders, often leaving them speechless, was dead. Jesus’ body was removed from the cross, wrapped in linen, and placed in a tomb. All hope was lost. Or was it? Read on for the rest of the story.

The Tomb Was Empty

On the third day, once the Sabbath had ended, three women from Galilee headed to the tomb where Jesus was buried to anoint His body. This took place early on Sunday morning. When they arrived at the tomb, they saw that the stone had been rolled away from its entrance. My daughter would say they were shook!

“but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body.”

Mark 16:6 NLT

Double-Takes Abound

In the days to come, Jesus would appear to His disciples and select others. They were shook too! They thought their eyes were playing tricks on them. Before His death, Jesus had given the disciples advance notice of His death and resurrection, but it was beyond their comprehension. They heard the rest of the story, but couldn’t grasp it.

“because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.””

Mark 9:31 NIV

Death Has Been Defeated

Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sin, but the story of our redemption wasn’t yet complete. Death did not have the last word. God raised Jesus from the dead and He is now seated at the right hand of His Father in Heaven. He lives! And because He lives, we, too, can look forward to spending eternity with our Heavenly Father. The redemption story is penned in a love that knows no bounds.

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”

John 3:16-17 NLT

Victory is ours, if we choose to believe.

“But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:57 NLT

That, in a nutshell, is the rest of the story.

Right now, I can just hear my father-in-law singing his favorite hymn. Care to sing along? Let these words speak to your heart.

Victory in Jesus

1. I heard an old, old story, how a Savior came from Glory

How He gave His life on Calvary, to save a wretch like me.

I heard about his groaning, of his precious blood’s atoning,

Then I repented of my sins, and won the Victory.

CHORUS

Oh, Victory in Jesus, my Savior forever

He sought me and he bought me with His redeeming blood

He loved me ere I knew Him, and all my love is due Him

He plunged me to Victory, beneath the cleansing flood.

2. I heard about His healing, of His cleansing power revealing.

How He made the lame to walk again and caused the blind to see;

And then I cried, “Dear Jesus, come and heal my broken spirit.”,

And some how Jesus came and brought to me the Victory.

CHORUS

3. I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory,

And I heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea;

About the angels singing, and the old redemption story,

And some sweet day I’ll sing up there the song of Victory!

CHORUS

Sports may have been cancelled due to the Coronavirus, but Easter certainly hasn’t been. If you haven’t already, taste the victory that comes with a personal relationship with Jesus. It’ll be the sweetest one you’ve ever experienced!

Made for Community

One definition of community is a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals. Did you know you were made for community? God never intended for us to go it alone. Otherwise, I suppose He could have stopped with Adam.

Pros and Cons

I am an introvert, but that doesn’t mean I don’t need people. I just need them in smaller quantities and fewer doses! I cherish my alone time. And I cherish my family and friends too. That has only been reinforced over the course of the last 6 weeks or so here in Florida. It’s been the best of times and the worst of times…all at once! We have connected with very few people here, and because we haven’t had any company yet, it has been lonely at times in 2020. I miss my people! But on a brighter note, this quiet time has afforded me a chance to do some things that I struggle to find time to do at home. If your inbox has had a steadier stream of email from The Ultimate Gift lately, it’s because writing has been one of those things!

The Family Expands

If, and when, we accept Christ as Lord and Savior, God adopts us into His family. We are His children. And that makes us part of a community of believers, aka the body of Christ. Your family just got WAY bigger!

“so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.”

Romans 12:5 NLT

A Branch of the Family

On a smaller scale, we can have greater access to the community of believers through a local church. Living a Christian life is anything but easy. It’s important for each of us to have support and encouragement along the way on our faith journey. Connecting to a local church can be an invaluable resource as we seek to become more like Jesus. Paul had this to say in his letter to the Romans:

“When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.”

Romans 1:12 NLT

Loosely Connected

Larger churches generally have more programs to offer, but it is also easier to slip through the cracks in such a church. The church we’ve been attending here in FL reminds us quite a bit of our home church. We are well connected at home, but not so much here. And it’s our own fault! We walk in at the beginning of the Sunday morning service and head straight for the door at the end. In our second winter here, we still haven’t met the pastor! Yet, we love attending this church. We smile and say hello to many, but that’s about the extent of our relational involvement.

Downsizing

The following is an unpaid advertisement for small group ministry! So as not to have anyone in the family slip through the cracks, many churches offer an opportunity to connect to other believers on a deeper level through small groups. These groups are generally made up of 8-12 people. We study, we fellowship, we eat, we do life together…on a regular basis!

I was invited to join a small group at my home church shortly after we became members. (Membership is not a prerequisite) Being the introvert that I am, I didn’t say a word during our study time for the first 18 months. When I finally took that step of faith, God used it in a mighty way. I ended up co-leading the group a few short months later and my spiritual growth took off. I have continued to lead various small groups intermittently ever since and feel certain that I get more from those in my small group than they get from me.

The Bottom Line

The point of this post is that God created us for community with Him and with fellow believers. If you are trying to go it alone, I can’t stress enough how important it is to find a church home. Once you take that step, then you may have to take another by joining a small group. That will lead to an even deeper sense of community.

 “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 NLT

I will close with a math lesson to summarize the preceding verse:

2 > 1 and 3 > 2

We are GREATER together than we can ever be alone!

Remember

A Monument to Help the Israelites Remember

“Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me.”

Isaiah 46:9 NLT

Focus Word and Verse of the Year

At my home church, we are encouraged to choose a word with an accompanying verse from the Bible at the beginning of each year. This word and verse are to serve as a battle cry of sorts as we seek to deepen our faith and keep our focus where it belongs—on Jesus.

The Search Begins

When we flipped our calendars earlier this month, my thought process was that it would be fitting to choose a word that had to do with vision in the year 2020. Get it? The search for my verse and word of the year only seemed to lead to a dead end. Or did it?

I panicked earlier this week when I realized that January was nearly over and I hadn’t found my word and verse yet. Was there a deadline? Only in my mind. My husband calls these my “self-imposed” deadlines. He would know! Surely, I can’t start February without having this settled.

I Think I Found It…I Think

Just the other night, I found a potential winner for 2020. And then I lost it! I was using the Bible App on my phone at bedtime when the Holy Spirit drew my attention to a verse that was at least somewhat related to vision. I already had it highlighted, so I simply filed 46:9 away in my brain. I remember thinking that I wouldn’t forget that because the verse after it is one of my favorites—“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) So, the next day I go to take a closer look at that verse on my iPad and literally couldn’t find it. Psalm 46:9 had nothing to do with vision. Now what? I stewed about this the whole day and kept checking verses that I could have confused with Psalm 46:9. But, to no avail. At bedtime that night, I was on my phone and looked at my recent searches. And there it was—ISAIAH 46:9. Oops…I was looking in the wrong book of the Bible!

My word for 2020 is REMEMBER. Apparently, I am deficient in that skill so it seems to be a very appropriate choice! My verse, Isaiah 46:9, states:

“Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me.”

A Lesson That Stuck

The first experience I had in leading a small group occurred about 15 years ago when my whole church participated in the “Old Testament Challenge”. I often tell my students or my small group that you get out of it what you put into it. “It” is either the class I’m teaching or the study that I’m leading. It’s true! I get way more out of the studies that I lead than the studies that I am simply a participant. Why? Because I have to put time into preparing so I don’t look like a fool! So, I remember (LOL) one lesson in particular from that study that fits nicely with this verse. But first, allow me to set the stage.

God’s Plan

After 40 years of wandering in the desert, the Israelites, under the direction of Joshua, were finally ready to stake their claim to the land God had promised them so long ago. Their first obstacle was the Jordan River. God, of course, had it all figured out. So, He had Joshua relay His message to the Israelites regarding what was about to transpire. The priests would lead the way, carrying the Ark of the Covenant. When they stepped into the Jordan, the flow of water would be cut off and the river would stand up like a wall. This would allow the Israelites to pass through on dry ground while the priests stood in the middle of the Jordan riverbed with the Ark.

How’s that for a plan? Of all the ways to get across the Jordan River, I have a feeling that this plan never crossed your mind. Mine either. Look how my verse for the year ends—“For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me.” That explains why this plan never occurred to us!

It all shook out exactly the way God said it would. I wonder how many jaws had to be picked off the riverbed as the people made their way to the other side?

The Story Isn’t Over

Next, the Lord told Joshua to choose 12 men, one from each tribe, and have them take 12 stones from the riverbed where the priests were standing. They were to carry them out and pile them up where they would be camping that night. Joshua did as directed and the twelve men complied. These stones were going to be used to build a memorial. Why do we have memorials? To REMEMBER!

“Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea when he dried it up until we had all crossed over. He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the Lord’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the Lord your God forever.””

Joshua 4:21-24 NLT

Taking Action

That lesson from the “Old Testament Challenge” encouraged each of us to choose a “memorial” of our own to serve as a reminder of God’s faithfulness in the past. Our memorial doesn’t have to be made of stones. The only qualification necessary is that it helps us REMEMBER.

The Point

When the going gets tough, and Jesus promised that it would, it’s easy to get discouraged. The enemy does whatever he can to drive a wedge between us and God, remember? You may be feeling hopeless right now and ready to give up. If you don’t feel that way now, I’m sure your turn is coming. That is, if you haven’t already had yours. It is at those times that it is critically important to look back and REMEMBER. Reflect on who God is and how He has been faithful in the past. Your vision is 20/20 when looking at your life in the rear-view mirror!

“Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me.”

Isaiah 46:9 NLT