Going on a treasure hunt

  Patience is not one of my virtues so when I read and think about the story of the wise men I am always amazed.  You can read about their story in Matthew 2 and I caught some things that have not jumped out at me before.

In Matthew we are introduced to Herod who is currently king and considered a usurper because he was not out of the house of David.  It also becomes clear that he was not a nice king, had a bad attitude and was paranoid of someone taking his throne.   He is visited by these wise men.  I always thought there were 3 wise men but in reading the study portion of my Bible I realized that we don't know how many there were.  We just know there were 3 gifts, which is where you get the 3 wise men.  So these men come and ask Herod where this Messiah is to be born because they had seen his star rise and had been following it.  Did you catch that?  They saw his star rise.

 "Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men  from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”  Matthew 2:1-2

That told me these men were always watching the stars and saw this one which was different and watched as it rose into the sky.  I also think these were very learned men because they knew to ask for the Messiah.  Jesus is prophesied all over the Old Testament and this made me think that they had been taught or had access to Old Testament teachings.  What I love about this part of the Christmas story is the mystery of it.  The Bible does not give us all the details and to me that is part of what really drew me into these people.

The other thing I noticed and kept coming back to was their determination.  We don't know where they were from but the Bible does let you know that they traveled far.  At this time travel was a slow process and you did not get anywhere quickly.  That tells me this star rose in the sky and they did not arrive at a little Bethlehem stable with a bunch of shepherds.  This tells me that they saw God place that star at the birth of his son and these men spent months and months traveling.  My Bible uses the term searching.  I love that term because it lets me know that these men found something and they were willing to go to great lengths to find it.  Are you willing to go to great lengths to find something God has shown you a glimpse of?

I don't want my personal walk with God to look like images of the next big fad in religion.  I want people to look back on my life and see me like these wise men.  Someone who spent her life searching for a deeper, stronger and closer walk with my God.  Someone who did not give up when the road got rough but instead trusted what the Lord placed in front of my and followed.   These men were truly acting on faith.  They were following a star to a new country, talking to an unknown king about a new king, and then believing a dream when it told them not to return to Herod.  What an amazing picture of faith.  What a great image of the phrase "where you lead... I will follow".  

I want to encourage you today to truly look at your life and relationship with the Lord as a journey.  Just like the journey of these men.  There will be good and bad times, but in it all we need to place our faith in the Lord, follow the path he has set before us and keep on going.  Christmas is this week and I pray as we get closer to that day that you will truly pause to thank God not just for the birth of his son but for the fact that he came, died and rose on the 3rd day so that we might have salvation.  Christmas is just the beginning of an amazing story that has not yet been finished.

Do you have time to hear him?

In my last post we talked about the people of Bethlehem who missed the birth of our Savior.  He came and left with his family without them even knowing what happened.  I talked about how many times we miss what the Lord might have to teach or show us because we are not looking for it.  Today I want to talk about a small group of shepherds.  As I have continued my journey through Advent with Max Lucado in God Came Near I am most affected by what he has said about the shepherds.

"The stable stinks like all stables do.  The stench of urine, dung, and sheep reeks pungently in the air.  The ground is hard, the hay scarce. Cobwebs cling to the ceiling and a mouse scurries across the dirt floor.

A more lowly place of birth could not exist.

Off to one side sit a group of shepherds. They sit silently on the floor, perhaps perplexed, perhaps in awe, no doubt in amazement. Thier night watch had been interrupted by an explosion of light from heaven and a symphony of angels.  God goes to those who have time to hear him - so on this cloudless night he went to simple shepherds."

Did you catch it?  "God goes to those who have time to hear him..." I don't know about you but this phrase almost knocked me on my butt.  Wow, how many times do I live my life like the people of Bethlehem so caught up in the busyness of life around me that I don't take or have time for God, not really.  In my last post I talked about how many times we rank time with God as something to be crossed off the list and when we do then our hearts and minds are not ready or willing to really hear what God has for us.  No wonder our devotion time is so empty and routine.  Yet in this story the group willing to listen, wanting to hear was a group of shepherds.  In reality we are talking young men.  For example, remember King David was a shepherd for his family when he was anointed king by Samuel.

"And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.”  Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” 

And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.”  

1 Samuel 16:10-11

Again we see here in a moment where God was about to do something amazing he chose the most unlikely.  I keep trying to truly imagine what those young shepherds had to of been thinking not only when the Angel appeared to announce the birth of Christ but then God followed it up with a giant choir of Angels singing.  I wonder if I would have just fallen prostrate on the ground knowing that what was before me was so undeserved.  My favorite part is that these young shepherds did not question the Angel.

 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,

    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”[c]

 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”  And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.  And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.  And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.

Luke 2:8-18

In this passage I see several things that stand out to me about the shepherds.  First I see that the Lord was pleased with them.  There was something in the heart of these men that caused the Lord to choose them to be one of the announcers of his son's birth.  Shepherds...God chose lowly shepherds to announce his son's birth to the town!  Then it is amazing at how inspirational their story was because Luke talks about how the people who heard the story wondered  at what the shepherds told them.  Here we have a small group of men/boys who have willing hearts, who have pleased the Lord and they realize that God has told them something special.  So they leave their flocks, which is unheard of and go to find this child in a stinky, dirty stable.  

What I love about God the more I study and learn is that he loves using the most unlikely people in the most unlikely ways.  That means each time I think that I am just a Mom, who is just a woman, who has no training or special gifting can be used in a very unlikely way by God...if I have time to hear Him.  Did you catch that, if I have time to hear God.

You see the unlikely men who were chosen to visit a baby the night he was born made a real impression on his mother.  In verse 19 Luke talks about how Mary pondered their visit in her heart.  She not only has given birth to God's son but was visited by shepherds who apparently impacted her enough to truly make a life impression.  How cool is that!  God used these shepherds to encourage Mary, to celebrate with her and her new little family.  All because they were willing to listen.

What has God been wanting to tell you but you have been so caught up in the chaos of Christmas that you missed it?  What might God have for you if you will just take the time to really look into his Word to see what he has to show you that you have never seen before?  Our life and time on this earth is what we make it.  We can walk through this life trying to keep up with the speed of chaos or we can remember that we live in a broken world that desperately needs a Savior, and in all the chaos they are missing it!  Could you be on of the messengers?  Do you realize God could have a task just for you, if you will take the time to listen.  I am really working hard to slow the life of myself and my family down because I want us to make sure we are not just growing in Christ but looking for opportunities to bring his love to this broken world.  I want to be one of those people that God is pleased with...don't you?  Don't be like the people of Bethlehem but instead strive to be like the shepherds seeking and willing to listen when God is ready to speak.

Are you missing it?

Have you ever had a period of time in your life where you feel like you are not really hearing from God?  Today and Wednesday we are going to look at two characters in the Christmas story.  One is the town/people of Bethlehem and the other are the shepherds in the field.  I am really excited to share what God is teaching me through Max Lucado's book God Came Near.  This book is really helping me to open up my perspective to this story, look at characters in a new way, challenge my thinking and allow God to tell me this story in a new way.

"One's imagination is kindled thinking about the innkeeper and his family at the breakfast table.  Did anyone mention the arrival of the young couple the night before?  Did anyone ask about their welfare? Did anyone comment on the pregnancy of the girl on the donkey? Perhaps. Perhaps someone raised the subject.  But, at best, it was raised, not discussed.  There was nothing that novel about them. They were, possibly, one of several families turned away that night." (Chp 1 pg 21)

 I agree with Max when he said, Augustus did this town a favor when he decided to do this census.  This was a little town but if all these people had to return for this census then you know it's economy was suddenly boosted.  Also, you need to remember that people traveled on foot and in groups or caravans.  Some would ride camels, horses or donkey's but all in all you were travelling at the speed you could walk.  This give me the impression that these people were not just arriving in town to check off a box in an office and leave the next day.  Remember when Mary went to see Elizabeth she was there for 3 months.  I don't think they needed to be there that long but I truly think they had intentions to be there for at least a couple weeks, especially knowing Mary was pregnant.

In Micah 5:1-2 the Bible give a prophecy that Jesus will be born in Bethlehem.  "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times."   As I looked I was reminded that Mary and Joseph did not know Jesus would be born in Bethlehem.  Nothing in scripture from Matthew or Luke tells me they knew beforehand that this would be the place of his birth.  People did not have access to scripture the way we do so we all know that the people of Bethlehem probably did not know the savior was predicted to arrive in their town.  They were not looking for him.  Mary and Joseph were just another couple/family in town for the census.

"It is doubtful that anyone mentioned the couple's arrival or wondered about the condition of the girl.  They were too busy.  The day was upon them.  The day's bread had to be made.  The morning's chores had to be done.  There was too much to do to imagine that the impossible had occurred." (Chp 1 pg 22) 


I love the picture Max has painted of a little town, busting at the seams with people in for a census.  The Market had to be full to overflowing as people traveling were trying to sell their wears along with the people of the town.  To me it is like the Mall in December, just so full of people so focused on their list of gifts and presents that they never really stop to look around them.  This was Bethlehem, something amazing had happened and they missed it! Why...because they were not looking for it.

How often do we miss something God has to show or teach us because we are so caught up in the business of our lives.  We claim that we have not really heard from God lately but we have let our devotion time become something we check off our todo list.  Grab our devotional, read, pray, thank and move on.  Oh yeah, I am guilty too!  It is easy to really hear from the Lord at church or a conference because we are looking for it, we are tuned in to the Lord, preparing our hearts and minds for what he has for us.  But do we do this at home?  Do we really take time to listen?  Do we prepare our hearts in the morning to be seeking what God has to show us at the grocery store?  He may have someone you need to pray with but you miss it because like Bethlehem you are not looking for it.

As a Mom this is really hard because my girls are always keeping me on my toes. However, this study has made me want to begin teaching them to look and listen.  My oldest Kathryn is the type who will say lets help that person, can we talk to them?  She has such a sensitive heart and my prayer is that as she grows the Lord will strengthen and develop that heart. As her Mom I want to be more like her now.  Christmas is a crazy busy time of year but it is also a great opportunity to look and listen.  Don't be like the people of Bethlehem and this is just another event on the calendar.  Pause and listen, I have a feeling that God has something amazing to show you if you will just look for it.

Hidden Strength

As a parent it is common to be told that your children look just like you or their father or that their behavior is just like your husbands when he was a kid.  I always laugh when this happens because it is so very true for my girls.  My oldest daughter looks just like my hubby's side of the family.  She looks like a Carlson and in some pictures she is what his younger brother would have looked like as a girl.  On the other hand my youngest daughter looks like my side of the family and resembles me in many ways.  However, their personalities are opposite.  My oldest may look like my husband but she acts so much like me I have a friend who refers to her as karma.  As parents we hold great influence on our children, especially when it comes to how they act, their moral compass  and their interactions with people around them.  One of the best books I ever read about children was by Anne Ortland called "Children are Wet Cement".  This book talks about the influence we as parents, friends, adults, teachers, etc have not only on our children but the ones we come in contact with daily.    The impressions if strong enough can become permanent.

As I began to dig into Joseph and all the Bible had to say about him was surprised.  There is not much information about him.  Most of the references are in Matthew and Luke regarding the birth of Christ, however, there are a couple additional references in John but they do not speak about Joseph directly.  The more I read and thought about Joseph the more interesting I have found him and I am sad we know so little about him...or do we.

The announcement of Jesus came in 3 waves, Gabriel appeared to Zachariah, then 6 months later appeared to Mary, then after Mary was pregnant he appeared to Joseph.  One of the things I noticed in my reading was that Joseph already knew Mary was pregnant when Gabriel came to speak to him in his dream.  We are told that Joseph was a good man and Matthew referred to him as "the carpenter".

"...When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was amazed and said, “Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?” 55 Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph,[f] Simon, and Judas. 56 All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things?” 57 And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him." Matthew 13: 55-57

This tells us that Joseph was well known, which means his family was well known.  Son's normally were trained by their fathers and took on the same business.  This also gives the impression that he had good standing in the city and people used his skills.  So when he finds out from Mary that she was pregnant he does what most people might do...panic.  He begins to think of all of his options and if you look at scripture he did not consider marriage as an option.  You see even if he married Mary quietly, everyone would still know that she got pregnant before they were married.  We all know how the grape vine works, they did not need social media for that rumor to spread or for accusations to be made.  Then Gabriel visits Joseph in a dream and give him a 3rd option, you see Joseph was trying to decided if he was going to divorce Mary or you may not realize the other option was to stone her.  That was the tradition at the time when this happened.  But in Matthew 1:19 it says that he did not want to publicly disgrace her, which tells me he cared for Mary.  He did not want harm to come to her, but felt trapped.

What I love most is that when Gabriel had finished his message and Joseph woke up, he immediately got up and married Mary.  He did not argue with Gabriel and one of my books Heart of the Old Testament says this about him: "He was a man of genuine piety, of simple faith, of real industry, with sympathetic understanding and deep devotion to Mary."  I love this description because it rings true for me when I read in Matthew that Joseph did not want her disgraced, which to me means having her stoned was not an option he considered highly.  The other thing is the picture of his faith.  It is almost like he wanted to help and protect her he just needed the push or the assurance he actually could.  Gabriel gave him that because he reacted immediately.

So here we have a man who was devoted to his soon to be wife, trying to protect her, stepping out on faith to join her in a journey that would publicly label them for life and yet he did not hesitate.  I see such strength in Joseph and I think we can see that strength in Jesus.  You see Jesus may have been God's son but I think the Lord knew his parents would have great influence on him which is why he chose the people he chose.  As a carpenter, Joseph was used to hard work, long hours, dealing with people happy and unhappy.  All these things were things Jesus saw everyday growing up.  His family was well known, we see that in Matthew 13.  People knew his family, they knew his parents and as Jesus begins his ministry they are completely thrown.  It also tells me that even though their marriage might have started off publicly rough, Joseph worked hard to be an honest, good man in all he did.  In the verses above they are not speaking negatively regarding his family, they are negative towards Jesus.

In Joseph I see a hidden strength and devotion not just for his family but for his God that I want.  I want people to see me as a strong godly woman full of faith.  That is how I see Joseph and that is what I can see in Jesus throughout his ministry.

Pondering

In my last post I talked about Mary and how willingly she was to accept what the angel told her on faith and truly step up to the plate as the mother of God's son.  Today I want to look at Mary once reality began to really set in regarding what was ahead... with the help of Max Lucado.

What I love about the Bible is that in this story it did not stop at Mary hearing the announcement about her baby.  It continues on to let us know what happens next.  We find Mary a few days later traveling to the hill country to see her cousin Elizabeth.  Part of me wonders what was stirring in her mind while she prepared and traveled.  Was she excited because Elizabeth was pregnant too?  Did Elizabeth know about her...the angel told her about ELizabeth?  How did her cousin feel/react?  Was she as excited as Mary was or was she as frightened as Mary was?  I was blessed with a huge imagination so if I don't watch myself I could run this track all day.

This morning as I was doing my Bible study and dove into my advent study I read my next chapter in "God Came Near" by Max Lucado.  This chapter and the song "Mary did you know" by Mark Lowry is what set the paragraph before into a whirl as I dove into my study time today.  Here are some of the questions for Mary:

• What was it like watching him pray?
• How did he respond when he saw other kids giggling during service at the synagogue?
• When he saw a rainbow, did he ever mention a flood?
• Did you ever feel awkward teaching him how he created the world?
• When he saw a lamb being led to the slaughter, did he act differently?
• Did you see him with a distant look on his face as if he were listening to someone you could not hear?
• Did you know your son would give sight to the blind?
• Did the thought ever occur to you that the God to whom you were praying was asleep under your own roof?
• Did you ever try to count the stars with him...and succeed?
• Did he ever come home with a black eye?
• Did you know your son would walk on water?
• Did he have any friends by the name of Judas?
• Did you realize your son walked and talked with angels?
• Did you ever scold him?
• Did he ever have to ask a question about scripture?
• Did you realize that your son would truly sacrifice everything for you?
• Did he ever get angry when someone was dishonest with him?
• Did you know your son would calm a storm with his hand and a word?
• When you kissed your tiny baby, did you realize you were kissing the face of God?

When I think of Mary visiting Elizabeth I can see the two of them hugging, laughing and crying all in the same moment.  I can hear them sharing their excitement, fear, joy and expectation.  I can see Mary sharing with Elizabeth how amazed she felt to be chosen for something so special.  In her song of praise (Luke 1:46-55) Mary refers to herself as a "lowly servant girl".  This tells me that Mary did not think of herself as special or set apart.  Mary spent 3 months visiting Elizabeth and I don't question in my mind part of that was celebration, part of that was sharing fears, and part of that was soaking in the years of life and wisdom Elizabeth had on her.  I wonder if that trip was one of the ways the Lord began to prepare Mary and her heart for the journey ahead?

As a woman good girlfriends are important and truly hard to find.  I have had some come and go, but what I love is in the past couple of years the Lord has brought me some ladies that truly feed my heart and soul.  They challenge me spiritually and they listen when my world is falling apart.  To me I wonder if that is what Elizabeth was for Mary?  This is the first Christmas in a long time that I feel the Lord challenging me to push the story, look beyond what I know to what I don't or have not thought of.  We all need people in our lives to give us hope, encouragement and a kick in the rear when we need it.  Treasure those people and if you don't have any I encourage you to ask the Lord to give you a couple.  I know you will be amazed at how blessed your life truly will become.

Are you willing to step up to the plate?

Have you ever felt completely unprepared for something?  Maybe it was a class you did not prepare for, or a presentation at work that needed more attention but you just ran out of time.  Has there been a situation where you boss asked you to take on a project and in the back of your brain you are thinking..."why me, you should have asked__________ they would be perfect."  Yet, for some strange reason you boss gives the project to you and you accept with great uncertainty.  Mary is one of those people to me who was not afraid to step out on faith even though she was afraid.

When it came to God choosing a mother for his son, he chose a young teenage girl who was poor.  My Bible commentary says that "Mary was young, poor, female - all the characteristics that to the people of her day, would make her seem unusable by God for any major task."(NLT Study Bible)  In her day money, status and possessions were everything and in most people's eyes Mary was just a poor girl would would end up a servant or wife to some worker.  Yet, God chose her to be the mother of His son.

I love how Mary was not afraid to be afraid when the Angel spoke to her.  However, I wish I could have seen her face when she was told she found favor with God.  Think about that, she out of all the women in the world found favor with God not only to be visited by an angel but chosen for a task that would be very hard, emotional and challenging.  What was her response?  "Mary responded, I am the Lord's servant. May everything you have said about me come true." (Luke 1:38 NLT)  Here we have a young teenage girl who just spoke to an Angel and is willing to step out of faith and claim what she has been told by God.  This makes me think that Mary was not just a faithful believer but she has a relationship with the Lord.  Without a strong background of faith and devotion to God I don't think she would have given the same response.  I would love to know what her parents were like?  The type of godly examples and teachers they must have been.  Parents have such influence on the spiritual lives of their children and it is apparent that Mary's had a very positive influence on her.

My study Bible also says this: "God chose Mary for one of the most important acts of obedience he has ever demanded of anyone. God's favor does not bring instant success or fame.  His blessing on Mary, the honor of being the mother of the Messiah, would lead to much pain: her peers would ridicule her; her fiance would come close to leaving her; her son would be rejected and murdered.  But through her son would come the world's only hope, and this is why Mary has been praised by countless generations."  As I read that I thought I am so glad that young girl did not know all that was ahead, for surely it would have made her flee the task.  Instead she took the task the Lord gave her trusting that he would walk with her and equip her for every step.  As we look at the life of Christ we know that the Lord did just that, he was with Mary and she was always cared for.  She raised a son who would  sacrifice everything for our salvation.

I love how my Bible sums up this section with the reality that even though we may feel unworthy, unequipped, the wrong choice, not enough education, bad with people or what ever other excuse you might think of when God asks you to step up.  We don't need to limit God's choices and put him in a box, instead we need to be willing to blindly step out on faith to what we are called to do.  The road may be rough, there may be times you think you are drowning but remember the a promise the Lord has made to us in Deuteronomy 31:6.

So be strong and courageous! 

Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. 

For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. 

He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

You see we are all called to different spiritual tasks throughout our lives but it is our choice whether we are willing to be like young Mary in this story and step up to the plate no matter what may lie ahead.

From Desperation to Passion

I love discovering what names mean, especially when you know someone.  It is always fun to see if a person's name matches their personality.  For example my husband's name is Craig and the meaning of the name Craig is rock.  When I learned that last year all I could do was sit and smile because it fits him so well.  He is my rock and the steady of our home.  When I want to panic, he is calm and thoughtful.  The Lord knew when he gave me Craig that I needed a steady rock in my life.  

In my study "Spark Your Joy" by Margaret Feinberg, I learned that Elizabeth's name means my God is a vow and Zachariah's name means God remembers.  Wow!  As I read that all I could do was write wow beside it on my page because from all my study of Elizabeth it truly fits her and makes such a beautiful picture.  As I have looked at Elizabeth and thought about this post I have smiled and loved the picture of her.  She is someone out of the Bible I would love to sit and chat with over coffee.

What I love about Elizabeth in this story is that she did not hear from an angel or have a dramatic dream, she heard from her husband she would have a son and she believed him.  The Bible does not give you any sense that she doubted his telling (even though it was not in words).  It makes me wonder if she was outside the temple with the other people praying while he was inside.  Was she there when he returned unable to speak or was she at home taking care of their little home.  Elizabeth was one who I think loved to serve and entertain, because we discover later that she hosted Mary in her home for the last 3 months of her pregnancy.  Now, I will tell you from being pregnant that is truly a task.  

I can relate to Elizabeth when I think about how badly I wanted to be married and have a family.  I would pray and ask God desperately and it felt like all he would say was No.  It was not until I was 30 that I met my husband and at that it took him 2 1/2 years of chasing me for me to stop and see what God has sent me.  I had reached a point of giving up on marriage and was seeking to find contentment in my singleness.  I think Elizabeth was there.  She desperately wanted a child and yet the Bible says she was barren and had reached her older years.  This makes you think that she had given up on ever having a child and was trying to make the most of the life God had given her.  Zachariah was a priest so you know she knew the story of Sarah and Issac being born to very old parents.  I wonder if that story is what fueled her belief when she found out she would have a baby. I know when I finally stopped to see the man God had given me, I was stunned and overwhelmed because he was so much more than I deserved.  He still is.

Thing I want us to take away from Elizabeth is her faith in the Lord.  It took real trust and faith to accept what she was told, at her age and then continue on striving to participate in something you know is so much bigger than you.  Do I think she may have felt overwhelmed...probably but I also think there must have been a sense of excitement and humbleness knowing the roll her son would play.  She was a woman who in a small amount of time witnessed numerous miracles from Zachariah's voice, vision, her pregnancy, and Mary's pregnancy.  This makes me want to hear about the passion and fire for the Lord that it stirred up in her heart.  

We too have the opportunity to be used by God each day as we step out of our homes and interact with the world around us.  The question is when the opportunity is presented, are we going to have the faith of Elizabeth and step out on faith knowing that God always keeps his promises?

Open Mouth...Insert Foot

Have you ever been surprised by something and then when you look back you wish you had reacted differently?  I have and what I love about the story of Zachariah is that I feel certain he felt the same way too.  However, in my experience I have also been able to take that experience and learn so much more from it because of my immediate reaction and I think it was the same for Zachariah.  

Zachariah was a priest in who worked in the temple.  He was an older man who was married to a lady named Elizabeth and they had no children.  In that culture it mean that they did not have God's blessing.  The commentaries I have read talked about how they prayed for children but Elizabeth was considered barren and unable to have them.  So here we have a Jewish priest who God has chosen to be the first person on earth to learn that his plan to restore humanity from sin through his son.  Just the thought that he was the first one to be told blows my mind.  Out of all the people on earth God chose this old priest to have a son and this boy would be the forerunner announcing Christ to the world.

So we have a regular day at the temple and Zachariah was chosen to go in and burn incense to the Lord.  While he is doing that the angel Gabriel appears to him in the temple.  My Bible says that Zachariah was "shaken and overwhelmed with fear" when he saw the angel.  If you want to know the truth I wonder if I would have just pass out...I am a scaredy cat. Zachariah listens to all Gabriel says about John.

13 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. 14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.[a] 16 And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God.17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,[b] and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”

As I read all the angel said about John I don't question Zachariah had to be completely overwhelmed.  He was not only going to have the son they always wanted, after they thought they could have them. This boy would be filled with the Holy Spirit even before birth and would be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah.  When I think of Elijah I think of the story in 1 Kings 18 where he faced down 450 priests of Baal and called down fire from the sky.  This is who John would be like...Zachariah knew the stories of Elijah so imagine his brain trying to process all this information at once. This was his response:

18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”

My Bible says this: "The angel's message was too good to be true! But the news of the coming Savior was eclipsed by doubts about his own ability to father the child the angel promised him.  His age spoke more loudly than God's promise." (NLT Study Bible)  What I love about this statement is the reality that even though Zachariah loved God and was a faithful priest in the temple, his humanity crashed to the surface as he learned of God's plan.  It is this picture of humanity I can totally relate to.  It is so easy for us to look at people in the Bible and put them up on pedestals where they look "holier" than we do but the reality is they stumbled over their sin and humanity daily just like we do.  This is a great picture of that.  Zachariah is standing before an angel of the Lord and yet he still lets his age and doubt overwhelm God's promise.

So the angel told Zachariah that he would not speak again until John was born.  Think about this...we are talking 9 + months!  For me I would go crazy I am a person with tons of words.  Yet I truly do think that part of Zachariah even in his doubt wanted to and did believe God just not completely.  However, we are able to see at the end of Luke 1 the impact the 9+ months of not speaking and watching this all unfold had on Zachariah.    Also take note that as our journey continues, Zachariah will see Mary learn of her role and with his wife being her cousin it will add another layer to the beautiful tapestry the Lord is beginning to weave in their lives.

68 “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
    because he has visited and redeemed his people.
69 He has sent us a mighty Savior[g]
    from the royal line of his servant David,
70 just as he promised
    through his holy prophets long ago.
71 Now we will be saved from our enemies
    and from all who hate us.
72 He has been merciful to our ancestors
    by remembering his sacred covenant—
73 the covenant he swore with an oath
    to our ancestor Abraham.
74 We have been rescued from our enemies
    so we can serve God without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness
    for as long as we live.

76 “And you, my little son,
    will be called the prophet of the Most High,
    because you will prepare the way for the Lord.
77 You will tell his people how to find salvation
    through forgiveness of their sins.
78 Because of God’s tender mercy,
    the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us,[h]
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    and to guide us to the path of peace.”

80 John grew up and became strong in spirit. And he lived in the wilderness until he began his public ministry to Israel.

Did Zachariah looking back have a moment where he thought..."open mouth and insert foot".  Yes he probably did, but don't we all when God asks us to do something hard.  It may be stay the course of a road you don't want to walk, a promise of relief that is not yet here or a strength to survive something you think will overwhelm you.  It may be just learning to truly let go of this world and truly place your complete trust in the Lord in all you do.  Be encouraged by this story that everyone has moments of doubt but even when doubt is there if we let Him,  God can accomplish amazing things through the lives of his children.  

Looking at the big picture

I love Advent and I have great memories growing up with my family celebrating Advent each Sunday night at home after church.  I have decided to do Advent a little different with my girls, especially since we are homeschooling.  With them I am using a program call "The Truth in the Tinsel"  I am really excited for our family to spend our second year in this program.  Then I realized that my church Sunday school material is set right on time with Christmas so my prep and study for that goes right along with our homeschool material.  Then I came across a free Advent study by Margaret Feinberg called "Spark Your Joy".  As I read through day 1 I realized that three different things are all crashing together as I enter this holiday season.

I told my kids yesterday in Sunday school that as we approach Christmas I don't want us to get so caught up in the birth of Christ that we stop there.  You see his birth is only the opening scene in a much bigger and greater story.  You see this is where God begins to set in motion a plan to fix our world that is broken with sin through is son.  As I have thought about this I continue to ask the Lord to help me take my focus so much further than just the birth of Christ.  You see in this story we will see and experience how the power and glory of God crashed into the lives and humanity of numerous people.  They all react differently but in the end we are all able to see a little bit of ourselves and the reality that God may be seeking to use us in a mighty way just as He chose to use them.

Join me over the next month as I look at some of the people in this story and how we can see their humanity, their faith, their raw emotions and most of all their impact for God on the world around them.  See you soon as we open up this adventure to see what God has for each of us.