13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And \he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
There are so many things I could write about Elizabeth and Zechariah’s shock at having a son. Or we could focus on how God set John apart even from his conception, but what really got my attention was that John was a pivot that turned many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He helped turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just. Israel had chosen a path far from what God desired for them. They walked in what seemed right in their own eyes. They were religious but without relationship to God. They talked a good game but their walk was far from it. Isn’t it interesting that the illustration was given that the hearts of the fathers would be turned toward the children? Could it be God wanted them to see the value in every life? He wanted the fathers to have a heart tendered to children not just occupation, money, or position. John also called the people to repentance from walking in disobedience to living in wisdom and doing things justly or rightly. He did not back down even from the religious leaders. His message was clear, repent and turn back! Most importantly, John made ready for the Lord the people. John taught them about walking right. Jesus completed the idea by being the payment for their sin. Only through the gift Jesus gave could the people be truly forgiven and restored. As was recorded later John came baptizing in water for repentance but Jesus baptized with the Spirit. It is not enough just to be sorry for what we have done, Jesus wants us to have a change of heart. He desires us to follow because of our thanksgiving for what He has done and to receive His gift of forgiveness. Our actions then change to where we are concerned for each life, we walk right with God, and we prepare the way by telling about Jesus. In the end many will turn to Christ as we walk in obedience.

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.
If you are like me you probably skimmed that list of names. If you are like me, you also probably had a hard time pronouncing many of them. The most important thing about the names is that they represent real people. People who were in the family line Jesus. You would think that these men and women would be people who were righteous and followed after God with a whole heart. A few did, but most of them were just regular people who messed up and blew it more times than they got it right. Some were liars, murderers, thieves, sexually impure, others were arrogant and some even turned away from God. Yet GOD!!! In His love, He sent Jesus, born from a virgin human mother but Fathered by the Spirit of God. Jesus brought forgiveness and hope to a sin sick world. Only by offering a perfect Sacrifice could sin be paid for once for all. Jesus was that perfect sacrifice and we receive the gift of life eternal.
One more thought about names, Jesus knows our names too. He loves us and even now makes requests of His Father on our behalf. The world may never remember your name, but He always will. Rejoice today that He knows your name and loves you no matter what your past looks like!

Zechariah 9:9-10
9Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and he shall speak peace to the nations;
his rule shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Peace on Earth, isn’t that what so many want this time of year. And yet seldom in my life has there been more conflict. Words like war, terror, radicalize, guns, bombs, hate and so many more are heard constantly on our moment by moment news cycle. We are stirred up on a constant basis toward fear. This is why we needed a Savior! This is why He came. Apart from Christ there is no peace. When the scripture talks about the chariots of Ephraim and the war horses of Jerusalem it is referring to power or at least perceived power and what we as humans run to. Yet our King, Jesus came meek and mild as a child, but He will return as a warrior King coming to take His children Home! Our King came the first time humble and riding on a donkey, but when He returns it will be riding in the saddle of a powerful war horse demolishing all evil! Glory! All things will be under His power and His authority! As we celebrate Jesus this Christmas may we not just celebrate Him as the star of the nativity but as the reigning King of Kings who will soon return to take His bride Home to be with Him. Then and only then will true peace come. Until then we are His messengers to share His peace and His light.

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

It is very tempting in our human mind to think of Jesus’ life beginning at His birth because that is when our lives begin, but Jesus’ life actually began long before then. With Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit there was no beginning and will be no ending. (Alpha and Omega) They have always been and always will be. That is hard for this human brain to comprehend, but it is important to grasp because if He has always been and was here even when everything was made through Him then He has authority over ALL! Wow! Mind blowing! Right? It is so important to nail this down because when darkness tries to tell you that Jesus can’t help you or save you, darkness is wrong. Light will Always overcome darkness! Jesus has all authority and He alone can save us. Though we celebrate Jesus as a baby born into our world, we really celebrate a Savior who from His birth was already Lord! That is why yielding to Him and His will is not a just a mandate, but also a joy! Merry Christmas.

Then a throne will be established in steadfast love,
and on it will sit in faithfulness
in the tent of David
one who judges and seeks justice
and is swift to do righteousness.
Knowing someone’s heart is so important in interpreting what they are doing or saying and why. Last evening someone sent me a private message telling me I might want to consider a more up to date hair style. Now this person is not a close friend and truthfully I haven’t even seen them in three years or more, but they had seen a picture on facebook. In my flesh, I was hurt and even went through lots of pictures of others thinking maybe I do need to change. This morning I was drying my hair and I thought “I like my hair. Why would I want to change to please someone else who doesn’t even know me on a daily basis and may or may not have my best interest at heart.” When I read Isaiah 16:5 today it dawned on me that the reason I want to please God and walk right with Him is because of His steadfast love that seeks what is right and just for me. Jesus came not for selfish motives, but because of a love so great my mind can’t conceive. I want to dress in a way that would please Him, act in ways that please Him, and even do my hair (lol) in a way that brings Him glory. I take His counsel because I know His heart is for me. My response to God’s great love through Jesus this Christmas is to trust His heart for my good in all things.  I pray we all evaluate our lives today to see who are we seeking to please.  If it is anyone other that Jesus, we need to make a few changes as a gift to Him this Christmas.

Have you gotten your first Christmas Card of the season already? If not, please let me hand deliver one from the Father to you. Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” The miracle of Christmas is that our holy God displayed His great love for us by sending His only begotten Son For US!!! Does that amaze you? The most amazing thing is that middle part, “While we were still sinners.” Jesus knew our depravity of mind and soul and chose to come and die for us anyway. How great a love we are embraced by. The inside of your card this morning reads, 8:38 “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I am grateful beyond words to have the security of knowing God’s love is not only there for me through His Son, but absolutely NOTHING can separate us from His love for us. That is why Christmas as well as the other 364 days is truly Merry and Bright. Merry Christmas!

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

Have you been around people that just made you feel good to be in their presence. There was something about them, a spirit of some kind that was healthy, uplifting and maybe even joyful. You come away from time spent with them feeling filled. I wonder if that may not have been what it was like to spend time with Jesus. Look at what this passage says about Him. The Spirit of the Lord was on him. The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and the fear of God. Jesus must have been someone who listened and understood. He must have given honest yet helpful answers when asked. It must have been evident from the moment you met Him that He possessed knowledge beyond His years. I think back to bible accounts where He taught teachers in the temple when He was a young boy. When He would read the scriptures as a young man and people would say “He speaks with authority.” His authority came because of who He was and the Spirit that rested upon Him made Him distinct. When Jesus left the earth He sent a Helper, The Spirit to abide within the hearts of those who trusted in Jesus for salvation. That same Spirit abides in those of us today who accept Jesus as Lord. Therefore, wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and counsel are all there for us as we as we fear God and walk in His ways. What a great gift! My prayer today is that you will be one of the people who fill others. I pray that all wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and fear of God will be abounding more and more. I pray the Spirit will be evident in you and people will want what you have.

Isaiah 9:6-7
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Who would have thought to send the Savior of the world in the form of a baby? My mom was like most other moms telling us as children, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” There is so much under the cover of this precious child. Though He was born into humble means He was anything but common. The entire sin of the world would rest on His shoulders. He was Wonderful Counselor understanding all of our needs and thoughts. He was Mighty God in human form. He was an Everlasting Father because through His death eternal life would be given to all who believe. He was the Prince of Peace because through His gift we were brought back in right relationship with God. The kingdom He would reign over was an eternal one no human eye has seen but is still very real. By whose power did He come? God’s power and His strength. His zeal was behind it all. Glory to God the Father. Praise and adoration to Jesus the Son because this Child born so a simple young girl might have been covered with human flesh but He was and is the perfect Son of God.

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Several years ago we were on a mission trip to Brazil. We were working in a slum area of a large city offering free medical care and sharing the message of Christ. We had prayed that God would bring the people who needed to hear. A young woman came in who was pregnant with an unwanted pregnancy. She knew to have the child would be to invite ridicule on her family because the child’s father was not her husband. The woman just “Happened” to walk by the clinic that day and felt a pulling to go in and have a test done to confirm the pregnancy. Her care givers shared the gospel message with the young woman and though at first her heart wasn’t open, God worked on her. Our team prayed for her for several days that she would not only be saved which she was eventually, but also that she would have a change of heart about giving life to her child because she had made up her mind abortion was her best option. We returned to the states at the end of the week not knowing the fate of the baby, but trusting God was changing the mother’s heart.
A year later we returned to the same church for another medical clinic. Just being in the same community was an act of God because it is not the practice of the mission team planners to go to the same community two years in a row. We unloaded the bus and prepared our instruments and equipment. One of the first people in line was the young mother holding her baby girl. We all wept to see God’s hand of protection over the child and the radiant mother who was walking in the faith. She passed the beautiful big baby girl around and said, I knew you would come back. I knew God had said you would so you could see Emmanuella. Little did that sweet mother know that she had named that child a name that meant, God with Us. God had been with that young mother. He had saved her spiritually but also given her hope and joy. Baby Emmanuella was a beautiful reminder to all of us as well that God hears our prayers and walks with us.
Jesus came not as a good man who did good things for people. He came as God with us. He told the disciples if you have seen me you have seen the Father. He was a physical embodiment of God’s presence among His people. A great gift at Christmas is to remember that God did not choose to be far away from us and rule over us with un-attachment. He came to live among us and to love us. What a wonderful gift! Please pray for many young ladies today who are deciding whether to give their children life. Pray they will be touched by the message of Christ and give life to their children.

Shared by Jan DeKlavon: “This song has always touched me for many years, but after reading your testimony,  this makes it even more moving! ”

 ^“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ  as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”  Eph. 1:3-10

Did you see when God chose us?  As we celebrate Jesus’ birth this month it is important for us to start at the beginning and the beginning is before God even spoke the words “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Gen. 1:1  Before the foundation of the world was set in place God had already chosen us in Christ Jesus and given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.  WOW!!  That blows my mind.  God chose before setting the world in place to send His Son knowing that the imperfect people He would make would need a Savior.  He chose Christmas, the celebration of Jesus’ birth from the beginning and He chose to make us holy and blameless through the death and resurrection of His Son.  It was and is His will.  Jesus chose this path as well and through His gift to us we are given the gift of forgiveness of all our sins.  What rich grace is lavished on us.  The great gift of salvation allows us to come before God not as servants or even friends, but as children through His adopting us.  Today as you consider the Baby placed in a manger, take time to thank God for choosing you as well.  If you have never admitted you are a sinner, believed that Christ is God’s Son, our Savior and confessed your sin or wrong doings to Christ do that today and receive the gift of salvation from God.  It has already been bought and paid for.  The miracle of Christmas is that because of what Christ did those who choose Him will live eternally united with God.  Wow, what a gift!