It's a do over--kind of. Well, I was a little surprised when I pulled out my schedule for blogs this morning and saw Luke 2:1-21 as our passage for the day because we just did it last Wednesday (10-28). Apparently we didn't catch the duplication on our end. (Sorry about that, but I'm thinking God must have wanted us to read these verses again.) So I pondered writing yet another blog on this passage but decided against it. With our unique "do over" situation today I thought it would be a nice change for YOU to blog me (and the rest of P4) about Luke 2:1-21.
So would you take a couple of minutes and tell me something you learned, felt, questioned, liked from this passage. What did God communicate to you through Luke 2:1-21? Make this your blog today. I can't wait to read your thoughts! Tami W.
I think I was meant to read this passage again today. I was reading and at first though, "this is such a familiar pasage, its a waste of time to read it today." What stood out was the shepards being in great fear. I have been working hard of letting go of the fears I have in trusting God to care for my two children. It has been very difficult to turn this over recently. But here we are, God giving His son for us, of course I can trust him with my children. It is also good for me to remember that it is okay to be afraid. I have been feeling guilty that I have not more easily had trust.
This passage has said many things to me when read, but today it said just what God wanted me to hear, "fear not" good things are coming!
Tami,
As I reread this passage, I also read the application notes in my NLT translation. I was greatly inspired and blessed by what it had to say about Mary and Joseph. Their trip to Bethlehem was by no means a pleasant journey, as we know. But, God never promises that our life journey will be easy. He teaches that the difficult times will strenghthen us, only because we must lean on Him at those times. As believers, it is vital that we take it by faith, that these trials have meaning in God's plan for us. He is all the guide we need. I read somewhere that instead of us praying for MORE faith, we should simply use what we have and step out there. May He be glorified in all our life journey!
Morning Tami. What struck me about this passage was what the shepherds saw. Imagine seeing the angel for one, but then to see a mighty host singing praises. My word, what a picture. Thank you God for sending your Son, so we may live with you forever and ever.
Amen, Amen.
Talk about humble beginnings- an example to us that it is not all about the glitz and glamour- but about having a purpose and fulfilling that God given purpose. As i read from this passage it came clear to me that Jesus is the king of Kings , the Lord of Lords, yet he came to us as a babe , born to a virgin in a manger suitable for animals. Humble yet extraordinary! Got me thinking that often times we look at our situations and think that because of where we are coming from and because of what we have been through we are not designed for great things, when indeed we are if we follow God's designed plan for our lives. As i read i got to thinking about Mary and Joseph two humble, obedient , God fearing individuals who did not know where God was taking them but was willing to let him carry out his perfect will through their lives regardless of outside opinions. something we should strive to do so that the will of God can be done through our lives of obedience and total surrender to God. God bless you all and hope we will indeed become vessels for God to use. Have a great day!
Well, one thing that strikes me every time I read this account is the faithfulness of the shepherds. Here they are, minding their own business, and a couple angels show up and scare the daylights out of them. Now they didn't respond like I sometimes do with fear and run and hide. No, they said to each other, in essence, "let's step out into the unknown and check this out!" And once they actually saw the good news with their own eyes, they didn't just keep it to themselves. As it says in verse 20, they shared the good news, praising and glorifying God. All of this just reminds me that I need to step out in faith daily to what God is calling me to do. And whether I succeed or fall flat on my nose, I need to praise and glorify God for what He is teaching me.
This is my first time to blog and join in on the P4 program.
I did not catch the previous lessons or discussion on the radio, so please bear with me.
I belive that it was important for the census to happen at that point of time. Yes it was a hard journy on Mary. The census provided a written account of joseph's marriage to Mary and of their child Jesus. This provides hard evidence of his birth and proof of his lineage of david for all the skeptics of this century.
The shepards recieved the good news from the angels and hearing the praises to God was nessary to extablish his divinity. Their was compleet strangers go about and telling everyone they see of the great news of his birth. This was important cause these strangers had notthing to gain from mary or joseph or any associations with them. All this was to keep the skeptics at bay. Mary had to be concern with the awsom responsibility that was bestowed on them and probably was in aw of it.
Well Tami, don't know much about a blog but i thought it was nice the way you handled this do-over i have m/s and had a stroke so sometimes everyday is a do-over if you know what i mean. thank you and God bless all of you
I appreciated reading all the comments. They were all great. The only other thing I could add was as Dr. Kroll has said it's a good example of "come and see, go and tell."
When I read this again, I felt that the Lord was pointing out that even when we don't see things like the people in the Bible did (Angels coming before them, Prophets bringing messages etc) that we must still have strong Faith.
We have His Word and the Holy Spirit. When we read His Word, it comes to life in our hearts. Instead of seeing the things happen, we feel them with our hearts.
It is really wonderful reading everyone's comments. Dian N, your comments about Mary and Joseph not knowing where God was taking them but that they were willing to let Him carry out His perfect will through their lives regardless of outside opinions is something we should strive to do. By listening to Him when He speaks to us through His Word or in that still, small voice so that the will of God can be done through our testimonies.
Thanks again and it is always a pleasure to read the blog. Sometimes I am a bit disappointed when I do not see a comment, but I have learnt that our comments/responses are driven by what is in our heart at the time. Love and hugs to all.
Hey thank you everyone for jumping in and blogging. I'm thinking maybe I should try passing the blog off to all of you more often.
:-) Hmm....What do you think??? Tami W.