Sunday, December 23, 2018

The Daily Lectionary for MONDAY, December 24, 2018

What God Requires
Micah 6:6-8

The Daily Lectionary
MONDAY, December 24, 2018
(Revised Common Lectionary Year C)

Luke 1:46b-55
46b “My soul magnifies the Lord,
47    and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48  for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
      Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49  for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
      and holy is his name.
50  His mercy is for those who fear him
      from generation to generation.
51  He has shown strength with his arm;
      he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52  He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
      and lifted up the lowly;
53  he has filled the hungry with good things,
      and sent the rich away empty.
54  He has helped his servant Israel,
      in remembrance of his mercy,
55  according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
      to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

Micah 6:6-8
What God Requires
6   “With what shall I come before the Lord,
      and bow myself before God on high?
    Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
      with calves a year old?
7   Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
      with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
    Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
      the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
8   He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
      and what does the Lord require of you
    but to do justice, and to love kindness,
      and to walk humbly with your God?

Hebrews 10:5-10
10:5   Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,

    “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
      but a body you have prepared for me;
6   in burnt offerings and sin offerings
      you have taken no pleasure.
7   Then I said, ‘See, God, I have come to do your will, O God’
      (in the scroll of the book it is written of me).”

8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, “See, I have come to do your will.” He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. 10 And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Optional parts of the readings are set off in square brackets.

The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.

The Daily Lectionary is a three year cyclical lectionary. We are currently in Year C. Beginning with the first Sunday of Advent in 2019, we will be in Year A. The year which ended at Advent 2018 was Year B. These readings complement the Sunday and festival readings: Thursday through Saturday readings help prepare the reader for the Sunday ahead; Monday through Wednesday readings help the reader reflect and digest on what they heard in worship. Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts. www.commontexts.org
Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said ...

The Morning Prayer for MONDAY, December 24, 2018


Monday morning prayer

Lord,

Sometimes, Monday can be a hard day. Dreaded on Sunday and fled from on a Friday. Yet why Lord as Monday could be the beginning of a work adventure, the new challenge of a week filled with potential? So I pray you would help me to embrace this day.

Let it be a new day and a wonder day. Help me to see not the clouds but the sunrise, not the rain but the ripples of falling drops. Show me the joy of the embrace with loved ones, not the tensions and troubles. Monday need not be the grudge day to be endured but the fun day to be embraced.

This day, help me to turn my eyes towards your Kingdom, of love, hope and new beginnings.
Amen

Verse of the Day for MONDAY, December 24, 2018


Luke 2:16-20 (NIV) So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Read all of Luke 2

Listen to Luke 2

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Un dia a la Vez - Nochebuena


Nochebuena

Jesús les habló, diciendo: Yo soy la luz del mundo; el que me sigue, no andará en tinieblas, sino que tendrá la luz de la vida.

Para muchos, hoy estamos de fiesta, ya que se prepara la celebración de la llegada del Salvador a la tierra.

El nacimiento del niño Jesús es el cumplimiento de la Palabra de Dios. Por décadas, esta verdadera celebración se ha tratado de opacar con el comercio, las fiestas y muchas otras cosas. Y esto no cambiará.

Yo celebro también la Navidad con mis princesas, mi esposo y mi familia, pero hay un tiempo que es precioso. Siempre tenemos un momento especial de oración donde ponemos nuestra vida en las manos de Dios. Además, cada uno le damos gracias por las cosas que Él ha hecho y por ese regalo hermoso que podemos compartir con otros, al revelarles esta verdad que les traerá salvación y vida eterna.

Si Jesús vino para cambiar el mundo, aprovechemos esta ocasión para también nosotros nacer de nuevo. Hablo desde el punto de vista espiritual. Así que, no luches más y entrégale tu vida a Dios para que Él pueda cumplir su propósito en ti. De esa manera, logrará ser una mejor persona.

Recuerda, la Navidad no es solo fiestas y regalos. Por eso el mejor regalo que le puedes dar a tu familia es tu cambio. Sin duda, esto producirá un deseo en ellos por conocer lo que te hizo cambiar y la gloria será para Dios.

Un Día a la Vez Copyright © by Claudia Pinzón
Para muchos, hoy estamos de fiesta, ya que se prepara la celebración de la llegada del Salvador a la tierra.

Standing Strong Through the Storm - CHRISTMAS DEPORTATION MIRACLE


CHRISTMAS DEPORTATION MIRACLE

“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know…”
~ Acts 2:22 (NIV)

In late 1992, “Wally” Magdangal, a Filipino Christian who for years had pastored a clandestine house church in Saudi Arabia, was arrested. His secret house church was unexpectedly penetrated by the “mutawwa”, the Saudi Arabian religious police.

Wally remembers reading in an Open Doors magazine about a small group in China that gathered weekly in the back room of a small store to worship together. It was the era of the infamous Cultural Revolution. Since the believers could easily be overheard by anyone entering the store, they “sang” hymns together without words or music. Someone whispered the name of the song and they would silently move their lips and simply think of the words and music.

He said, “We are an underground Church like the believers behind the Bamboo Curtain, but the difference is that we can praise in full voice because our facilities are sound-proofed. Not even our closest neighbor can hear us.” But they were betrayed and now Wally was en route to prison.

For three-and-a-half hours he was physically and mentally tortured. They slapped, boxed and kicked him on the face. Then using a long stick, they lashed his back and the palms of his hands. Then the soles of his feet. He could not stand without wincing and he describes his bruised body as looking like an eggplant.

Upon returning to his cell, Wally prayed for five hours thanking God for allowing him to participate in the sufferings of Jesus. Here are his own words; “Suddenly there was light. The cell was filled with the Lord’s Shekinah glory. His presence was there. He knelt and started to touch my face. He told me, ‘My son, I have seen all of it. That’s why I’m here. I am assuring you that I will never leave you or forsake you.’”

Wally woke up two hours later feeling like a new man. He was amazed when he saw his body had been restored to perfect wholeness. No bruises, no cuts, no bleeding or blood stains. He adds, “God had completely restored me.” This was a significant source of strength as he later repeatedly witnessed to his interrogators who were dumbfounded by his healing. Once after sharing his faith, Wally noticed the guard’s countenance change. He was smiling. Wally said, “I could feel the Holy Spirit working already.”

Wally (and his fellow-pastor) was spared scheduled execution on Christmas Day. Miraculously, at the last moment, they were released and deported home to the Philippines. Today he shares God’s goodness and blessing around the world never forgetting that Christmas miracle.

RESPONSE: Today I will thank the Lord that He still works miracles today, here and around the world.

PRAYER: Pray for persecuted Christians who may be in prison today awaiting their miraculous release. Pray they will also be encouraged by the intimate presence of Jesus, Himself.

Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS), a daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks. © 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission.

Women of the Bible - Priscilla


Priscilla

Her name means: "Worthy" or "Venerable"

Her character: One of the first missionaries and a leader of the early church, along with her husband, Aquila, she risked her life for the apostle Paul. Priscilla was a woman whose spiritual maturity and understanding of the faith helped build up the early church.
Her sorrow: To experience opposition to the gospel from both Jews and Gentiles.
Her joy: To spread the gospel and nurture the church.
Key Scriptures: Acts 18-19; Romans 16:3-4; 1 Corinthians 16:19; 2 Timothy 4:19

Her Story

How good it is to have Paul back again, she thought. Ephesus was on fire with the gospel, their young church growing stronger each day. Paul's preaching and miracles had brought many to faith. Even the touch of his handkerchief had healed illnesses and delivered people from evil spirits.

Priscilla couldn't help laughing when she heard the story of Sceva's seven sons, Jewish exorcists who had tried to duplicate such wonders by driving out an evil spirit with a magic invocation: "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out."

But the spirit had merely mocked them, saying: "Jesus I know and I know about Paul, but who are you?" Then the man they were trying to deliver beat them so soundly they ran bleeding and naked from the house.

The Ephesians were so impressed by what had happened that a number of sorcerers held a public bonfire to destroy their scrolls. Their magical formulations and incantations seemed like useless trinkets in light of the greater power of Jesus.

But despite the progress of the gospel, Priscilla was aware of growing opposition. One day, she heard the sounds of a crowd forming in the streets. A silversmith was shouting to other craftsmen, all of whom made their living selling miniature images of the many-breasted goddess Artemis: "Men, you know we receive a good income from this business. And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty."

The crowd erupted into a riot, seizing two of Paul's companions. Priscilla was distressed when Paul insisted on addressing the mob. She was certain such boldness could only end in worse violence. With her husband's help, she was able to restrain Paul until a city official calmed the crowd and it dispersed. Soon after, Paul set out to spread the gospel in Macedonia.

Though the book of Acts describes the riot in Ephesus, it does not tell us that either Priscilla or Aquila were actually present, only that some disciples prevented Paul from entering the fray, possibly saving his life in the process. Since Priscilla and her husband were leaders of the church in Ephesus, it is quite possible they were among those who intervened on Paul's behalf.

Priscilla's faith had been planted years earlier in an atmosphere of strife and controversy, first in Rome and later in Corinth. The latter was a commercial center famous for its appetite for vice, hardly a place to nurture the faith of a new believer. Yet that was where God transplanted her, along with her husband, Aquila, after Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome in ad 49, tired of their constant fighting about Chrestus (a probable reference to Christ).

Though various gods were worshiped in Corinth, none was more popular than Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, whose temple at one time boasted more than a thousand sacred prostitutes. Throughout the empire, the phrase "Corinthian girl" was just another name for "prostitute."

After the couple had been in Corinth for about a year, they met up with a man who would involve them in yet more controversy. Paul of Tarsus was a Jew who had ruthlessly persecuted Jesus' followers until his own dramatic conversion. Lately, he had been traveling in Asia Minor and Macedonia, preaching the gospel wherever he went. When he arrived in Corinth, he probably met the couple through their common trade as tentmakers. Priscilla and Aquila invited Paul to stay in their home and work with them.

As always, Paul preached the gospel first in the local synagogue and then to the Gentiles. And, as always, his preaching generated both faith and opposition. After eighteen months, leading Jews of Corinth hauled him before the proconsul to accuse him of spreading an illicit religion. After the charge was dismissed, Paul set sail for Ephesus, taking Priscilla and Aquila with him.

The three missionaries must have been eager to see a city that ranked in importance with Rome, Corinth, Antioch, and Alexandria. The capital of provincial Asia, Ephesus boasted a temple to Artemis (also known as Diana) so enormous that it was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. After only a short while, Paul left for other ports, leaving the couple behind to lead the church that met in their home.

Before long another Jew arrived, preaching eloquently about Jesus to the Jews at Ephesus. But Apollos, a native of Alexandria, had grasped only a shadow of the gospel, one more in keeping with the message of John the Baptist than of Jesus. Rather than denouncing him for his inadequate presentation, Priscilla and Aquila merely took him aside and instructed him in the faith. They did their job so well, in fact, that believers in Ephesus eventually sent the gifted preacher to Corinth, where he advanced the work Paul had begun.

Priscilla must have been a spiritually mature woman, whose gifts equipped her for leadership. Her name actually precedes Aquila's four out of the six times they are mentioned in the New Testament, probably signifying her greater abilities as a leader or the fact that her family may have hailed from a higher social strata than his. Whatever the case, Priscilla's role in instructing Apollos and leading the early church is remarkable.

Along with Aquila, she was the best friend Paul could have had, helping him establish the church and risking her life for his sake. Paul mentions the couple's courage in one of his letters but doesn't elaborate on the circumstances.

Rather than withering in the soil of controversy, Priscilla's faith seemed to flourish. She helped establish the early church in an atmosphere of great hostility, risking her own life for the sake of the gospel she loved.

Her Promise

Scripture doesn't tell us exactly what role Priscilla played in the circumstances described in the New Testament. Was she active as a teacher? Or did she work in the background? But the very fact that her name appears along with her husband's every time does tell us something: She was a valued disciple, one who made a difference in Paul's life and in her world.

Whatever your role as a woman in your church, whether in the background or in a leadership position, you can be sure that what you are doing matters. Each task—no matter how small or large—is important to the spread of the gospel. You are an integral part of your church community, and God promises to use you.

This devotional is drawn from Women of the Bible: A One-Year Devotional Study of Women in Scripture by Ann Spangler and Jean Syswerda. Used with permission.
Priscilla was a woman whose spiritual maturity and understanding of the faith helped build up the early church.

Girlfriends in God - Christmas Depression and Christmas Cookies


Christmas Depression and Christmas Cookies

Today’s Truth

And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
~ Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

Friend to Friend

I love holiday traditions. Each year my family dresses up and goes out together to a special Christmas concert in the days leading up to December 25th. Whether it’s at our local church or the theater downtown, we get dolled up for Jesus. Okay, let’s be honest: my husband and children do it for me. And every year I hope and pray for one really good family picture of us together, with the boys wearing argyle sweater vests, and their hair combed back. Not a dozen pictures, mind you, just one special keepsake of a treasure where we all look happy. Happy is the goal.

I struggle with happy sometimes—especially around the holidays. Which feels ridiculous because we’re all singing, “Tis the season to be jolly…” But all the falalalala-ing in the world can’t hide the fact I struggle with depression each December.

There are plenty of reasons and I can’t list them all, but I’m going to list and few because I know I’m not the only one. I’m not a psychotherapist here to explain them all, just a sister in the Holly-Jolly trenches, humbling sharing what I, and pointing you to the One who knows it all.

Here are a few of the pressures that press in on me at Christmastime.
  • Super high expectations. Expectations of what our tree will look like (and how fun it will be to decorate it), how lovely our porch and centerpiece will be this year, not to mention those family pictures, can cause ridiculous amounts of stress. Trips to take the kids to see Santa end in tears (theirs and ours) while everyone on Instagram and Facebook looks like it truly is “the most wonderful time of the year!”
  • Family stress. Family pressure over where we’re going to be Christmas morning, and therefore where we aren’t going to be, can steal our focus and rob our joy as well. Whose turn is it to host; which in-laws will we be with; and how long will we stay before we leave for the next stop on the Christmas train? When what we really want is to be home with our stockings and eggnog, watching Elf by ourselves. The guilt compounds the sadness. It’s Christmas after all.
  • Unrealized desire to feel close to God. The pressure to focus on “the reason for the season” amidst all the hustle and bustle, can make us feel terrible too. Feelings of failure when we only read the first three chapters from our advent devotional is the straw that often breaks the camel’s back. Speaking of camels, I’m reminded now that I never even got my nativity set out of storage and onto the mantel this year.
  • The sugar. While many of my most favorite traditions are packed with sugar (then dusted with powdered sugar), the truth of the matter is that sugar doesn’t help me when I’m hurting. Sugar doesn’t make me sweet when I’m sad. Sure, it lifts my Christmas Spirits for a Merry-Moment, but before I know it I’m crashing down again. It is simply what sugar does. At Christmastime especially, with all the special treats, we can feel like we’re riding a teeter-totter on a merry-go-round. We want to be happy, but we’re dizzy and tired. We want to get off, but we can’t. We need another piece of peppermint bark with our white chocolate mocha to bring us back up again.

While sugar seems like the most unspiritual of all the bullet points above, the reality is that God is the only thing, the only One, we should run to when we’re in pain — at Christmastime or anytime. We need to stop reaching for the next sugar high and start reaching for the Most High. We must learn to run to the Great Comforter rather than comfort foods.


Perhaps, in your sadness you run to the mall for another session of retail therapy. But that’s not the therapist you need either. In one of the most familiar Christmas passages, Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be called a “Wonderful Counselor”.

If you are desperate for “comfort and joy” this Christmas, let me encourage you to limit your sugar intake. While it seems like a very unspiritual first step, physiologically it might be just what you need to spiritually run to The Most High rather than the next sugar high. Sugar’s help is temporary (and really no help at all.) But the Most High is eternal and can lift you up in your present struggles into His forever arms.

When you’re tempted to run to sugar this Christmas, run to the satisfying sweetness of our Savior. He’s a Wonderful Counselor. When you’re tempted to put your hope in a leftover cookie and the quick dopamine release that will make you feel good for a while… put your hope instead in God.

Let’s Pray

Dear Lord, Thank you for being my Wonderful Counselor and the Prince who is my peace and brings me peace. I don’t need retail therapy, I need you. And I don’t need to self-medicate with sugar to relieve my pain either. I need Your great comfort. Thank you for coming to earth as my Savior. Teach me to know this Christmas that Your saving isn’t just intended to get me to Heaven. Your saving is available today, and this whole holiday season, each time that I struggle.
In Jesus’ Saving Name,
Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn

Do you struggle with depression at Christmas? Perhaps you feel convicted about your sugar addiction, that goes through the roof each this time of year. The application is the same for you too. Let’s run to God rather than to that leftover piece of pecan pie this afternoon. Limit your sugar intake, so that you might experience the satisfying sweetness of the Savior we celebrate at Christmastime!

More from the Girlfriends

If you struggle with sugar addiction, at Christmas most of all, join Wendy Speake for her fifth annual 40 Day Sugar Fast this January. Every year thousands of women sign up for forty days of fasting from sugar and feasting together on Christ and His satisfying word. Waistlines decrease as faith lives increase! It’s an incredible time of physical and spiritual transformation and it all begins January 8th. Sign up today.

Seeking God?
Click HERE to find out more about how to have a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ.

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Holiday traditions.

LHM Daily Devotions - ACCORDING TO PLAN?

https://www.lhm.org/dailydevotions/default.asp?date=20181224

"ACCORDING TO PLAN?"

Dec. 24, 2018

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn Son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
~ Luke 2:6-7 (ESV)

How distressed Joseph must have been! He could get no decent place for his wife to lie down, even though she was plainly about to give birth. There was no room in the inn. Whatever relatives they might have had in Bethlehem could not give them a bed. By this point, Mary no doubt wanted nothing but a place to lie down—any place, so long as it was horizontal; but her husband wanted better for his wife and her baby.

I wonder what Joseph thought of God's planning at that moment. It surely didn't resemble the kind of planning Joseph wanted! Was he angry? Frightened? Worried? We don't know.

But in God's eyes, everything was going according to plan. Jesus was about to be born in the city of David, in Bethlehem, as God had promised so many years ago: "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).

God came into our world as a human baby between the thighs of a woman in temporary housing. We don't even know if Joseph managed to find a midwife to help. Instead of a cedar cradle, Jesus had a manger to sleep in. Instead of silk and cloth of gold, Jesus was wrapped in homely swaddling clothes. This is the birth God planned for Himself as He set in motion His great plan—the plan to redeem us all from the power of death and the devil.

Like Joseph, we too are often distressed when our plans aren't working out—especially when we see our loved ones suffer as a result. But we can take comfort in knowing that God cares for them as He cares for us, and He is working out His plans to save us all—through Jesus, our Savior.

THE PRAYER: Lord, when my plans go wrong, help me to rest in You, trusting that You will see us through. Amen.

The Coming King REFLECTION QUESTIONS!
  • What plans are you making right now?
  • Tell about a time when your best-laid plans all went awry.
  • What glimpses have you had of God's plan for your own life over the years?

Advent Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo. Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
What plans are you making right now?

Devocional del CPTLN de 24 de Diciembre de 2018 - ¿De acuerdo con el plan?


ALIMENTO DIARIO

¿De acuerdo con el plan?

24 de Diciembre de 2018

Y mientras ellos se encontraban allí, se cumplió el tiempo de que ella diera a luz, y allí tuvo a su hijo primogénito; y lo envolvió en pañales, y lo acostó en un pesebre, porque no había lugar para ellos en ese albergue.
~ Lucas 2:6-7 (RVC)

¡Qué angustiado debe haber estado José! María ya no quería nada más que un lugar donde acostarse, cualquier lugar con tal que fuera horizontal, y él no podía encontrar un lugar decente para ella. ¿Qué habrá pensado del plan de Dios? ¡Seguramente no se parecía mucho al que él hubiera hecho! ¿Estaría enojado? ¿Asustado? ¿Preocupado?

Pero a los ojos de Dios, todo iba de acuerdo con su plan. Jesús estaba a punto de nacer en Belén, la ciudad de David, como Dios lo había prometido tantos años atrás: "Tú, Belén Efrata, eres pequeña para estar entre las familias de Judá; pero de ti me saldrá el que será Señor en Israel. Sus orígenes se remontan al principio mismo, a los días de la eternidad" (Miqueas 5:2).

Dios vino a nuestro mundo como cualquier otro ser humano. Ni siquiera sabemos si José logró encontrar una partera para ayudar. En lugar de una cuna de cedro, Jesús durmió en un pesebre. En vez de ser envuelto en seda y oro, fue envuelto en pañales caseros. Ese fue el nacimiento que Dios planeó para Sí mismo al poner en marcha su gran plan: el plan para rescatarnos del poder de la muerte y del diablo.

Al igual que José, nosotros también nos angustiamos cuando nuestros planes no funcionan, especialmente cuando vemos sufrir a nuestros seres queridos. Pero nos consuela el saber que Dios se preocupa por ellos así como se preocupa por nosotros, y que está llevando a cabo Su plan para salvarnos a todos a través de Jesús, nuestro salvador.

ORACIÓN: Señor, cuando mis planes salen mal ayúdame a descansar en Ti, confiando en que tú me ayudarás. Amén.

PREGUNTAS DE REFLEXIÓN:
¿Qué planes estás haciendo en este momento?
¿Qué vislumbres has tenido del plan de Dios para tu vida a lo largo de los años?

© Copyright 2018 Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones. Que a través de estos devocionales, la Palabra de Dios te refresque en tu diario caminar.
¿Qué vislumbres has tenido del plan de Dios para tu vida a lo largo de los años?

Notre Pain Quotidien - Réfléchissez-y

https://www.ministeresnpq.org/2018/12/24/reflechissez-y/

Réfléchissez-y

Lisez : Luc 2.8-20
La Bible en un an : Habakuk 1 – 3 ; Apocalypse 15

Marie gardait toutes ces choses, et les repassait dans son cœur. V. 19

Durant les années où il a enseigné au Bible Training College à Londres (1911-1915), Oswald Chambers a souvent beaucoup surpris les étudiants par les propos qu’il tenait en cours. Une jeune femme a expliqué que, comme Chambers réservait les discussions aux pause-repas, il se faisait alors fréquemment bombarder de questions et d’objections. Elle se souvenait qu’Oswald disait souvent en souriant : « Laissez mijoter tout cela ; et cela finira par éclairer votre esprit. » Il encourageait ses élèves à réfléchir aux questions abordées et à permettre à Dieu de leur révéler sa vérité.

Repasser une chose dans son cœur revient à se concentrer dessus en y réfléchissant à fond. Après les événements ayant conduit à la naissance de Jésus à Bethléem, suivis de l’apparition d’anges et l’arrivée de bergers venus voir le Messie, « Marie [garda] toutes ces choses, et les [repassa] dans son cœur » (LU 2.19). Selon W. E. Vine, un érudit du Nouveau Testament, l’expression « repasser une chose dans son cœur » signifie « unir, faire converger, joindre une chose à une autre à la lumière d’une situation » (Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words).

Pour nous aider à comprendre à quoi rime ce qui se passe dans notre vie, nous pouvons suivre le merveilleux exemple de Marie en cherchant la face de Dieu et en puisant dans sa sagesse infinie.

Si nous acceptons de suivre Dieu comme elle, nous aurons de quoi nourrir nos réflexions sur sa direction mue par l’amour.

Malgré le tourbillon de Noël, prenez le temps d’écouter Dieu.


© 2018 Ministères NPQ
Durant les années où il a enseigné au Bible Training College à Londres (1911-1915), Oswald Chambers a souvent beaucoup surpris les étudiants par les propos qu’il tenait en cours.