The Birth of Jesus Christ (Luke 2:1-7)

Hello All,

Let us go back in time 2,000 years ago…

The Birth of Jesus Christ (Luke 2:1-7)

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (14^th November 2012)

A decree was issued by the Roman Emperor

Octavian, who was known as Augustus Caesar

Which required the whole world to be registered

That was when Quirinius was Syria's governor

Joseph set off from Nazareth in Galilee

To Bethlehem in Judea, David's city

To be registered with his betrothed, Mary

For he was from the line of David's family

In Bethlehem, the inn was full with no more room

Poor Mary was due to give birth anytime soon

In desperation they settled in a stable

With only a lowly manger for his cradle

Points for Reflection:

·         Before the fall of the Roman Empire, a very large part of the world was conquered by Rome. Thus, Augustus Caesar, the first emperor of Rome, issued a decree that everyone from all the countries under Rome had to return to their hometown to be registered for the purpose of taxation.

·         Although Joseph was at this time living in Nazareth, his ancestral home was Bethlehem. This caused the birth of Jesus Christ to occur in Bethlehem, exactly as prophesied (Micah 5:2), rather than in Nazareth where Joseph and Mary were then living.

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. (Micah 5:2)

·         We have seen so far that so many prophesies in the Old Testament regarding the coming of Jesus Christ into this world was fulfilled from his virgin birth, his ancestral line (descendant of King David) right up to the place of his birth.

·         The following website calculates the probability of Christ being born in Bethlehem as 2.8 x 10⁵ or 1 in 280,000.  This is just the probability of one prophecy alone without taking into consideration the other Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by Christ in the Bible. Christ fulfilled 8 major prophesies (not counting the minor ones) which have the odds of 1 x 10²⁸ or 1 in 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 to come to pass!

http://www.goodnewsdispatch.org/math.html

·         This shows that the Bible is 100% trustworthy and that God determines and is in control of every single event in history, the present time and even the future. When I was studying probability and statistics during my university days, someone once told me that with God, there are no probabilities. With him, it happens or it doesn’t.

·         Are you afraid and worried about the future? Are the hardships of the present too overwhelming? Does the past haunt you with unhappy memories? Take comfort in our loving God who is in control of every single detail of our lives and find strength in prayer.

·         Doesn’t it amaze you that our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be born in such a lowly stable, with a manger, containing animal feed, as his cradle? And he went through all of that because of his love for us, undeserving sinful human beings.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:5-8)

·         Aren’t we so fortunate to have such a loving God? Take some time to thank him for his great love for us. Pray that you will grow in your love for him each day.  

The Intervention (Matthew 1:18-25)

Hello All,

Happy reading :)

The Intervention (Matthew 1:18-25)

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (24^th November 2012)

As angel Gabriel had foretold to virgin Mary

She was found to be with child before matrimony

Joseph, her betrothed, resolved to divorce her quietly

Unwilling to shame her for he had great integrity

As Joseph considered some plans which seemed right to him

An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream

'Joseph, son of David, things are not what they seem

Mary has kept her vow to you and in no way has sinned

The Holy Spirit brought forth this child she has conceived

This child will save sinners who repent and believe

You are to call the name of this son of hers, Jesus

As prophesied, his name is Immanuel, God with us'

At dawn when Joseph finally awoke from his dream

He did as the angel of the Lord commanded him

He took Mary as his wife but had no union with her

Until the time came for the baby to be delivered.

Points for Reflection:

·         In those days, if an unmarried woman was found to be with child, she would be called an adulteress and stoned to death.

If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones (Deuteronomy 22:23-24)

·         Just try to put yourself in Mary’s shoes. It is an extremely precarious situation to be in. And yet, Mary chose to submit to God’s will, trusting in his faithfulness. 

And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her (Luke 1:38)                                                                                                                               

·         Initially, Joseph resolved to divorce Mary quietly for he intended to maintain his personal righteousness, yet he desired to show compassion even though Mary appeared to be an adulteress.

·         However, God, being true to his promise, intervened by sending an angel to tell Joseph of Mary’s innocence and that the child, Jesus, was to be the Saviour of the world foretold by prophets of old.

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:  “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us) (Matthew 1:22-23)

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14)

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 (Isaiah 9:6)

·         There will be times when submitting to God’s will is hard and we would feel our faith in God being stretched at times. But the marvellous thing is that God is always there to strengthen and comfort us when the going gets rough. Trials are precious moments in the valley of despair that God uses to bring us hope. Difficulties teach us to grow increasingly dependent on him instead of trusting in our abilities and resources. Adversities enable us to grow in our character and maturity in Christ. God is faithful in seeing us through our hardship.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:2-4)

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10)

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28)

I can do all things through him who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13)

The Birth of Jesus Foretold: Part 2 (Luke 1:34-38)

Hello All,

Just a quick recap on the first part of this poem:

·         God sent angel Gabriel to tell Mary that she will be the mother of Jesus Christ

·         This event is one of the many fulfillments of God's prophecies on His salvation plan for mankind.

The Birth of Jesus Foretold: Part 2 (Luke 1:34-38)

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (3^rd November 2012)

'How will this be since I am a virgin?'

Mary inquired as confusion set in

The angel sought to clear her puzzlement

With a little more thorough explanation

'The Holy Spirit will come upon you

And the Most High will empower you to

Thus this little child that you shall bring forth

Will be called holy - the Son of God'

'Old Elizabeth has conceived a son

Your relative is with child in her sixth month

God wrought in her barrenness a miracle

For with Him nothing is impossible'

'I am the servant of the Lord,' said Mary

'According to your word, let it be to me'

The angel Gabriel departed from her

And left her with much to marvel over

Points for Reflection:

·         I am sure we could understand Mary's confusion about her foretold virgin pregnancy. It seems utterly impossible to the human mind that such a thing could happen. But with our God who is the creator of the heavens and the earth and the giver of life to all of his creation, nothing is impossible for him.

For nothing is impossible with God

(Luke 1:37)

 Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you

(Jeremiah 32:17)

But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

(Matthew 19:26)

·         It was prophesied that the Holy Spirit will perform this great miracle, so that Mary will conceive without having union with a man. This indicates Jesus holiness because although he was a genuine human being, he did not inherit a sinful nature and disposition from Adam, as all other human beings do.

He [Jesus Christ] committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his [Jesus Christ's] mouth

(1 Peter 2:22)

·         This does not mean that Jesus was not God when he was born into this world but he was fully God and fully human.

For in him [Jesus Christ] the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily

(Colossians 2:9)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth

(John 1:1.14)

·         As a confirmation of angel Gabriel's message, he told Mary about Elizabeth, Mary's relative, a woman more than sixty years old who was previously unable to bear children but who was in the sixth month of her pregnancy at that point of time. As unbelievable as it seemed, Elizabeth had conceived in her old age, and Mary would conceive too. But the conception in Mary would be far more miraculous than the one in Elizabeth. Mary would conceive a child by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren

(Luke 1:36)

·         Mary showed true submission to God's word and promise. In those days, if an unmarried woman was found to be with child, she would be called an adulteress and stoned to death. Despite all the potential dangers and shame that lay before her, she chose to submit to God's will and entrusted her life into God's hands.

If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones

(Deuteronomy 22:23-24)

And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her

(Luke 1:38)

·         Living in obedience and submission to God as his children is not easy because it entails sacrifices. Every Christian experiences varying levels of sacrifices. Some are tortured and killed for their faith in Christ. Others are disowned or persecuted by their families. For those of us who do not face such severe persecution for our faith, there may be certain things in life that we have to forsake for the sake of Christ (e.g. forgoing certain sinful habits, setting apart time and energy to read the Bible, praying and helping out in church or Christian activities, giving a portion of our earnings to God, etc…)

And he [Jesus Christ] said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me

(Luke 9:23)

·         Are you willing take up your cross and follow Christ daily no matter what the cost?

        

The Birth of Jesus Foretold: Part 1 (Luke 1:26-33)

Hello All,

Now is the Christmas season and it is a good time to reflect on what the Bible has to say about the true meaning of Jesus' birth.

I have written a poem that narrates the birth of Jesus foretold and which I have split into Part 1 and 2.

The Birth of Jesus Foretold: Part 1 (Luke 1:26-33)

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (3^rd November 2012)

God sent angel Gabriel to a city

Named Nazareth in the land of Galilee

To bring a message to virgin Mary

Betrothed to Joseph of David's family

'Greetings, O favoured one,' said the angel

 'The Lord is with you!' he said as he drew near

The angel's words troubled Mary greatly

She could not discern what greeting this might be

'Do not be afraid,' Gabriel assured her

'For you have found favour with your creator

You will conceive and bear a son, Jesus

His name is Immanuel, God with us'

'The breadth of his might no one can deny

And he will be called the Son of the Most High

God will give him the throne of David his father

He'll reign o'er the house of Jacob forever'

TO BE CONTINUED…..

Points for Reflection:

·         The birth of Jesus Christ was foretold by God through many of his appointed prophets (and people He had chosen to make known to) long before the actual event took place.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

(Isaiah 7:14)

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.

(Isaiah 9:6)

·         God promised David, who was a very good and godly king over Israel, that Jesus Christ would descend from his line and rule mightily over a spiritual kingdom that will last forever. Many, many centuries after King David's reign, angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, a virgin pledged to be married to Joseph, a descendant of David, to tell her that she would be the mother of Jesus.

When your [King David's] days are fulfilled and you [King David] lie down with your [King David's] fathers, I will raise up your [King David's] offspring [Jesus Christ] after you, who shall come from your [King David's] body, and I will establish his [Jesus Christ's] kingdom. He [Jesus Christ] shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his [Jesus Christ] kingdom forever.

(2 Samuel 7:12-13)

And your [King David's] house and your [King David's] kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your [King David's] throne shall be established forever.

(2 Samuel 7:16)

·         You may wonder why did Father God send his Son, Jesus Christ, into the world through virgin birth? Jesus Christ was on a mission to save sinful humanity from the penalty of their transgressions. When God created the first man, Adam and first woman, Eve, they disobeyed and rebelled against God by eating of the forbidden fruit because they wanted to be in control of their own lives. Rebellion against God as the loving ruler of our lives is what the Bible defines as sin. The penalty of sin against a holy God is eternal death in hell. But Jesus Christ, who is a holy God, willingly came down to earth as a man so that he could be our substitute by taking on the punishment that we rightfully deserve through his death on the cross.

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned

(Romans 5:12)

For if, because of one man's [Adam's] trespass, death reigned through that one man [Adam], much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

(Romans 5:17)

·         Isn't it wonderful that we have a powerful and loving God who fulfills his promises to his people and who is control of every event in history?

·         If you are able to trust in Christ for your salvation, shouldn't you be able entrust every area of your life into his hands?

·         Are you yielding your life to King Jesus and living by His Word or are you still choosing to run things your own way?

·         Are there areas in your life which you could learn to increasingly surrender to God each day?