A "Timeless" Christmas Lesson

I was reading old journals a few weeks ago and found two whole weeks of old Christmas-time lessons. Four years old and largely forgotten, I dusted one off to share at a Christmas Party. Maybe some of you will find encouragement here.....

Just as a note, ALL the quotes are taken from the Study Notes in my ESV Study Bible. When I first studied this, my Bible was new and I was mildly obsessed with the notes - I'm still quite attached. If you don't have an ESV Study Bible, add it to your Christmas list....it's not too late....there's still one week before Christmas!

Read Isaiah 9:1-7

What I learned as I studied is that God's people are approaching a very VERY dark time. When we read this chapter it's usually in the context of Christmas pageants or family readings and we miss the context. The people are living through or seeing on the horizon a terrifying inescapable darkness. So when Isaiah starts jacking with the time frame, we don't notice because it's ALL history to us, but they would've heard. Think about your most difficult dark place right now. Now imagine sharing that with someone who then says, "Well, way back when you went through that..." Absurd? I guess it depends on what else they say. That's what Isaiah does here: 

“In the former time” – “Isaiah’s vision projects his thoughts out of the tragic present as if it were already past.” (ESV Study Bible) “In the latter time He has made glorious” – “a past-tense verb, because the prophetic eye sees the future…”(ESV Study Bible)

Our present reality is already the past in God's view. And the future we fear is "latter time" to Him. He's bigger and stronger than the clock ticking in our ears. Can you trust God who sees beyond your tragic present?

Here is my journal entry from December 14, 2009. 

“How often do I believe God’s promise when my present is dark? He calls the present a “former time.” All the more reason to rest and TRUST even today!

Moving on in Isaiah 9. "On them the light has shined…” I learned that this is “not subjective wishful thinking but an objective, surprising joy breaking upon sinners through the grace of Christ.” (ESV Study Bible) 

When was the last time that something struck you as both objective and surprising? The best thing about an objective surprise is that you can see and measure and believe it! Here are some more treasures about Light.

Isaiah 42:6

“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles.”

Isaiah 49:6

He says: 
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

John 1:5

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

2 Corinthians 4:6

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”

After reading all of that, here's my journal entry for December 15, 2009:

“What joy – that you would shine your light across this world to bring the nations to salvation. I love that this is not wishful thinking but an objective, surprising joy breaking out over us! This is Christmas, that the God who graces us with light out of darkness gives us the light of the knowledge of His glory in the face of Jesus – in Him, Sweet Baby Boy.”

And then we see that there is Overflowing Joy in Three “Fors"

FOR - He breaks human oppression (4).

FOR - He ends war (5) - See Psalm 46:9 and Isaiah 2:4.

FOR - He gives Jesus (6-7).

Remember that amazing way God speaks outside of time? How He calls things that aren't yet as if they already are? In those days through Isaiah He spoke about Jesus Messiah with an already true certainty that ushers in complete and total assurance. As you read the list below, can you stamp these things over your dark places? Can you let the Truth of these names and the character they can barely contain drip down into your "Not Yets"? 

He IS Wonderful Counselor

• Isaiah 11:2

He IS Everlasting Father (also ideal King who takes care of His people)

• Isaiah 63:16
• Isaiah 64:8
• Psalm 103:13

He IS Prince of Peace

• Ephesians 2:14
• Psalm 72:7

And peace means = health, security, tranquility, a satisfied condition, an unconcerned state of peacefulness, completeness, harmony, fulfillment.

Here's my final journal entry for Isaiah 9; December 16, 2009:

“You are a miracle - able to advise and direct. You are mighty God Himself. You are forever and forever faithful and protective. You are our Redeemer and my Father. You are royal yet full of peace; peace that brings health, security, wholeness, and satisfaction. You are all of these things, and you shine them into the darkness of my life and bring me joy - full and amazing." 

For additional study on your own this season:

• Isaiah 8:11-22, study the context and reason behind the “gloom” of 9:1.
• Look up and study all the cross-references for the names of Jesus listed above.
• Study John 1, and learn about Immanuel – God WITH US.

All notes for this handout came from the Study Notes in the ESV Study Bible.

Bethlehem Tour

Christmas is different for me this year.

I was able to visit Bethlehem in February, and Christmas is forever changed.

As we are heading into the busiest time of the Christmas season, I thought you might like to slow down and see what it was like there.

This is where it happened...

I don't completely understand all of the politics, but Bethlehem was the only place we visited that was Palestinian controlled. We had to switch tour guides and our bus went through a checkpoint {which was no big deal for me as I'm sure I was on my phone - the bus was the only place with wi-fi you see}. We ate lunch and shopped for the famous olive wood nativities.....

Then we got to see the sites.

Shepherd's Field is located on the hillside where the shepherds might've been when they heard the angelic announcement. Our tour group stood together while one of the men in our group quoted Luke 2. We sang Christmas Carols and looked out over the side of the hills. It's not hard to imagine the sky lighting up.

This is the entrance to Shepherd's Field.

I stood next to this church in a little plaza and looked up. Even if this isn't the exact spot, I could imagine the star being visible. I could imagine the sky, this sky; being bright and full of angels.

This is the view down from where we stood together as a group. Can't you imagine sheep and shepherds out here?

Earlier in the week we stopped at a beautiful site called Megiddo. There are lots (LOTS) of amazing things about this place {Deborah, Gideon, Revelation}. 

It has layers and layers of history in the stone and dirt. One of the most interesting places was the ruins of a second palace built by Solomon. As our tour guide was telling us about this section he explained that we were standing in the stables. Then he pointed to this stone structure (pic below) and asked what we thought it might be. 

It's a manger, found in Solomon's stables. According to him, the mangers in the caves in Bethlehem would've been very similar. 

Be-still my Christmas heart.

{I almost made this picture our Christmas card this year}...

Next is the Church of the Nativity. Honestly, it was one of my least favorite visits. It was our longest wait (although not as long as usual), and the least real feeling place. I had wanted to walk into a nativity scene, and this is not that way. All the natural parts have been covered up with this ancient church built in the early 4th century. It still likely is close and similar to the cave where Jesus was born. Some ancient church fathers say this is the actual site of Jesus' birth.

We walked down the steps and sat at a little memorial that commemorates the birthplace of Jesus. Our tour guide took our picture and then we were hustled out.

I did find this jewel before we were hurried out. I asked if there was anything original to the time of Jesus' birth and was directed to this cave ceiling. I took this picture looking up from a little alcove in the cave.

• These rocks might've been overlooking my precious terrified Mary as she labored. 
• They might've offered protection while Joseph struggled to help her. 
• They might've surrounded her while she dressed her baby and laid him in the manger.
• They might've connected with the hands of the shepherds as they rushed in and then slowed down at the sight of a sacred baby.

So I had to touch them too...I probably worried the sweet nun sitting beneath, but I had to touch these stones. If only these rocks could cry out.

This is the outside of the Church of Nativity (behind me as I took the picture), notice the mosque on the right side.

The Bethlehem Countdown to Christmas Clock....this cracked me up {I don't know why}.

^"1-5 About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.

^6-7 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.

^8-12 There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.”

^13-14 At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises:

Glory to God in the heavenly heights,

Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.

^15-18 As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. “Let’s get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us.” They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed.

^19-20 Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they’d been told!" 

Luke 2:1-20, The Message

Merry Christmas from Bethlehem!

Christmas Post List

Merry Christmas!

I do have a couple of recipes in mind to share this month, and I am working on a trip post with pictures of all our Christmas stops in Israel {including what the manger would've most likely looked like}.

But today I'm posting a list of all my Christmas posts since I started this blog three years ago. I teach often about the discipline of remembering. It's no accident that we are instructed over and over to "remember" in Scripture. Nothing clears my mind of confusion like rehearsing the Truth of His goodness. If nothing else is gained from my writing this blog, I am thankful for the way it chronicles my own journey. I only write about what I've learned....and so reading old posts reminds me of my most Faithful Teacher.

• One of my first ever posts, Christmas Favorites shares the stories behind my favorite Christmas decorations.
• Mary was the last of the five women I studied last year, Mary's Treasures came from those precious lessons.
• An Advent Lesson was a surprise Christmas marriage lesson.
• I love word studies, two of my favorites are in this short post; Joy and Peace.
• A conversation with my daughter about my favorite Christmas carol sparked Christmas Dawn. 

And then there are the recipes.....

• Eggnog Cupcakes
• Caramel Corn
• Pistachio Christmas Trees
• Christmas Fudge

May this December find you rehearsing old lessons and learning new ones! More soon.....

Jamy

Mary's Treasures

I love to teach Sunday School. The last two weeks have been about Mary, Jesus' mother. I was once told that the best lessons you teach are the ones you've best learned. For me, this has been the best Christmas lesson ever.

Here they are at our Christmas Party {xoxoxo}.

The first Mary week I taught my college girls all the traditional parts about Mary being young and ordinary and obedient.  It was good and convicting.  The second week we dove in to what it might've been like to actually PARENT (verb) Jesus. Mary usually gets the "perfect, hands-folded, blue bath-robed, angelic mother" award as she kneels next to a manger holding a silent sleeping baby. We love her for giving birth to Jesus.  We forget to even consider the other experiences she had with Jesus.  The Bible tells us about them.

While there are beautiful lessons on friendship as we watch Mary and Elizabeth interact (Luke 1:39-45), it's what happens right after that part where God started to get me with this lesson.  Elizabeth speaks Spirit-filled Truth over Mary and her baby and Mary's previous willingness turns into precious rejoicing. In the next nine verses she sings a beautiful prayer (Luke 1:46-55). I saw that in my Study Bible there are 38 Old Testament verses and 12 New Testament verses listed in the cross-references for Mary’s song. Mary knew the Scriptures. She didn’t necessarily quote the Scriptures, but as she sang, the Truth of them is what came out. I love this quote about Mary's song, "The song reveals that Mary was a learner of God before she became a disciple of Christ….she was confident that God would come through.” – Women’s Evangelical Commentary New Testament, 147. 

Mary knew and BELIEVED the Scriptures….and so she trusted.

In Luke 2:15-20 we see another famous Mary scene. She’s recovering from childbirth. The shepherds hear about Jesus from thousands of angels and come looking for Him.  When they burst in [for real, anyone burst into your room soon after you gave birth?]  they start telling their story, that the angels told them that this baby was a Savior, that He was Christ, that He was the Lord. Everyone who heard them say this craziness "wondered" (18). While they wondered, Mary "treasured" (19).  I learned that to treasure means “to guard, keep. To preserve, keep safe, close.”  Do you have any words or memories that you keep?  They are treasured in your memory because you keep them close by remembering and rehearsing. I want to be a woman who is quick to treasure what matters even while others are wondering if it matters. Luke 2:51 is the next time Mary treasures and this time it's after she and Joseph find Jesus at the temple after losing Him. [There are a thousand things that blow my mind about even imagining to be the mother of the Son of God, but losing him on a family trip has gotta be close to the top.  Seriously, can you imagine?] 

Now this is the heart of the Mary lesson for me.  From this point we see her a few more times in Scripture.  First at the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-12), she's adorable here.  I love her. In Mark we are told that shortly after he left home to start His ministry His family went to get him because they thought he was "out of His mind" (Mark 3:21). In Mary's defense, the verse just before that said that the crowd around Him was so big that He "couldn't even eat.”  And we all know nothing makes a momma crazier than when her child needs to eat.  As the tension thickens she and her other sons go to speak to Him and only get as far as the edge of the crowd. He won't see her. As Jesus uses his earthly family to make an eternal lesson (Mark 3:31-35, Luke 8:19-21) I can only imagine Mary. Here we set aside our sweet little Manger Mary.  See instead a mother who is confused and angry and very quickly nearing “I’ve had it up to here!” mode. We don’t see how she reconciles her fleshly expectations of Him with what she is coming to understand is His unique God-ordained calling, but she does. It’s hard for every mother to transition from parenting a child to supporting a young adult.  For this mother, it must’ve been a monumental lesson in submission.  Here is where her lesson on treasuring must’ve kicked in. As she stood unsummoned at the edge of a crowd or heard the talk going around town about what her child was up to, these are the Truths she had carefully protected that surely came to her troubled mind:

He is Savior,

He is Christ,

He is Lord,

He is the bringer of great joy for all people,

He is doing His Father’s business.

Mary follows her son to the terrible cross (John 19:25-27) and to the amazing grave (Luke 24:1-12). Jesus died. And Jesus rose from the dead. For 40 days He cared for His followers and gave them the seeds of assurance that would root and grow to bear  entire generations of new faith. Then he went back to heaven as His mother watched. As he disappeared into the clouds did she close her eyes and remember the same sky years earlier filled with a remarkable star? Did it seems like lifetimes away?  Did she treasure again the words the shepherds spoke of Him? I can’t imagine and can’t begin to put it to these mere words.  Her life was remarkable and difficult and miraculous.  As his followers walked away from their very last time to lay physical eyes on Jesus, we last lay our eyes on Mary. “They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.” Acts 1:14 NLT

Some versions say the followers “continued in one accord.” Continue literally means to endure, “to remain, tarry, to continue with someone, to cleave faithfully to someone, referring to those who insist on something or to stay close to someone.”  Imagine Mary’s prayers in this room.  I know this post is long, but take a few minutes to fold your hands and imagine your head covered in our favorite baby blue Mary color.  Bow your head and imagine her memories, her treasures, her pain, her acceptance and joy.  What would she have prayed? Imagine the joy of seeing her treasures anew and spiritually fulfilled. Here Mary is making the choice to follow God’s Son as HER Savior, to submit to a plan that caused her great pain and loss but will bring great joy for ALL PEOPLE, to be about the Father’s business.  The mother who insisted on seeing her son and protecting him from what would certainly bring him earthly harm now is insisting on spiritual endurance.

There are just so many ways that she encourages me:

I must treasure the eternal, so that when my faith encounters bumps I am ready.

There will be bumps in my faith journey. That’s not the end.

Sorrow is a part of every meaningful faith journey. The joy is worth it.

Success is not the goal of my journey. Relating to the Savior is.

Everything worthwhile comes from that discipline of relating. Insist on staying close.

As I’ve studied about Mary for the last weeks, this is my favorite quote about her;

But her heart was true, and from the beginning to the day of Pentecost, she pondered in her heart the meaning of her many puzzling experiences until the light came. – ISBE, biblehistory.net

“We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” 

2 Peter 1:19 NIV

Rejoicing over the Morning Star. Merry Christmas!

Jamy

The word studies in this post are quoted from The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament by Spiros Zodhiates, p. 958 (treasure) and 952 (continue).