Cranberry Hootycreeks and Sacrifice

What am I bid for this lovely, mouthwatering plate of cookies? For Christmas last year, my daughter received a jar of dry cookie ingredients with instructions on what to add to make these delicacies called cranberry hootycreeks. (Whoever came up with the strange name, I have no idea, but I’m glad someone came up with the recipe!)

Along with basic cookie dough ingredients, the cookies contain dried cranberries, chopped pecans, white morsels, and oatmeal. They are delicious, and they are a temptation! However, I’ve been “good for goodness sake” in my healthy eating plan, so I decided to bake a batch. After working two of the confections into my eating plan today, I felt I was really sacrificing by not having the three more I wanted right then, plus a few more this evening.

Did I say “sacrifice”? Ha! I hardly know the meaning of the word, and most of my family and friends would say the same. However, I know where we can go to find those who are intimately acquainted with the meaning of the term:

“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law…” (Galatians 4:4).

Notice the word, “sent”. God the Father sacrificed greatly to send His only Son - the One with whom He had experienced intimate and perfect fellowship since before time began - into this sin-cursed world. And this Son, who was welcomed to planet earth by some humble humans and a bunch of smelly farm animals, would ultimately pay the greatest sacrifice. Listen to the heart-cry of our Lord Jesus as He faced the temporary suspension of His Father’s fellowship at the time of His crucifixion:

“Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, ‘Sit here while I go and pray over there.’ And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, ‘My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.’ He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will’” (Matthew 26:36-39).

“Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’” (Matthew 27:45-46).

It was for me. It was for you. That we, undeserving as we are, might experience LIFE…abundant and eternal, and all the grace-gifts that accompany it. Shall we pause to praise Him?

“O, come let us adore Him, Christ the LORD!”

Best wishes from lefthandrightbrain:)

Gabriel's Visits

Roughly 400 years had passed since there had been a prophetic word from God. As Malachi closed out his final chapter, the next pages we find in our Bible were long-delayed. God seemed silent, but He was active. The stage was being set for fulfillment of Galatians 4:4-5:

“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

Luke, one of the gospel writers, details these events. In chapter one of the book bearing his name, he recounts two visits of the angel Gabriel, one to an aged priest named Zechariah, another to a young Jewish maiden named Mary. As you read these familiar accounts, consider the messages (a birth of unusual circumstances would occur) and the responses of the two hearers. First, Zechariah’s news:

"In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years. Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John…. Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years." The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time" (Luke 1:5-13; 18-20 NIV).

Next, Mary’s:

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God." "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:26-38)

In both messages, Gabriel told his listeners: “Do not be afraid.” He shared with both that they would soon have a son, and outlined the events that would accompany the incredible births. Look at Zechariah’s response: "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years." Gabriel reprimanded the priest for his unbelief, declaring would be unable to speak until the child was born.

Fast-forward six months to Mary’s encounter with the heavenly messenger. When told she would give birth to the “Son of the Most High”, she responded, "How will this be…since I am a virgin?" In this encounter, Gabriel reacted quite differently to Mary’s perplexity. I’ve often wondered, when both seem to be confused about how the unique births (according to normal human reproductive standards) could possibly take place, and were seeking answers, why Zechariah’s speech was abruptly silenced, and Mary just received a gentle explanation.

I don’t have the answer to that quandary. Perhaps it was because God expects – and requires – more of those who have walked with Him a very long time. Whatever the answer, the births took place at the appointed time, and the lives of Jesus and John were intrinsically intertwined, even from the womb (see Luke 1:39-45). John had the opportunity to be “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘“Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God (Isaiah 40:3).’”

As John sought to prepare hearts to receive the Messiah, may we likewise provide Him a similar dwelling place – a soft heart where He can make Himself fully at home. May our attitude be such as that of Mary:

“I am the Lord’s servant…may it be to me as you have said.”

Best wishes from lefthandrightbrain:)

No Room

“While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:6-7)

We’ve all seen the Christmas plays. Children clad in bathrobes try to recall their lines as they portray the precious story. Sometimes the kindly innkeeper is depicted showing the exhausted Mary and Joseph to a cozy area replete with a feeding trough full of nice, clean hay. A carefully-positioned light and strains of “Away in a Manger” make the scene look almost idyllic as Mary lovingly places her firstborn into the manger-bed.

Reality: The only Scriptural facts are presented in the above verses. How they came to the manger setting is unknown. Our imaginations are all we can use to consider the conditions of the birth. And as far as clean, soft hay…probably not. Joseph may have needed to shoo some slobbering cows away from dinner and dodge droppings to make room for the newborn Jesus.

No room in the inn…before Jesus was even born, He faced rejection.

Have you ever heard the poignant song, “No Room”? It is part of a cantata by John W. Peterson, entitled “Night of Miracles”. Here are the words:

No room, only a manager of hay. No room, He is a stranger today.

No room, here in His world turned away, no room, no room.

No room, here in the hearts of mankind. No room, no cheery welcome could find.

No room, surely the world is blind, no room, no room.

Chorus:

No room. Angels, in heaven up yonder watch with amazement and wonder

To see the Son of the Highest treated so. No room, no room, no room.

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Today, the story is the same. Millions, even billions, have no room for the Babe of the manger who is the Savior of the world. Yet do many claiming allegiance to follow this Christ offer Him much better? At this time of year set aside to celebrate His birth, do we inadvertently become the innkeeper, “taking care of business”, (preparing for and rushing to one holiday event after another) while turning our back on the One we so desperately need to focus on? Or are we deliberately setting aside time to ponder the Scriptures, truly listen to the carols, and seek to give Jesus a gift He will cherish…a daily surrender of our lives to His gracious control?

“Are you ready for Christmas”? I’ve already heard that question this year; perhaps you have, too. I want to have the courage to respond, “What do you mean?” Then as I listen to their answer, I’ll silently pray for courage to say (and truthfully mean it), “I’m a follower of that Jesus the carols proclaim, and yes, I’m daily making my heart ready for Christmas. How about you? Are you ready for Christmas?” That question may open doors for sharing the best GIFT all. Let’s pray together to make it so.

Best wishes from lefthandrightbrain.