Just As We'd Been Told

 "The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told." Luke 2:20

    When pondering the Christmas account of the Bethlehem shepherds found in Luke's gospel, I thought about them hurrying off to check on the validity of the angel's heavenly message. 

    The angel had said, "This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby..." Sure enough, "they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby who was lying in a manger." (Luke 2: 15-16, emphasis mine) This was cause for praise when they found things were " just as they had been told."

    This brought to mind similar occasions in scripture. 

    When the disciples asked Jesus where they should prepare their celebration of Passover, Jesus sent two of them saying, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. Say to the owner of the house he enters, 'The Teacher asks, "Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?" He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there." Guess what? "The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them." (Mark 14: 13-15, emphasis mine)

    Again, as Jesus approached Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, He sent two of his disciples ahead saying, "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here." Is it any surprise when "those who were sent ahead went and found it just as He had told them."? (Luke 19: 29-32, emphasis mine)

    Ribbons of prophecies and their fulfillments are woven throughout scripture, from the virgin birth to the betrayal of Jesus and more. These came true just as we had been told. God speaks with faithful precision; no purpose of his will ever be thwarted. On that, we can hang our hats.

    Apply this truth to the prophecies yet to be fulfilled and ask yourself, "Will this really come to pass?"

Here are three examples to ponder:

• "Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. On that day, his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west...The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day, there will be one Lord, and his name the only name." (Zechariah 14: 3, 4, 9)
• "'Men of Galilee,' they (the angels) said, 'why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.'" (Acts 1:11)
• "Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other." (Matthew 24: 30-31)

    I think the rest of the story goes like this: And we will find it just as we'd been told. Do you agree?

Truly Wise Men

 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you...The one who seeks finds." Matthew 7: 7-8

"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, 'Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.'" Matthew 2: 1-2

    Our pastor's wife asked me if I would be a Wise Man in the Christmas pageant this year. In preparation for my role, I have pondered the account of the wise men as told in Matthew's gospel. 

    They were a rather mysterious group, weren't they? Also known as the Magi, perhaps their study of the Scriptures combined with astrology propelled them to drop everything and follow "his" star, the star that led the way to the Light of the World. 

    What if they had chosen the comforts of home instead of traversing for miles in search of the King of the Jews? But no, these truly wise men packed up their treasures and went to find the Pearl of great price. (Matthew 13:46)

    I noticed in this story that faith involves action. They asked, they sought and they found. The same holds true throughout the Bible.

    For example, consider the wee tax collector, Zacchaeus. Wanting to see who Jesus was, he sought the best vantage point provided by a sycamore-fig tree, and he was not disappointed when Jesus called him by name. "So he came down and welcomed Him gladly." (Luke 19:6)

    Or how about the actions of the unnamed woman who touched the hem of His garment, seeking healing? "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed," she thought. (Mark 5: 27-28) Immediately it was so.

   Then there were the friends of the paralyzed man whose efforts to take him to Jesus were bogged down by the crowd. Undeterred, they came up with Plan B and lowered the man through the roof. (Luke 5:19) Seeing their faith, Jesus healed this man, too.

    The Bible says when we seek, we shall find. What are we looking for? 

    As the angel told the shepherds who were keeping watch over their flocks by night: "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." The angel went on to say, "You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." (Luke 2: 11-12) When we seek for a Savior, we find Jesus and none other. 

    Only He is deserving of our obedience, our gifts and our worship.

"On coming to the house, they saw the Child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh." Matthew 2:11 

    What a sight that must have been, a snapshot of the glorious worship we will give to our King as we surround His throne by the glassy sea!

"Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 'You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.'" Revelation 4: 9-11

    

God Knows Your Name

 "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you, I have summoned you by name; you are mine." Isaiah 43:1

    Last Monday, my nephew and his wife welcomed their newborn son into the world. We all waited to learn his name, which my sister released with several photographs the following day: Bennett Andrew. When I spoke with the proud grandma, I said, "Think of how many times he will use his name throughout his life along with his date of birth."

    On that same Monday, I was in the airport awaiting my flight home from Houston. The minute I flopped into a chair at the gate, I heard my name called over a loud speaker! My rapid heartbeat thudded in my ears as I gathered my wits about me to approach the desk. 

    "Yes?" I inquired, "I am Rachel Parsons. Is anything wrong?" Well, I needn't have worried; the request was for me to change my seat. I didn't mind, as long as I didn't have to sit in the lavatory on the plane. 

    Out of the sea of humanity that was coursing through the airport that day, my name was called. It was an unexpected, odd and rather frightful moment.

    What if God called my name? Would I shake in my size 10s or would I respond in obedient anticipation?

    Once home, I began to think of all the people in the Bible whom God called by name. Here's what I came up with, though there's likely more:

• Abraham - Genesis 22:1
• Moses - Exodus 3:4
• Samuel - 1 Samuel 3:6
• Elijah - 1 Kings 19:9
• Zechariah - Luke 1:13
• Mary, mother of Jesus - Luke 1:30
• Mary Magdalene - John 20:16
• Simon Peter - John 21: 15
• Saul - Acts 9:4
• Ananias - Acts 9:10

    When someone calls your name, it's a very personal thing, so I am not surprised that God knows me by name. He who formed me in my mother's womb ordained all my days for me before one of them came to be. He who knows the number of hairs upon my head would also know my name. What a comfort that is! He is a God who sees me, who hears me and knows me very intimately and, because I am saved by the blood of Jesus, my name is written in heaven (Luke 10:20). 

    When I was a preschooler, I remember watching a show called "Romper Room." At the close of each show, the hostess would peer through an empty hand mirror and say, "I see Linda; I see Johnny; I see..." Her magic mirror was a way for the child watching at home to feel special, as if he/she were a part of her world. When my name wasn't called, I would wave my arms at the television, vainly wishing to be seen.

    I don't have to do that with the God of the Universe who has summoned me by name. I am His.

"The gatekeeper opens the gate for Him, and the sheep listen to His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out." John 10:3