It's All About The Timing

Luke 2:6

"And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born."

We read this verse and all nod in agreement that God's plan was moving

into the next phase or part or whatever you wish to call it.

God was sending his son, Jesus, into enemy territory to become

one of us.

To live among us.

Work among us.

Listen to us as we lived our lives around him.

The Luke 2 verse states that "the time came"

Most would think, well it means that the nine months for the

pregnancy was coming to an end.

That is one way to look at it.

Why not look even deeper into the term "the time came"

God had been enacting his plan for the salvation of humanity

ever since Genesis 3:15.

What if the phrase "the time came" actually referred to the

state of the world.

That everything was in place for Jesus to step from the throne room

of heaven, into a dark stable in Bethlehem.

All the pieces had come together for God to send His son.

The world was under Roman rule.

For the first time, a common language was used throughout the world.

This would be handy for the scriptures to be written and shared.

There was a common law.
Rome had built an incredible system of roads and highways for the

transportation of its army.

These roads that would transport the legions of Rome

would also transport the legions of Christ as

disciples and apostles traveled through out the land

taking the message of the gospel.

"The time came"

Elizabeth had already given birth to a son, John later named 'the baptizer'.

Roman rule had dictated that a census needed to be taken.

Strange that it would happen at this time because this

forced Joseph and Mary to return to Bethlehem, the

place of Joseph's ancestry.
God used a Roman ruler to make sure that prophecy would be fulfilled by seeing that the Christ child would be born in Bethlehem...the house of bread.

"The time came"

Reckon what events in our own personal lives are part of this process?

"The time came"

What is it God has done around you or through you that is all part of the plan

to bring you into His family?

What is happening today that could possibly be God declaring today to be

the day for the next part of His will and plan for you

to take place.

Never discount or dismiss God's ability to move the natural world around you

to effect His kingdom in you.

Never disconnect God's Scripture as being relevant to your life today.

Today might very well be

"the time came"

And Jesus called his children home.

Merry Christmas!

mb

Charlie Brown Christmas

And a little child shall lead them......
All the degrees from all the universities in the world cannot compete with truth.
Truth has a way of humbling great men and women.
Truth brings us all to a level place.....
I never want to forget the truth of God.....
Jesus, fully man / fully God....
left the realm of heaven to come here to a fallen world steeped in sin.
To be born.
To live among us.
To die, at his bidding, to be the sacrifice and the payment for sin.
No wonder I want to say "Glory in the highest!"
What gift can match what Christ has done for us?
None, no not one.
I do not want to take this gift in vain or squander it with disobedience.
Thank you Lord!
Merry Christmas...
mb

I Miss Him After All These Years

Last Wednesday was the anniversary of the day my dad died.

It's been 24 years and it seems like only yesterday.

I still find myself when certain things happen, thinking

"I need to call dad and tell him about this."

24 years is a long time. A lot has happened to me and my family. We have changed.

My oldest son was 10 years old when dad died.

My youngest was 8.

They remember him but not with great clarity.

My oldest is not 35 and youngest 32. Both married with families and jobs and future concerns, balancing life and chasing God.

My oldest son has a tendency to stand exactly like my dad did,

and he isn't even aware that he does it.

My dad didn't come to be saved until shortly before his death.

For that I am grateful.
Cancer robbed his brain and the ability to think straight.Near the end, my dad was no longer himself.

I remember getting the call at work on Tuesday that I had better

get to the nursing home where dad was.

Time was short and the doctor didn't expect him to make it through the night.

It's hard for a son to walk in and see what's left of his father.

By that, I mean a man who was tall and strong and had a voice

that was brusk and husky. Now here he lay a mere shadow of

the man he use to be.

Wires and tubes and equipment all around him.
The look in his eyes was of bewilderment as if to say

"Where am I? What's happened to me?"

Dad drifted in and out of sleep that afternoon and around 5 p.m. seemed

to make a swift turn around.

He woke up hungry ready to eat supper.

I stayed with him as the rest of the family left.

As dad ate supper we talked. I don't remember much about the conversation other

than he seemed in really good spirits.

He pushed his tray away and announced that he was finished with supper

and that he wanted to sleep some more.

I sat next to him praying over him asking for God's mercy to

be extended to Huley Benton Bynum.

Around 9 p.m. dad woke up.

Looking around the room, he turned to me and asked, "who are all these people?"

"What people?" I replied as there was no one in the room except for dad and me.

"They are everywhere! Look how bright their clothes are!"

I believe that at the point, the veil between this reality and the reality of heaven

was parted and my dad saw what lay beyond.

He continued for a few more minutes talking about all the people and what

they looked like.
Conversation seemed to be going on but he couldn't make out what they were saying.

Eventually he lay his head back on his pillow and closed his eyes drifting into sleep.

I stood over his bed and looked into the face of a man I had seen a gajillion times.
That night it was like I was seeing him for the first time.

He looked so peaceful.

He had lived a hard life.

Times were hard as he grew up.

He worked and his hands were hard and calloused to show the years of hard labor he had spent.

His wife, my mother, had departed this world four years earlier and somehow

I don't think he ever recovered from her death.

My mom and he had enjoyed the last few years of her life, going places and

meeting friends for meals and good times.

Without her, he seemed to be incomplete.

Now it was his turn.

Around 4 a.m. the nurse came by and said, "Don't you live nearby?" I replied, "yes."

She said, "why don't you run home and shower, change clothes and come back."
I didn't really want to but I was tired.

She said that she would sit with dad while I was gone.

I left.

As I walked in the front door of my home, the phone rang.

It was the nurse.

Dad had died shortly after I left.

She was very apologetic.

I assured her it was o.k., but deep inside I wished I had been there

with him.

Even to this day, the thought of my dad dieing alone is painful.

On the anniversary of his death, I remember all the good things about him.

How he loved his family.

His laugh.

His love for dogs.

At the end...

How he came to Jesus, old in years but innocent like a child.

I look forward to the day when family will

be reunited.

After all....

Family is all we have.

Merry Christmas!

mb

My Plans

The plans I make for my life aren't always God's plans.
Let me rephrase that.
The plans I make for my life are never the same as God's plans.
The one lesson I have come to learn is that when Scripture says I am to "Trust in the Lord"....it means just what it says.
I don't have to spiritualize it.
I don't have to say, "Well, it is speaking metaphorically".
What is, is.
I don't know how you feel about this, but God isn't too interested in our plans.
My plans usually involved what will bring comfort to me.
What can aid me in getting an advantage in life.
Plans that benefit me and bring nothing to God.

I hear some quote (I've been guilty of it) Jeremiah 29:11 - "For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." We tend to quote this verse in a way that makes us thing that everything that is going to happen to us will be okey-dokey and top of the world. I don't know that it plays out like we tend to view it will.

Case in point: One couple, Joseph and Mary.
They had plans.
They were going about the business of making their plans and dreams come true.
Weddings....
Betrothals......
Parties.......
Family.......
A home and children.......
All the things a young couple looks forward to.
But before any of it can happen, God shows up. Well, actually the angel Gabriel speaking on behalf of God.

Here is a Michael B paraphrase of what the angel told Mary.....
"I appreciate all you have done. I know you have plans for your future, but God has other plans."
"You are going to become pregnant and give birth to His Son. The one you and your people have been searching for-----The Messiah...... The Christ."

Mary is thinking....."Wait a minute. If I'm pregnant before I am married to Joseph.......This might not be a good thing."
Here is the rub.
In life, we can reach for the good things.......
Or we can wait and receive the God things.....
Yes, there would be talk about Mary and her pregnancy.
Yes, there would be those who would cut ties to Mary and shun her.
But the plans of God took precedent over the plans of Joseph and Mary.
They became THE couple, picked by God to fulfill this particular portion of his eternal plan to redeem mankind and break the penalty of sin.

I must.....I must.....I must be willing to lay down my plans to pick up and receive God's.
It may not look like what I think it should.
It may not involve what I would want to do.
But in the end, the words of Jeremiah 29:11 still ring true.

Mary spoke and said, "I am the Lord's servant, may it be to me as you have said."

Merry Christmas!
mb

Listen.....

Now is the time to see Christ anew.
Not with the tainted eyes of the world who only acknowledge a cardboard copy of the real person.
But with the eyes of one whose sin has been forgiven.
Each day that passes not only the person of Jesus, but the name is pushed farther and farther from the collective mind of this nation.
We no longer wish anyone to say "Merry Christmas" for that contains the name of Christ and it is an offense to people of intellect.
We wish to say "Happy Holiday's" because that is not offensive at all.
We wish to place the manger and Mary and Joseph and the shepherds and the wise men deeper and deeper into the back until they are no longer relevant.

There will be a price to pay for our arrogance.
There will be a price to pay for following the leading of darkened hearts.
Oh we can pat ourselves on the back and tell of how far humanity has come.
But when the distance humanity has come is measured in how far from the cross they are, this is dangerous territory to be living in.

Now more than ever we are in need of revival.
We are in need of a move by God's Holy Ghost because we are incapable of saving ourselves form this moral mess we have created.
The world says "Come and drink long and deep from the accomplishments of mankind!"
God says to "Be filled with the Holy Ghost!".
These two cannot be nor will they ever be in harmony with each other.

We need an awakening from God that will shake us to the very core of our being.
To awaken us to the folly of mankind.
To show us that we have traded the eternal things of God for the temporary things of this world. God forgive us!

Did you ever wonder why Christmas is such a terrible time for people? Why so many commit suicide during this time? Because the Christmas that the worlds offers is empty and only a facade. It purposes to show unity and love and family. Instead it only magnifies the emptiness in people because of the false hope it offers. Buy this! Spend money here! Don't leave home without your plastic! Fill up the emptiness with stuff. The world has become Esaau ready to sell it's eternal birthright for a bowl of stew that satisfies only temporary.

Scripture says in Luke Chapter 2 that the angels proclaimed on the night of Jesus' birth to the shepherds......"Peace on earth and goodwill to all men on whom His (God's) favor rests."
Those who know this peace and goodwill are those whose lives are lived out in shadow of the cross. It isn't about presents or eggnog. It isn't about Perry Como or Bing Crosby...it is about God stepping down into time and space to redeem mankind.

If ever there was a time we needed an intervention from God, it is now.
If ever a people were in need to be touched by God, we are those people.

God on you........
mb