Tis the Season to Rejoice!
"And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour." - Luke 1:47
Mary said, "My soul does magnify the Lord!" She went on to say that her spirit was rejoicing in her God, her Saviour. She knew He had regarded her, favoured her and blessed her above all women. Mary knew that she carried the Christ Child, the Son of God and Saviour of the whole earth!
Today, it is time for our spirits to rejoice in God our Saviour. We like Mary, have been highly favoured, we are the blessed of the Lord. We have found favour with God because unto us a child is born and unto us, a Son is given (Isaiah 9:6).
Jesus is the reason for the season and we have received Him into our hearts and lives. He is the greatest Christmas present ever given. We are born again, born to win, born to succeed and all because of the first Noel, that first Christmas Day, when the angels sang, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men."
"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, good will toward men." Luke 2:13-14
This has been a strange year, to say the least. But I want to encourage every reader that God is still on the throne and He has not changed His mind about your life.
It says in Isaiah 9:7, "Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."
What stands out to me in this verse is the words 'increase', 'peace', 'judgment', 'justice' and that last line 'the zeal of the Lord will perform this'. Don't you just love this scripture? It is jammed packed, with life, goodness, hope and God is zealous to perform His Word and establish it, in our lives. His Kingdom reigns over all!
Friends, family get ready for peace, justice and increase. God is on our side. I dare you to believe this! I dare you to decree this. I dare you to believe that you are heading into the best year ever! Regardless of what is happening around you or in the world. Look at what is in you and upon you. Lift up your eyes to the hills and praise the Lord! Keep your eyes on Jesus and decree and declare peace and increase are yours, in His name.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem means 'house of bread'. Remember, Jesus said, "I am the true bread that has come down from heaven."
I like to think about the plans and the purposes of God. It says in Jeremiah 29:11, 'God has a plan and a purpose for our lives, that is all good and ends in a future filled with hope, where your dreams are all fulfilled (my translation and expansion).' We do not have to fear the present nor the future. We can live in a place of peace and safety by trusting in the Lord and His plan for our life.
Here was see God's plan unfold and His perfect timing for Jesus to 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 of old, from ancient times.” Micah 5:2 NIV
700 years before the birth of Jesus, the prophet Micah pinpointed the exact location of his birth: the little town of Bethlehem, where David, king of Israel, was born and grew up tending his father’s sheep in the surrounding fields. When the wise men came before Herod, they asked “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” (Matthew 2:2). Prophecy had already made it clear, many generations prior, that this ruler would be born in Bethlehem, out of all the towns in Israel.
God chose Bethlehem as the birthplace for His only son to be born. Micah 4:8, which specifies that kingship would come from and former dominion would be restored to Jerusalem at the watchtower of the flock.
Migdal Eder, the Tower of the Flock, was where the lambs set aside for temple sacrifices were raised. The flocks in the surrounding fields were vast, because there was an estimated population of around 5 million people in that area. During Passover, the annual celebration of the Hebrew nation’s deliverance from captivity in Egypt, one lamb was needed for every household. An estimated 250,000 sheep were needed every year to accommodate the Passover sacrifices and feast. The tower of Migdal Eder provided the perfect vantage point from which the shepherds could, quite literally, watch over their flocks from above.
Every firstborn male lamb was considered holy and was set aside for sacrifice in Jerusalem. Sheep herding was a hereditary occupation, and generations of shepherds were trained to care for these special lambs. They literally risked their lives to protect the sheep from predators, and keep them from falling into the many crevasses and ravines in that rocky hill country.
The newborn lambs would be wrapped tightly… swaddled… in specially designated temple cloths, and they would be laid in a manger to keep them contained while they were being examined for blemishes. A manger was also a feeding trough, often hewn out of stone. Animals would come and feed out of it. Jesus was laid in a manger, because He was and is the bread of heaven, on which we feed and receive life and blessing.
At the appointed time, the shepherds would separate the lambs, selecting only the firstborn males that were without mark or blemish, and would lead them to Jerusalem, where they would be purchased by people wanting to present a sacrifice before the Lord to atone for their sins.
When the angel appeared to the shepherds in the fields, he told them that they would find the newborn King wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. They knew exactly where He would be found, because swaddling cloths were only used in one particular location, and for one particular purpose… Migdal Eder, the place where sacrificial lambs were wrapped and examined for perfection before being set apart for the slaughter that would atone for sin and make peace with God.
How awesome is our God? He is in control of time. He is in control of eternity. He is control of the planets and star systems. A star appeared over Bethlehem that night and it's light shone down on the Christ child. I dare you to meditate this for a moment, how God set in motion His plans over hundreds of years and worked them to a pinpoint time.
Three decades later, the apostle John pointed out his cousin Jesus and said “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”. And more than two millennia later, Jesus is still taking away the sins of all who accept His sacrifice that makes peace between them and God.
I pray that this Christmas season we release a new hope and a new confidence in the Lord God, creator of the whole world. He is concerned about every detail of your life. This Christmas, trust in His plan; trust in His timing and trust in His love.
God bless and much love,
Ps. Shaun Marler
Apostle World Harvest Ministries
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