Day 6: When the Good News Gets Even Better

The Magi brought gifts to Jesus:
Gold signifying _________________. kingship

Frankincense signifying ____________. priesthood

Myrrh signifying _________________. death

Herod knew he had been tricked (by the magi). How then do you imagine the magi were able to escape his wrath? God allowed them to escape, for nothing is possible for Him!

Two teenagers and a newborn infant are forced to flee to a strange land without the means to support their family. Was the gold brought to them by the magi simply a happy coincidence or was an all-knowing God aware six-hundred years prior that a financial pledge would be critical for the young couple as they fled abroad? Was Daniel's heroic answer to the king's dream, which saved the lives of those magi's ancestors, causing them to revere Daniel and his descendant, the Christ child, merely happenstance?

Not in my opinion! God knows the 'big picture' and the entire story from beginning to end. He knew these things before they happened or needed to happen!

Day 5: When the Good News Gets Even Better

A thought about "saving" the oppressed Jewish people: It is difficult to go into any oppressed culture and have people be receptive to "being saved" because they naturally think in terms of "level of offense" rather than the "condition of the heart."

The Glory of God appeared before the shepherds...what was the "Glory of God"? Was it an extremely bright light and some sort of mystical presence?

The Glory of God had not been seen by anyone on the earth in almost six hundred years. During the wanderings of Israel in the wilderness, the Glory of God appeared as a cloud by day to shelter the Hebrews from the sun and fire by night to keep them warm. The Glory of God had last been seen by Ezekiel in a vision when he was held captive in Babylon. Solomon's temple, where the Glory was then residing, was burned to the ground by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. Before its destruction, God allowed Ezekiel to see the Glory depart from the temple, move to the threshold of the temple, then move to the eastern gate of the city, then over over the Mount of Olives, and go back to heaven (Ezek. 9-11). The Glory of God had not been seen by any human being for almost six hundred years. Is it any wonder the shepherds were so frightened?

Shepherds made up the bottom rung of the social ladder. They were considered untrustworthy, and their testimony was not valid in a court of law. How interesting that God chose these men to be the first Jews to see the Messiah. Why would anyone try to fabricate something like this?

Many scholars believe that the "cloths" were actually burial cloths used for wrapping a deceased body in preparation for burial. That being so, the uniqueness of the sign would have been the burial cloths, not the manger. The sign would point to the fact that this child was "born to die". But Dr. Ken Bailey, an expert on Middle Eastern culture, asserts that the significance of the wrapping cloths was that it actually freed these simple peasants to do what the angel had said. He states that these simple shepherds would never have felt comfortable entering the home of a person or family of royal lineage. Since the baby was wrapped in these common strips of cloth, these men would identify the family as peasants, just as they were. The cloths gave the shepherds the green light to feel welcome, and it also made a statement that the Messiah will open the doors of salvation and acceptance to everyone, regardless of status, gender, or nationality.

Therefore, there is no ______________ for those in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). condemnation

(What an awesome thing is that?!)

Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as _____________ as snow (Isaiah 1:8). white

One day all believers will stand in God's presence ______________ and with ___________ (Jude 24). faultless, joy

On the sidebar of page 23: "Our identity does not come from what we have done, whether good or bad. Our identity comes from what God has done on our behalf."

Because we seldom read these passages except during the euphoria of the Christmas season, it is easy to miss the critical impact of what is implied as well as stated. Do you find it interesting that the angel links peace with God's favor? It makes sense, but it should make you nervous if you view it the way most of us have been taught. Let's illustrate: Answer the following questions as honestly as you can:

As God looks at you, is He pleased with what He sees? Yes, I believe He is!

How would you rate His pleasure with you on a scale of 1-10? I'd say maybe a 7 or 8

What was the basis for the number you wrote? My rating was based on the fact that I am faithful to Him, that I try to share Him with others including raising my children to know about Him, that I believe firmly in His grace saving me....

Does your number reflect (a)your behavior or (b)who you are as a person? B

Unless we are firmly convinced of our identity, we will never be able to adequately deal with temptation. We will see this clearly in the life of Jesus when He is baptized and then goes head to head with Satan himself. God spoke at His baptism, saying,"This is my Son in whom I am well pleased." This was as much for Jesus' sake as for the crowd's. The assurance of who He was would have been crucial when Satan questioned His identity as the Son of God.

Some scripture about the people who know Jesus:

I am a ____________ of Jesus Christ (John 15:15). friend

I have been made ____________ (Col. 2:10). full

I am ________________ for all time (Heb. 10:14). perfected

I am _____________ and ____________ (Eph. 1:4; Col. 1:22) holy, without blame

I am totally ________________ (Col. 2:13). forgiven

I am __________ in His sight (Isa. 43:4). precious

I am the _____________ of God (2 Cor. 5:21). righteousness

I am a ______________ (Eph. 1:1; Col. 1:2). saint

If the glory of God is now present in the life of the believer, how can we ever again think of ourselves as worthless?

Question: Are you a (a)sinner saved by grace or (b)a saint?

I consider myself a sinner saved by grace!

Which of the above reflects more humility, a or b?

I initially thought a, but as I read on in this lesson, found out that b is the better answer! Why is this?

Because sins are what you do, not who you are! Who you are is a saint who sometimes messes up. To see yourself as a saint is more humble because it has nothing to do with anything you achieved or earned. You didn't make yourself a saint or even come up with the title. God did!

Why is understanding what the angel said to the shepherds so critical? If you do not believe God is pleased with you as a person, you will spend the rest of your life trying to make yourself pleasing to Him. There are not enough verses you can memorize, Bible studies you can attend, or sins that you can avoid for you to ever feel disillusioned, cynical, and dissatisfied with everything about your life and will never understand or experience peace. How can a believer be at peace if he or she can never do enough to achieve God's favor? It's impossible!

The Glory of God returned to earth as the shepherds stood in awe. During His time on earth, the Glory resided in Jesus. When He ascended into heaven the Glory of God left with Him, but the Glory later returned at Pentecost (Acts 2). Where does the Glory of God now dwell? (Col. 1:27) in us!

How can a believer have the living God take up residence inside of him and still be determined to define himself by the sins he commits rather than by the Glory that lives within him?

Day 4: When the Good News Gets Even Better

On the sidebar of page 19:

Consider this: Jesus was the only person who was ever born as a result of his own choice. The rest of us were born because someone else made the choice. In fact, Jesus most certainly sat in on the meeting to decide whom His mother was going to be.

Did you know that the name John means "grace"? I didn't! This indicated that "...God is now planning to do a whole new thing. From now on, God's faithful will no longer follow Him out of duty and obligation, but out of desire, which is the essence of grace."

Be honest. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1=lowest amount of obligation; 10=highest), how much of your spiritual walk is out of obligation? I'd say maybe 3!

More about John: "Luke says he lived in the wilderness until he began his ministry at age thirty. Why? Probably to be kept apart from the erroneous teaching of pharisaic Judaism, which permeated Jewish society."

Notice how an engagement was in Jewish life as Matthew refers to Joseph as Mary's __________ in verse 19 before they were married.

epoused

Thoughts for discussion:
1. As Jesus grew, do you think He was ever confronted directly with the false charge of being illegitimate?
I'd never thought about this....I'd say it was possible. I don't know whether or not this was something that was 'discussed' during the day in Jewish society.

2. How would you answer the charge that Jesus was born out of wedlock?

I would say that no, he was not illegitimate. He was not born of 'normal' circumstances, 'normal' labels, etc. don't apply!

Day 3: When The Good News Gets Even Better

Read and compare the two encounters with Gabriel and the difference between Zacharia's and Mary's response.

Zacharia responded with fear, Mary was shaken but not afraid. Zacharia responded with disbelief, Mary responded by promising she would do as it was said.

There is a sidebar about the prophesies about the Messiah's birth. Then there is a question:
What would have been the one prophecy about the Messiah that would probably have caused Mary to think she would not be the one? (see Mic. 5:2) This one talks about how the birth would come from Bethlehem, but that was not where she lived.

Take a guess from the following options at what age a young man and a young woman would be considered ready for marriage.
A Jewish girl: 12, 12 yrs. + 1 day, 13, 14 1/2
A Jewish boy: 13, 14, 16, 18
The correct answer would be girl: 12 years + 1 day and boy: 18 yrs.

An interesting tidbit on the sidebar: The angel Gabriel is highly regarded in Jewish theology in Jewish theology as a messenger from God. He is pictured in rabbinic writings as standing before the throne of God. For Gabriel to be send specifically to Zacharias implies that he was a major topic of discussion in the "board room" in heaven, an incredible honor for him.


In the next section, we're asked to stand in Mary's sandals.

*You will have to entrust yourself to God for your relationship with your fiance. Describe your emotions after you begin to process what you have been told.

Wow. As a mom I know what emotions I went through each time I discovered I was expecting, and once even as I found out that I'd been given a blessed surprise kind of like Mary. But to know how I would be scrutinized, how hard life would be for me the next several months?? I would have been scared and apprehensive, and feel as though I had nowhere to turn. Being as that she didn't explain things to her family, there had to be times when they chastised her. She was experiencing new emotions and physical sensations and wasn't able to fully share and embrace them because she could not share from which they came. She had to feel frustrated at times over this, I would think!

You will have to trust God to protect you from slander within your community. How will your child be viewed as He grows up?
I would think that knowing that He was going to be the Messiah brought her comfort and hope that He would be accepted and loved by all. I would think she would feel that her current frustrations and pains would be worth it once everyone knew that she had been chosen to carry the Messiah!

You will have to trust God for your personal safety. The penalty for a betrothed virgin found with child was ......death! (Lev. 20:10)

Something to consider: Often God does things that may seem illogical to us at the time because He thinks so differently than we do.

Can you think of a way God has does this sort of thing in your life or in the lives of others?

We were just talking about this last night at United Methodist Women..a friend of ours had recently quit her job due to lots of problems coming up there, and it was very difficult and painful for her. She recently found out that her mother may have cancer. We agreed that maybe God had helped relieve her of her job so she could be free to care for her mother.

Day 2: When the Good News Gets Even Better

Some interesting tidbits from day 2:
On Herod:

He suffered from paranoia, always fearful that his crown would be stolen from him. Ruthless and bloodthirsty, he put to death anyone he even mildly suspected of usurping his authority. He had 3 of them (his wives) and at least 3 of his sons killed for that very reason...He was deeply hated by the Pharisees because of his contempt for the laws of God and by the Sadducees, who resented him for severely curtaining their power and influence....he supposedly converted to Judaism but was never considered a true Jew...he was well aware of his unpopularity among the Jews and feared that no one would mourn on the day he died. He ordered that prominent families (men, women, and children) be gathered together and herded into the Hippodrome (a large stadium area) and put to death the moment he died so that there would be mourning throughout the land on that day. Upon his death, his wife mercifully released all of the people, subverting his evil wishes...Herod the Paranoid may be a more fitting title for him at the end of his life.

On Zacharias:

Because no one but the priest may enter into the Holy of Holies, a rope would have been tied around his waist in order to pull him out in the event that he died performing his duties...where the angel stood was the cause of his great fear...if the priest entered the Holy of Holies and an angel appeared at the right side of the altar, God was displeased with the offering and the priest would die. Though there is no record of this ever happening, the possibility was always on their mind...

This little quiz was included....which of these quotations are from the Bible?
--"Charity begins at home."

--"Above all, to thine own self be true."

--"God helps those who help themselves."

--"Never a borrower or a lender be."

--"Cleanliness is next to godliness."

--"The Devil can cite Scripture for his own purpose."

(For the record, none of these are found in the Bible!

Can you think of any Christian traditions that are more cultural than biblical?

Many of our traditions surrounding Christmas are cultural. Anything related to Independence Day is cultural, of course.

On Elizabeth:

Consider the fact that Elizabeth is childless. Her barrenness would have been considered a great shame in first-century Jewish culture. This cause-and-effect mentality would foster the natural assumption that she and her husband had secretly sinned against God and were paying the price. many believers still think that way today.

Imagine being saddled with this kind of guilt all your life. Consider for a moment what God is doing here. This faithful couple painfully accepts their plight of childlessness. At the point where they have finally given up the dream of having children, God comes through against all odds. What does this say to you about learning to give up? We are taught always to persevere and to persist however, it is often when we finally give up our desires and dreams that God comes through in miraculous ways.

Question: Write what it means to "die to your dreams."

I think that this means that when we finally realize that we can't do it on our own, that we can't reach that goal in our life by our own might and power, that God is able to work. When we give up control and stop focusing on the GOAL instead of GOD, that He shows us that our faithfulness is really what He desired to see in us all along!

Thus ends Day 2...let's not even talk about how many days it took for me to get this one done!

Web Ministry class

I'm doing a course through the United Methodist Board of Global Ministry called "Web Ministry". It is interesting stuff! I hope to put my new knowledge to use in helping our church create more of a presence on the web. I have found some statements in the reading that I'm doing today that I'd like to keep track of, hence this blog post! :)

The title of this reading is "Defining Moments"

The word “communication” has its roots in “commune” or “common ground.”
Communication involves using tools to “push” information to people and/or “pull” people in by the information we share...With the Web, we are able to combine the “push” and “pull” of communication to achieve a dynamic experience for listeners and viewers...Our intent in communicating the gospel is to determine how the message we communicate should be focused for the people of our time...we are concerned with the question, “How can the gospel be communicated to make the message heard and seen, and then either rejected or accepted?”...The Christian gospel is a matter of decision … All that we who communicate the gospel can do is to make possible a genuine decision.”...But our objective should always be to present the gospel in ways so clear and self-evident that the recipient will have an Aha! experience and the good news will make perfect sense to his or her inner world...Because communication, and more specifically communication of the gospel, is a matter of participation, we who communicate the gospel must understand the others to whom we are communicating. We must find a common ground upon which to communicate...When we communicate the gospel, we seek to make vital connections that:

*
Tell the church's story.
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Touch people's lives.
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Support one another along the spiritual journey.
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Reach out to those who are hurting, in need and suffering.
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Put faith into action.
Whether you are ready for it or not, the Internet is the new mission field and the place to engage people in meaningful relationships with one another and with God.

So there's today's interesting tidbits! :)

When the Good News Gets Even Better

Yes, I'm doing it again, starting a new Bible study. Since I'm now DONE with studying for school, maybe I'll actually complete this one!

Have any of you done this study? I'd love someone to discuss this with, if so!

So today I begin!

Interesting thoughts:

Throughout the Old Testament, Israel is called the "bride of God."...They, like each of us, have loved God and yet have disobeyed Him, often trusting in their own abilities rather than in His faithfulness and sovereignty. God's beloved bride sought other lovers, yet He continues, even to this day, to pursue them with His unfailing love.
But God had been strangely silent during the four hundred years from the end of the writing of the Old Testament until the beginning of the New Testament...At the right time, He wraps Himself in human skin and pitches His tent in the midst of humanity and lives among those He created, identifying with every human emotion and every human hurt. Never again would a man or woman be able to say,"God, you don't understand what it's like to be me."

Did you know Luke was the only gospel writer who was not a Jew? I didn't! He writes to the fellow Gentiles, specifically Greeks, who were consumed with the concept of the "ideal man."

On the sidebar of p. 11...

You may wonder how these men could have remembered exact conversations and teachings of Jesus 30-60 years after the fact....Every word is from the very breath of God. How can we know they were accurate? In John 14:26, Jesus tells them that the Holy Spirit will give them perfect recall. (He will "bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.")

Write a brief definition of the "gospel" as it is typically used today. ("We left our former church because the minister didn't preach the gospel.")

I wrote: gospel = teachings on life of Jesus

If the Word is a person and not simply doctrinal information, can we not properly conclude that the "gospel" is also a person?...We will never all agree on every point, but we can agree that the gospel IS this unique, God-man, Jesus Christ, fully and completely, and believe if He is lifted up as the centerpiece, the whole world will feel welcome to gather around Him, explore His free gift of life, and become His companion.

From the sidebar on p. 12: "...Doctrine is a tool that god uses to change our perception of reality, but only the person of Jesus can change teh heart. Everything was intended to revolve around this person. Life is a person (Col. 3:4); Truth is a person (John 14:6); Love is a person (1 John 4:16). A particular theology may draw some, but only the person of Jesus can draw every human being. If we gather around the centrality of Jesus, our theological differences will slowly dissipate because our desire will change from wanting to be right to wanting only Him."

Also from p. 12 sidebar: 5 women appear in Matthew's genealogy of Christ: Tamar (a Jew), Rahab (a Gentile prostitute), Ruth (a Moabite), Bathsheba (a temptress who brought down a king), and Mary (a simple peasant girl)
Matthew is telling us that a new age is coming; a time when Jews and Gentiles, men and women, saints and sinners will all be on equal footing with God. the Messiah will make no distinctions. This would have been revolutionary.

Finally finished with Day 1...only took me 3 days! LOL