An angel told the old priest Zechariah that his wife would have a son. He was to be named John & would be filled with the Holy Spirit at conception for he was to prepare the way for Jesus. Old Zechariah did not believe that he & Elizabeth- after all these- would get pregnant.
The angel bearing God's message rermoved Zechariah's voice until John was born. Elizabeth was so stunned that she remain in hiding for 5 months until she was absolutely sure that she was indeed pregnant.
Woman were to bring babies into the world; those like Elizabeth, who could not, were considered in disgrace. I can see her walking to the well with her swollen belly. Her disgrace removed, she smiled and hummed as she drew the water; nodding to the the other woman, she returned home to prepare for the arrival of a miracle. The woman of the town would have much to talk about. They would make opportunities to visit Elizabeth- bringing a bit of extra cloth, some carded wool, clothes their children had worn. She would thank them and smile with a special glow.
Speechless Zechariah would have much to say and would sing a song of praise upon John's birth-day, but for now his doubt made him silent.
No, it wasn't a dream. It wasn't an illusion. It wasn't phantasmagoric. It was God's plan.
Tomorrow we will meet angel #2.
Selah-
Shalom, Connie
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The deepest heartaches can become heartstrings to God's joy, peace, and love.
Showing posts with label Christmas foretold. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas foretold. Show all posts
Friday, December 15, 2006
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Phantasmagorical
I just finished reading a mystery by Elizabeth George. Near the end she used phantasmagorical to describe the Detective Inspector's trip to find the woman he loved.
Writers should not use words like that; they stop the reader and can distract them enough to lose the flow of the story. However, it was near the end and I was focused on whether it would end "happily ever after;" and did not stop reading. But I looked it up in the dictionary.
It means dreamlike, illusionary, or as an event swiftly changes; change the ph to a f and you'll recognise it as fantasy-like.
Because it is Advent and I am contemplating the wonders of Christ's birth, I thought of Mary when the angel, Gabriel, told her that she was the chosen one to bear God's Son. I also thought of Joseph as Gabriel told him that Mary was telling him the truth; and of the old priest, Zechariah, when an angel told him that his barren wife Elizabeth, Mary's cousin, would bear a son. That son would be called John; he would prepare the way for Jesus' ministry including baptising Jesus.
Each event must have been phantasmagorical. If the foretold births had not taken place, Mary, Joseph, and Zechariah would have thought the angel was an illusion, a dream, a fantasy of the imagination.
Gabriel and the angel, visiting the old priest, were messengers of God, who were preparing for God's mercy and love to be demonstrated through the birth and death of Jesus, God's only Son. A part of Himself had to come to earth for there is no sin in heaven... no death. He came to remove our separation from Him... to bring us back to Him, who created us.
"Amazing love, how can it be ..."
Selah-
Shalom, Connie
Writers should not use words like that; they stop the reader and can distract them enough to lose the flow of the story. However, it was near the end and I was focused on whether it would end "happily ever after;" and did not stop reading. But I looked it up in the dictionary.
It means dreamlike, illusionary, or as an event swiftly changes; change the ph to a f and you'll recognise it as fantasy-like.
Because it is Advent and I am contemplating the wonders of Christ's birth, I thought of Mary when the angel, Gabriel, told her that she was the chosen one to bear God's Son. I also thought of Joseph as Gabriel told him that Mary was telling him the truth; and of the old priest, Zechariah, when an angel told him that his barren wife Elizabeth, Mary's cousin, would bear a son. That son would be called John; he would prepare the way for Jesus' ministry including baptising Jesus.
Each event must have been phantasmagorical. If the foretold births had not taken place, Mary, Joseph, and Zechariah would have thought the angel was an illusion, a dream, a fantasy of the imagination.
Gabriel and the angel, visiting the old priest, were messengers of God, who were preparing for God's mercy and love to be demonstrated through the birth and death of Jesus, God's only Son. A part of Himself had to come to earth for there is no sin in heaven... no death. He came to remove our separation from Him... to bring us back to Him, who created us.
"Amazing love, how can it be ..."
Selah-
Shalom, Connie
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Choices Matter, part 2
Naomi and Ruth lived in Bethlehem after the famine ended. It would have been a time for Ruth to care for her aging mother-in-law, and to learn from her about the God of Israel.
Ruth meets and marries Boaz; they have a son Obed. Naomi accepts Obed as her grandchild, who becomes the father of Jesse the father of David.
Coincidence? No, I believe that it was part of God's plan. BUT Ruth, like us, had a freewill; she had the choice to follow Naomi's God or to return to the gods of Moab. God could have accomplished the line of Jesse another way, but, indeed, history would have changed.
As we approach Advent and the birthday of Jesus, let's remember that Jesus' birth was planned ahead- for generations. And that an ancestor of Jesus was a gentile, a Moabitess. Didn't Jesus come for the whole world?
I close with Isaiah's words:
For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His government and its peace
will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the
throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the
Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will make this happen!
(Isaiah 9:6-7 NLT)
Selah-
Shalom, Connie
Ruth meets and marries Boaz; they have a son Obed. Naomi accepts Obed as her grandchild, who becomes the father of Jesse the father of David.
Coincidence? No, I believe that it was part of God's plan. BUT Ruth, like us, had a freewill; she had the choice to follow Naomi's God or to return to the gods of Moab. God could have accomplished the line of Jesse another way, but, indeed, history would have changed.
As we approach Advent and the birthday of Jesus, let's remember that Jesus' birth was planned ahead- for generations. And that an ancestor of Jesus was a gentile, a Moabitess. Didn't Jesus come for the whole world?
I close with Isaiah's words:
For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His government and its peace
will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the
throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the
Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will make this happen!
(Isaiah 9:6-7 NLT)
Selah-
Shalom, Connie
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