Christmas really has to be my favorite time of the year. It’s a time of miracles, a time when God’s goodness and grace is put on display. Christmas lights illuminate the darkness and hot chocolate warms us to the tips of our toes! It’s a time to give gifts, give to those less fortunate, and give of our time. Everywhere we look it seems as though the very air itself is electrified with the possibility of a great and glorious miracle.
Albert Einstein said this; “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” Of course, the greatest miracle of all and the very reason for this season is the birth of a Savior; “For there is born to you this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11
On that day when the shepherds heard these words, they fell down and worshipped the Savior. When the wise men saw Him after his birth they didn’t coo or make funny faces at the newborn King, they fell down and worshipped Him. Both groups saw the miracle, they discovered a Savior, one who would rescue them from the great and overwhelming shadow of death. They knew that the appropriate response was to worship at the feet of Jesus.
It’s so easy to lose the wonder of it all, to forget the virgin birth, to forget that a dozen prophecies were fulfilled in a single moment, to rush through this season stressed about finding the perfect gift and throwing the best Christmas party! Instead, let’s spend this season looking for the miracles, looking for God’s goodness, seeing His beauty on display. Let’s spend our time really worshipping our Lord, Jesus Christ!
I sense that many are walking into 2021 with feelings of trepidation, and rightly so. 2020 certainly didn’t turn out to be the year we had dreamed of. There is a feeling that we need to tiptoe softly, tentatively, nervously into 2021, not expecting anything. Fear of the unknown weighs heavily, and we almost dare not hope for things to be different. I totally understand.
Two words have shaped my life in a huge way, however. But God. I should be dead in my sin, but God. So many bad decisions along the way, but God. Knowing our wonderful Abba Father the way I do, I know there is going to be a ‘But God’ in 2021. Does 2021 have the potential to be as bad as 2020 was? No doubt. But God!
A quick search of the Bible reveals dozens of scriptures that contain a ‘but God’! “But God remembered Noah,” “But God did not give David into his hands,” “But God will redeem me from the realm of death” and “But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever!” The best one of them all is in Acts 13:29-30: “When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead.”
We certainly don’t have the answers—only questions about what 2021 may or may not bring. But we do know our God is a redeemer. He has not only redeemed our very lives through His death on the cross, but He redeems each one of our stories. We know that God has plans for us for this year, and we know He has put us here for a purpose. Even though the storm clouds of fear, anxiety, and worry may gather on the horizon, let’s look for the ‘But God’ in 2021—the ‘But God’ that raises us from the dead, brings dry bones to life, and gives us strength, purpose and vision! May He fill your year with surprises, joy, and pleasure around every corner. May your year be filled with ‘But God!’
Last night we climbed up a small hill near our home and waited with great anticipation as the sun set in glorious golden colours. I held my breath as the sky became deep blue, would we see the Christmas Star? We missed it on the 21st as it had been cloudy but tonight was a crisp, clear, night and stars were beginning to twinkle.
Suddenly, there above the horizon, the Christmas Star appeared, bright, beautiful, glorious! “There it is!” I shouted in excitement. A magnificent gift from above! As I stood and took in its sparkling edges, I thought to myself, am I gazing at the very same star that the Wise Men followed so many years ago, and I smiled to myself, wrapped up in the warm glow of His love. In a year filled with so many difficulties the God who spoke the planets into existence, the God who sprinkled the heavens with a trillion sparkling lights, gave us this miraculous gift of the Christmas Star. A reminder that He. Is. Coming. An invitation to seek out the newborn King!
It all reminded me of a sticker I had once seen on a car – ‘Wise men still seek Him!’ So many of us know and love the story of the wise men and have watched many a Christmas nativity play and perhaps have even acted in one! This may be our frame of reference but something wonderful jumped out at me when studying those Wise Men.
Matthew 2 tells us that the Magi, who saw the star, travelled a considerable distance to Jerusalem to seek out the King of the Jews. Once in Jerusalem, they enquired of King Herod, the chief priests and scribes, all who knew and studied the scriptures, where the Christ was to be born. These incredible scholars of the Word of God immediately quoted Micah 5:2; “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.” The Christ will be born in Bethlehem of Judea. Interestingly these learned men, scholars of the scriptures, chose not to seek out the Messiah, the Saviour, even though he was born only 5 miles away! They knew the scriptures well, but were not changed by them.
In contrast the wise men headed off to Bethlehem and Matthew 2:10 tells us; “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.” From this we can deduce that the star had not been visible during the whole of their travels. The star had appeared many months before guiding the Magi to the general area, it then appeared again in Jerusalem leading them to the King. These Wise Men heard the Word of God and they acted upon it. In faith they travelled on to Bethlehem and were overjoyed when they saw the star again. The wise men stood on the scriptures, sought the Christ, and found Him!
So, this Christmas, the question that remains is – will you seek Him? Will you take the time to stand on faith, believe that God’s Word is true and seek the Newborn King? Knowing that this King will not forever be newborn, but is in fact your Saviour, your Redeemer, the one who came to draw you to Himself because He cares for you! Knowing that this tiny baby came to earth to go to the cross, taking on your sin and mine, because He loves you! Wise Men still Seek Him!
Tonight, another clear night, I am going to climb my hill again and watch the sun set in all its splendour and marvel at this year’s gift of the Christmas Star, perhaps I’ll imagine I’m a wise man and in faith I will set off into the unknown, knowing that if I seek Him – I will find Him!
2020 has been a year that has come with many challenges for so many people, certainly a very hard year. If you listen you will hear the dialogue, “2020 is the worst year we’ve ever had, what an awful world we live in.” Negativity certainly swirls all around us. But is 2020 the worst year we’ve ever had, is the world we live in as bad as we think it is?
You see, I believe God chose every single one of us to be here, right now, on this earth. The earth our beautiful Creator created especially for us! Did He make a mistake? Acts 17:26-27a tells us this; “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord.” You were indeed placed here, by God, during this season, in 2020, as quoted in Esther, “for such a time as this!”
I decided to take stock of my own journey in 2020. Six months ago, I began a prayer meeting on a Friday morning with a beautiful group of women. What glorious times we have had with the LORD, worshipping, listening and waiting on Him. Have I missed being with my children this year? So, so much! Have I missed the social side of life? Sure. Harder to watch has been seeing so many sick and literally starving. But, have I drawn closer to my Abba Father? Oh my, yes I have!
So here in begs the question, can we rewrite the script of 2020? Can we pivot and see things from another perspective? Absolutely we can! With under two months left in 2020 can we change the outcome? I believe that if we are intentional, we can! Why did God set you where you are and at this time? Our scripture tells us; “so that they should seek the Lord!” Every day is a day when God extends new mercies to us, every day our Abba Father beckons and encourages us to draw near to Him and He will draw near to you! Seek the Lord out, rewrite your script, making 2020 a year your relationship with the Father changed, a year when you drew closer to your Savior. That will be worth savoring and remembering!
I was in a prayer meeting and one of my dear sisters in Christ, Kelly, had a vision of Snow White and she lay behind the glass dome looking as though she were dead, but she wasn’t dead, but she was asleep. Kelly saw the LORD coming and kissing His bride and waking her out of her slumber, kissing us and waking us up. After that I heard the Lord say to me – there is all this talk that there is a second surge of the virus coming, there is an upswing, a new surge, a second wave, we are told to be prepared and many places have gone into more lockdown, stricter restrictions as we wait for the onslaught of the second wave. But I heard the LORD say to me “there is going to be a second surge of the Spirit of God upon the world, he said my people have gone to sleep, in just 6 months they have readjusted, they’ve stopped going to church and they’ve stopped looking for me and they’ve gone to sleep! So quickly. We started out with all these good intentions at the beginning of the pandemic, I’m going to spend more time with the LORD, I’m going to draw closer to God but within just a few short months we have gone to sleep.
It reminded me of the scripture in Matthew 26:40; “Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. ‘Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” His disciples couldn’t stay awake for even an hour to watch and pray with the LORD and we are the same. We are willing but our flesh is weak! We have gone to sleep!
And I looked up the word surge and this is what it says : deluge, flow, swell, rise, upsurge, wave, outpouring, flood, intensification. The origin of the word in Latin is to spring up, to arise, to stand up! I heard the Spirit of the LORD saying to me “There is a second surge of the Holy Spirit coming, so wake up, set your shoulders straight and step up your game. Arise, stand up, awaken!! Wait on the LORD, watch and pray, don’t miss your appointed time because you are feeling sleepy! Don’t miss your appointed time because you are being distracted by pretty things, things that look as though they will satisfy but will not! Allow the King of Kings to wake you up, to kiss you, his bride and wake you up. We have gone to sleep, fast asleep under that glass dome, so quickly! Wake us up LORD.
“Father, make us like a gazelle, ready to run with you, kiss us and wake us up and today we declare that there will be a second surge of your Holy Spirit across the earth as people are becoming more fearful and buckling down again. We know that there will be a surge of the Holy Spirit, an awakening. Wake us up today LORD, may we stay awake with you and keep watch.”
“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” The words of the King of Kings rang out in agony from Golgotha, the Place of the Skull. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?” This was the cup that caused our Lord such torment. This was the cup that caused our beautiful Saviour to sweat drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. The cup of God’s holy wrath!
Jesus didn’t fear the bite of a whip, or of being forsaken by his friends, or the brutal jeers and beating from the Roman soldiers. It was not the pain of the five-inch nails or the thought of a spear thrust into His side, oh, He knew what was coming! He knew the prophecies that would be fulfilled!! It was the reality that He would be separated from the Triune God that caused Him such extreme anguish!
As the sun went black from the sixth to the ninth hour and all of creation was hidden in the darkness, God the Father turned His face away from His only Son. “Why God?! Why have you left me?!” Throughout scripture, this was the only time Jesus didn’t call the Great I am, my Father!
Our Saviour was, at that moment, abandoned so that you could be accepted, rejected so that you could be adopted, forsaken so that you could be brought near. Fatherless so that you might call Him Father!! Because Jesus endured that agonizing, lonely time where He no longer had the right to call God, His Father, because He had born the full weight of our Sin upon Himself, we now have the ability to come boldly into the presence of Almighty God and call Him, Father!!
If you’re reading this then this is all about you (even though it’s about me too!).
Did you know that there is a whisper going on in heaven, a rustling among the angels? The word is out on the golden streets and rumours are being circulated from angel to angel. There is a definite buzz in the heavens today and the news is spreading like wildfire! Where did the word begin I wonder? Who is it that all the angels are whispering about??
Oh my! They’re talking about me! They say the King of kings told them, Jesus! They say they saw Him rejoicing, He was dancing with joy, He couldn’t stop talking about ME!! What did He say I ask?“Jesus said that you are beautiful, totally perfect for Him, that you are lovely. Oh, and He said that when you sing to Him, His heart starts to beat faster with an overwhelming love for you. He told us that He cannot stop thinking about you, day and night, night and day YOU are on His mind!” I couldn’t believe it, Jesus said that…… about me?! Are you sure it was me that He was talking about? After all, this is Jesus we’re talking about! The Beautiful Saviour, the Glorious Lord!
“That’s not all He said,” the angels whispered, “Listen to this! Jesus told us that you are the one He wants to be with forever, you are His bride and He is your bridegroom. He says He has so much He wants to tell you, things He has never told anyone else, deep secrets, the secrets of His heart and He won’t tell anyone else, only you because He loves you. He told us that He has so much for you, so much for you to do together, places to go to, exciting plans. He told us that He has blessings for you, gifts! Surprises around every corner! Flowers, sunny days, rainbows, colours, perfume, everything He can think of just to enchant you! He tells us He loves it when you laugh and clap your hands with delight when He blesses you. Then He told us that He simply loves to watch you, He is enthralled by you, He said you have the most beautiful smile, contagious laugh, you are just lovely. It’s funny,” the angels said, “He just can’t stop telling us about you…… I think He must be in love!”
As a bridegroom rejoices over His bride, so will your God rejoice over you. Isaiah 62:5
In Matthew 11:29 Jesus commands us to; “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” I must confess; I have read this so many times over the years, and always had questions as to why I would want to take one heavy yoke off and put another on. Don’t you think it would make so much more sense for the Lord to say; “Take off your yoke and you will find rest, take off that burden and run and be free?”
To understand Jesus’ intentions, we must look back at that yoke placed on the neck of the working oxen. A collar linked two working oxen together and that was then hitched to a plow. When a young ox was broken in, he would be tethered to a bigger, experienced ox. During this time of training the new ox would learn how to walk in step with the older ox, how to work as a team, and here’s the kicker, this brand new, young ox carried no burden at all! His ‘training yoke’ was fashioned in such a way that the big, experienced ox would carry the whole load, the young ox was there to simply learn!
When we are yoked to Christ, He carries the burden! We are there to simply learn from the Master, to go in the direction He takes, to walk in step with the Savior. “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” It is a place where we ‘cast our burdens upon Him,’ take His training yoke and learn from Him. What a beautiful picture of Jesus’ desire for intimacy with us, our wonderful Savior wants to walk so closely with us until we are at the point where we can sense if He will turn left or right, walk up into the mountain or down into the valley! A time of learning the mysteries and secrets of His ways!
Today if your yoke is heavy, feels hard or is a burden, cast your cares upon Him, take His easy yoke and surrender to the leading of your precious Redeemer. Allow Jesus to carry your burdens while you learn to walk in step with Him!
Bible scholars have identified over 100 prophecies that were fulfilled that dark Friday when Jesus hung on Calvary. Imagine that. One hundred prophecies fulfilled at the cross! One of the lesser-known but still astounding prophecies is about a seamless garment.
John 19:23-24 says this about the seamless garment: “Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. They said therefore among themselves, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,’ that the scripture might be fulfilled which says: ‘They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.’”
What was so incredibly important about this seamless garment? In Exodus 28, we first discover an ornate, seamless robe made especially for the High Priest—the one who would enter the Holy of Holies, on behalf of the children of Israel, and bring offerings to the Great I Am for the sins of His chosen ones. The priest was also taught that he must never tear his clothes, for if he did, he would invalidate his ministry as High Priest. Jesus wore that garment—that precious, seamless robe of the High Priest!
Have you ever noticed that when Jesus stood on trial before Caiaphas, the High Priest, Caiaphas ripped his garments once he had finished questioning Jesus?! “Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, “Blasphemy! Why do we need other witnesses? You have all heard his blasphemy.” (Matthew 26:65) In rage and self-righteousness, he tore his robe and disqualified himself from the priesthood! Why? Caiaphas had been replaced! Replaced by a High Priest who would go to the cross as an offering for the sins of the world!
I love how the Father does all things well, right down to the tiniest detail. Christ’s seamless robe was never torn; the soldiers cast lots for this precious garment, and it remained intact for all time! It is the seamless robe of Jesus, our High Priest, who sits at the right hand of God, forever making intercession for us!
1 John 4:19. Says; “We love because He first loved us.” Beautiful words. Words that breath refreshing and life into any weary soul. “He loved you first.” In this sweet and simple verse, we hear the Father declaring His love for us, right from the beginning of time. A shout through the ages from creation to kings, from wars to prophets, down to the birth of His Son. “I loved you first.”
Our wonderful Heavenly Father is the initiator and we are the responder. “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.” John 15:16. He chose us, we didn’t choose Him. So often we tell the story of how we chose God, when the reality is, He chose you! He chose you, way back when you were formed in your mother’s womb and your days were written in His book! God is the initiator, we are the responder.
We don’t give, in order to move God to give us more! We give because He has already given, a thousand blessings, an abundance of miracles, the assurance of salvation. He gave first. Our response is to give back out of gratefulness and thankfulness for His generous love. We don’t praise Him to experience His presence. We praise our Savior as a response to His majesty, as a response to His greatness, His mercy and His grace. Creation responding to the Creator! God is the initiator, we are the responder.
Our motivation to give, to love, and to praise, must be a response to the Great I am loving us first. He gives in abundance, He never leaves us or forsakes us! You cannot read your bible long enough, pray enough, or do enough good works to make Him love you more. He loved you first, with a perfect love, a love that knows no bounds, to which there is no end. Should we not fling our arms to heaven and declare our love for Him when we know the depths of His love. Our response should be written into every detail of our lives, in our giving, in our doing, in our praising and in our living. “We love because He first loved us.”
Claire's Prayer 