Month: August 2025

.…”as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.”

2 Corinthians 6:10 (RSV)

In 2021 archeologists fully excavated a magnificent public building which dates back to 2,000 years ago. It was next door to the temple in Jerusalem, and would have been the precise location where Joseph and Mary shopped to buy two turtle doves to offer according to Mosaic law. It was the forty day presentation of their son Jesus.

A tourist who once visited this ancient mall, was brought there by a Jewish guide, who told him, “If you’re a Christian, you would want to remove your shoes because this is holy ground for you, since your Messiah was brought here 2,000 years ago.” 

According to Mosaic law, every firstborn male child belonged to God, and the parents were to symbolically buy him back on the 40th day after his birth. This act of buying back was accomplished, by offering a one year old unblemished lamb as a burnt offering. The law in Leviticus 12:8, stated that if anyone was too poor to afford a lamb, they could offer two turtledoves instead. We know that Mary and Joseph were that poor, because they offered turtledoves according to the gospel in Luke 2:24. 

Mary and Joseph may have been poor, but they made many rich. While having nothing, they possessed everything, and their true wealth was all wrapped up in the bundle of humanity, who they carried in their arms, named Jesus.

I can just visualize them shopping in this building filled with shops and vendors. The attached photo was the temple shopping mall of the day, where they purchased their two turtledoves, to offer according to the law of Moses. Mary and Joseph looked like any other family in the mall that day, but they were not like any other family, because of “who” they carried with them. 

God, who is the Lord of the universe, gave many laws to Moses on that awesome Sinai mountain which thundered with smoke and lightning. The divine Presence that thundered on Mount Sinai, was later carried into this shopping mall and the temple that once stood across from it. As a baby, the Lord of life fulfilled His own decree and was presented for a 40 day dedication blessing, with a poor man’s offering of two turtle doves.

God is very intentional regarding numbers throughout scripture, and He chose forty as the number to symbolize all special moments. 

In the Genesis story about Noah’s ark, it rained for forty days and nights. Moses spent forty days on Mount Sinai, receiving the commandments. Jesus was tempted for forty days in the desert before starting His ministry. After the resurrection, He appeared to people for forty days, until His ascension. I recently learned that forty Roman soldiers in 320 A.D. were martyred together as a group after converting and professing their faith in Jesus Christ. We observe a forty day period of lent each year, as a time to focus on the death and resurrection of Jesus.

God paid an extravagant price for our salvation. Though He lived with a poor family here on earth, He made us all very rich spiritually. The church of believers is symbolic of a forty day old infant, cherished and held in their heavenly Father’s arms, ransomed, not with turtle doves, but with the blood of an unblemished Lamb. Jesus sees each one of us as worthy to have died for, offering the costliest price of all, His own life.

Lord, we are speechless as we stand on the holy ground of your truth, and this excavation reminds us to be thankful for the great price you paid for our redemption. Amen

“Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

James 4:14 (ESV)

Someone once said “time is the only currency we spend, not knowing our balance”.  Since we cannot know how much time we have, it’s best to spend our time wisely, making the most of each day. It’s become the quote of wisdom that I now keep within my soul these days. 

Instead of trying to find ways to live longer, adding more days to our life, God may be calling us to add more life to our days. That could mean different things to different people, since each person is called to do according to what God has equipped them to do.

For me, it means asking God to help me make a small but positive impact in other people’s lives, especially those who have no one else in their life to do so. Though I see some disturbing things while visiting a Nursing Facility, I’ve also found many rewarding moments there through simple things like listening to a person’s story or greeting someone with a hug.

I made a new friend there last week. He was just admitted due to heart failure. I will call him Matt, for privacy reasons. He has no wife or children but he has a niece who visits him each week. 

I met Matt while sitting at a table with two other residents. We talked and he began telling me his life story, that he was abused as a child, by his family priest. He ended up in years of psychiatric counseling. It was a bit of a mental and emotional overload to listen to his painful story, but he obviously needed a listening ear that day.

After he openly shared his troubled past, I openly shared my faith with him. I told him God always loved him and knows about everything he has suffered. I encouraged him to keep trusting God, to pursue forgiveness and move forward with the Lord, for better days ahead. He told me that he believes God meant for him to meet me that day, because he had been wanting to renew his faith. 

Matt is trusting God and seeks a deeper relationship with Him, in the time he has left. I was struck by his gentle spirit that seems to transcend so much pain in his past. God surely has something good for him in this stage of his life. I am not a counselor, I can only share my faith and trust God to do the rest.

Meeting Matt reminds me of the saying, “time is the only currency we spend, but never know our balance, so we should invest it wisely.” Life is too short to waste being angry or bitter over past hurts. We don’t need a terminal diagnosis to start adding more life to our days. We will find new ways to add more life to each day, because God keeps bring new people to cross paths with ours.

For me, it happens in moments of showing some small act of kindness to others. The smallest gesture can have long lasting effects on a person. It could mean listening to their story, like Matt’s, or saying something uplifting to a lonely resident at the Nursing home, or simply greeting someone with a hug. Adding life to our days means having an awareness that we are not here for ourselves, but are a part of someone else’s larger plan….God’s.

I have learned so much about life through my weekly visits at the Nursing facility. Who would have thought that a tragic life changing accident would open so many doors to shining God’s light in places where so many live in darkness?

Jon’s life has never been the same since his accident, but neither has mine. It has shown me that every life is a treasure, consisting of time, given to us through the currency of days, months and years. Our role is to find our place in the plan, and spend our currency of time wisely.

Lord, help us to wisely spend the time you have given us, by shining your light and love to those you send to us for a reason. Amen

“And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and gave up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. Also the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.”

Matthew 27:50-52 (NASV)

What a strange moment that must have been, when the most eerie, mysterious, and dramatic events took place, just seconds after Jesus gave up His spirit and died on the cross. It’s not often talked about in sermons or homilies, but it’s worth reading and meditating on, since Matthew gave us many explicit details to ponder. 

Tombs were opened and deceased people were raised and seen by many in spirit form, throughout Jerusalem. Those deceased people were recognized as people of faith who had passed away.  As eerie as it may sound, it was not a scene out of a horror movie, because their appearances did not instill fear, but faith. The death of Jesus brought new hope for salvation and eternal life for all mankind.

Matthew also describes the temple curtain which suddenly tore from top to bottom, while at the same time, an earthquake struck the ground and the rocks were split wide open. Luke described three hours of sudden darkness covering the land, from the moment Jesus was nailed to the cross at noon until His death at 3:00 pm. He describes it as the sun stopped shining, which sounds a lot like a partial solar eclipse. 

(Luke 23:45)

Phlegon, a Greek historian, wrote

about an earthquake occurring in  33 AD, which correlates to some of these scriptures, but scientists cannot agree on evidence of a definite solar eclipse that day and year. Regardless, it’s still possible for God to have caused great darkness, whether astronomy supports it or not. 

The point is that Jesus’ death brought very dramatic responses through nature and by direct acts of God’s power. An earthquake, a partial solar eclipse, tombs opening, raising of the dead, who were seen wandering throughout the city, drew more than enough attention. 

To top it all off, the thickest curtain on earth was mysteriously torn from top to bottom. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all mention that torn temple curtain. The historian, Josephus, wrote that it was four inches thick, 30 ft long and 30 ft wide. It was the curtain that separated the public from the holy of holies, in the most sacred part of the temple. Only a priest could go beyond that curtain to offer sacrifice for sin. The torn curtain happening at the actual moment Jesus died, which says it all. 

Where previously, a very thick curtain of sin, separated us from God, we now have access through the body and blood of Jesus.

These miraculous and mysterious events tell us that there is no tomb or grave that God cannot lift us out of, because Jesus paid it all. His death brought new hope for the whole world. 

Paul reminds us that in this life, we must die with Christ to live in Christ. To follow Jesus we will need to die to some things, to maintain new life and a strong bond with Him. It’s all for our good, so that we may one day rise and live forever with Him in glory. (Colossians 3:3-5)

Through all these awesome events, we realize the great power of the cross, because it broke the power of sin and death forever. 

Before His resurrection occurred, it was the power of the cross, that tore the temple curtain from top to bottom, and God still tears through anything that prevents us or our loved ones from coming fully into His presence, and living each day in His love.

Lord, thank you for offering your son, the perfect sacrifice for us, and for your love that tore through the power of sin and death, with the promise to live with you forever. Amen

“Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold, the Man!”

John 19:5 (NASB)

After being arrested, beaten, mocked and scourged, John describes the scene in this scripture of Jesus standing beside Pilate, who presents Him to the crowd, saying 

“Behold the man.” 

Jesus stands there wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, which the Roman soldiers placed on Him to mock Him, after He claimed to have a kingdom that is not of this world. It’s a brutal image but it’s also an image that can change people’s lives. It definitely left an indelible mark on mine.

I remember being in the theater and watching this exact scene at the Passion of Christ movie. Jesus stood beside Pilate, trembling in pain with blood dripping down His face from a thorn pierced brow. Every part of His body hurt, causing Him to tremble while He stood there. I remember starting to tremble just watching it. 

Whenever I hear the words, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,” that image comes to my mind every time. That scene from the movie stayed with me and changed me in a good way. It’s a visual of how much God loves us, and gave us His son, who is the scourged and trembling Jesus.

The first time Jesus was introduced to the world, it was by His cousin, John the Baptist, pointing to Him, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God.” 

Later, Pilate introduced Him, saying, “Behold the man.” Jesus is actually both, the divine, incarnate God-man, who became the Lamb of God, who was scourged and slain for all of us.

There is a time in each person’s life, when they may envision Jesus as their personal sacrificial lamb. As Pilate tells the crowd to “behold” the man, it’s as if God is speaking to every individual person who has ever been alone or abandoned, or in some way suffered mockery, or the physical pain of illness or knows the sting of injustice in this world.

God is calling all those people who are hurting, through Pilate’s words, “Behold the man.” It’s an invitation to come to Jesus, the One who understands all suffering because, as a man, He experienced it all. 

My late husband was very outgoing and friendly. He usually struck up conversations with total strangers everywhere he went, about golf, sports, politics and occasionally religion. He took his faith seriously, but was in no way, an evangelist or a debater for Christianity. Once in a while, when he met someone who was an adamant atheist, he listened to them and responded in kindness with one simple phrase;

“Eternity is a long time to be wrong.”

There is not much to say after that, and it leaves someone thinking about who Jesus really was. God wants everyone to stop and think about who Jesus is. The scene of Him standing beside Pilate, makes me think about who He is. He is the man who became the Lamb, who was slain, resurrected and became the King of Heaven, our High Priest, who is interceding for us every day.

There are many ways for believers to visualize and behold Jesus. While Christians are far from perfect, we are committed to following a perfect Savior. The image that still inspires me most, is to behold Jesus the man, who became the Lamb, who gave us His body, His blood, and His name above all names, so that we could receive the grace of forgiveness, mercy, healing and newness of life. 

He is no longer suffering today, but He understands our suffering, and is always calling everyone to behold Him as their Savior. He now receives endless glory in heaven, as angels perpetually worship and praise Him saying, “Worthy is the Lamb of God and King of kings.

Lord, help us to behold you in our own special way. You suffered for us and understand all that we suffer. Thank you for the grace of your constant intercession for all people. Amen

“This is how you are to eat it: with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand, you will eat it in a hurry. It is the Lord’s Passover.”

Exodus 12:11 (NAB)

“The angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and awakened him, saying, “Get up quickly.” The chains fell from his wrists. Put on your belt and your sandals.” He did so. Then he said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.”

Acts 12:7-8 (NAB)

Coincidentally, the 12th chapter of the book of Exodus and the 12th chapter of the book of Acts, both describe a miraculous deliverance, with similarities in how they were told to prepare.

The angel told Peter to quickly get up, put on his cloak and sandals, because he was about to be freed from his prison cell. The angel broke the chains on his wrist and opened iron doors, setting him free. 

God gave instructions to Moses, to tell the people to eat their Passover meal in a hurry, with their sandals on, a staff in hand, and a belt around their waist. The belt was used to tuck their lengthy garments into, freeing their legs to walk faster, since they were about to cross the sea on dry land.

The similarities in both of these chapters, to stay alert, put shoes and clothes on, and prepare to move quickly, reveals something about our relationship with the Lord. That first Passover was not a relaxing laid back meal, but a divine order to eat and run. In the same way, the angel woke Peter out of a deep sleep, ordering him to get up, get dressed and quickly follow him. 

As people of faith, we have to wonder what God is trying to say to us through these two separate but similar stories. Maybe God wants us to wake up and live with a more spiritually sober state of mind. Peter and the Israelites were both ordered to act quickly and prepare for a miracle. 

Whatever we are praying for, waiting for, or believing God for, maybe God wants us to live with a heightened sense of expectation, whether our prayer is for healing or deliverance for ourselves or for our loved ones. It seems that the message in these two stories, is that God wants us to be ready for action. 

The Israelites prayed for centuries, asking God for their freedom, and  430 years later, they were freed in a  miraculous exodus, as God showed great signs and wonders. The early church gathered together and prayed fervently for Peter, after he was arrested and chained to a prison cell in a dungeon. An angel appeared, woke him up and led Peter to walk past multiple Roman guards and out of that prison. 

Fervent prayer in both stories, brought blessings far beyond what Peter or the Israelites ever thought or expected. Putting on the sandals, cloak or belt, is a symbolic act of preparedness and putting faith into action. Moving quickly, instead of procrastinating, was the required response to God’s orders.  Some prayer requests require action on our part, but we can always expect God to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20)

Maybe God is inspiring us to pray with a sense of expectation, and to believe that the healing, deliverance, and freedom that we are asking for, is coming soon. At some point in our asking and seeking, we must put on our metaphorical sandals, with the staff in hand and belt around our waist, as we prepare to walk quickly and take action toward the promise that God is leading us to. 

Lord, help us to put our faith into action, instead of procrastinating, so we can keep a prepared and expectant state of mind for the miracles we are praying for. Amen

“We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”

2 Corinthians 10:5 (NASB)

Every spiritual battle begins in the mind. How we think affects how we live our life and make our choices. Taking control of our thoughts can change our life and our eternity. If we think it, we will live it. 

My mother was gifted in learning foreign languages, and she used to say, “If you think in a language, you will speak it.” When she married my father, who was from Greece, she asked him to teach her to speak Greek, but he refused, choosing to speak only English, as an American citizen. So my mother hired a tutor to teach her Greek. Between the tutor and some relatives to converse with, she learned to read, write and speak Greek fluently, without an accent, which totally amazed all of our Greek relatives. She always said that her secret to mastering fluent Greek, was to think in Greek.

It’s a principle that can also apply to living the Christian life. Maybe we need to think Christian, in order to live Christian. Our thought life could be the key to living according to the obedience and love of Christ. 

Sincerity of thought produces sincerity of action. If my thoughts are contrary to the knowledge of God, it doesn’t help to just keep trying to act like a Christian. The scripture says to take every thought captive, by measuring it according to the standards of Christ. 

I learned a lesson about this a few years ago when my friend was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and placed in hospice in a Nursing home.

While she was in hospice I tried to help her husband who had a heart condition and was living alone in their apartment. They had no children, so I used to visit my friend and then check on her husband every weekend. I also ran some errands for him and washed his dishes while I was there. 

As weeks went by, he started asking for some particular delicacy or food treat, from places that were not nearby or in the neighborhood. I still did what he asked, but began to feel that he was taking advantage of me. I started feeling resentment towards him, as he kept asking me to go out of the way for some treat that he was craving.

I felt like a hypocrite, since I was literally going the extra mile for someone but thinking the worst thoughts about them. I was critical  about how self absorbed he was, while his wife, my friend, was dying. 

I finally took my feelings of resentment to God in prayer. He forgave me and changed my heart, reminding me that whatever we do for others, we are doing for Jesus, regardless of the kind of person we are doing it for. 

With a totally new outlook, I felt renewed and refreshed, with the burden of guilt lifted from my conscience. I was planning to visit my friend’s husband with a new state of mind, and do for him, as if it were for Jesus. So that weekend, I arrived at his home, but no one answered the door, so I used my key to enter. I called out his name but there was no answer. Then I saw his lifeless body lying on the bathroom floor. He apparently died of a massive heart attack the previous day. It was an awful experience, but a sober reminder that we should never grow weary in doing good. 

God knew he didn’t have long to live, and He also knew that I needed an attitude adjustment. Every spiritual battle begins in the mind, and we never know when an opportunity to show patience, mercy and kindness to someone, might be our last chance to do it. I was a slow learner, but the Holy Spirit taught me to surrender my thought life to God, in order to live in a more genuine way for Christ.

Without becoming overly scrupulous, we need to regularly take some thoughts captive, surrendering them to God. Only He can transform us from within, so that we don’t have to force ourselves to be what we aren’t. The Lord helps us to think right so we can live right. 

Lord, thank you for being patient with us, while we learn to do your will with transformed hearts and renewed minds. Keep our thoughts aligned with you so that we can live as you want us to live.  Amen

“Even to your old age I will be the same, And even to your graying years I will carry you. I have done it, and I will bear you; And I will carry you and I will save you.”

Isaiah 46:4 (NIV)

This is a beautiful verse of scripture to hold in our hearts, especially those who are in their graying years. It always feels strange to enter a new decade of life, but every year that we are given, is a gift from God. Some decades bring on new health issues, but we still continue our daily activities while taking care of our aging bodies. Today’s scripture reminds us to trust God during our graying years, because He promises to carry us through when we need Him most. Keeping this in mind, age is merely a number. 

It sounds like a cliche, but there is an advantage to aging, and it’s the same advantage that an aging bottle of good wine has. As wine ages, the fermentation process enhances the flavor of the wine. Someone once said that a good wine is like grapes that found religion.

We all become wiser over the years, which is God’s fermentation process. He enhances us through the many trials and lessons of our lives. There is a special time to discover God’s newest plan for us during this fermentation phase of our lives called “the graying years”.

Getting older serves to remind us of our purpose here, and living with a sense of purpose is essential for our sense of well being. Dwight L. Moody once said this about aging: Preparation for old age should begin no later than one’s teens. A life which is empty of purpose until 65 will not suddenly become fulfilled in retirement.

It’s so true, and yet our sense of purpose changes over the years, within the different phases of our lives. We find a different sense of purpose while we are young or when raising children, than when we are retired and living in a smaller, quieter household. Every era in our life brings a new purpose, and if we keep this perspective, life will never get boring. 

We were never meant to get hung up on the past, or to dwell on previous faults and failures. Whatever we confessed to God is forgiven through Jesus, so that we can start fresh. Only we can make the choice to forgive others as well as to forgive ourselves. When we let go of past injuries, we can refocus on who God wants us to be in this current phase of our life. It’s like having Jesus in a boat with us, and when the storm comes, we choose to look at Him instead of looking at the storm or our wounds.

He permits the dark clouds to enter our lives at times, but any dark cloud permitted by Jesus will surely be silver lined. It’s part of a fermentation process which enhances our character and brings new purpose to our graying years. So, for now, we trust the One who is with us in every storm and will carry us through. We don’t know what the future holds, but we know the One who holds our hand and our future, and He is whispering, “Peace, be still”. 

Lord, thank you for holding on to us, carrying us through our graying years, and as we keep our hand in yours, we look forward to fulfilling the newest purpose you have for our lives. Amen

“The wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.

For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter,

though a person may be weighed down by misery.”

Ecclesiastes 8:5-6 (NIV)

Scripture teaches us that God has His own timing in every matter, and that a wise heart knows there is a proper time for everything. In order to trust in God’s timing for the issue we are struggling with, we need to pray for a wise heart. 

It’s easy to say that we trust God’s timing until a great plan, that was flowing along beautifully, suddenly gets derailed. It may be delayed or redirected by outside forces that we have no control of. I can speak for myself, that when a plan is thwarted, I start looking for things to blame, whether it’s people, rules, agencies, laws or procedures that move too slow. It’s easy to forget that God has perfect timing for every matter that we have committed to Him. 

The scripture today reminds us that there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, even though we can get weighed down with worry, in the waiting period. It’s easy to become anxious when a plan is suddenly interrupted. Sometimes we need reminding that God’s purpose is far beyond our schedule or calendar. 

I had confidence in transferring my son, Jon, to a Nursing Home which is closer to where I live. I took a tour of the home a month ago and felt good about it, but wanted to wait until his CT scan confirmed that there’s no need for him to have surgery. By the time the scan was approved, completed and read as stable by the radiologist and surgeon, the new Nursing Facility no longer has an opening, so Jon was placed on a waiting list. 

The waiting list issue really threw me off at first. I am a planner by nature, and everything was going smoothly, until the plan was delayed. I am still certain that it’s the right place to transfer him to, but now I am more aware that the timing always has been in God’s hands. 

God has a special time for every situation that we have entrusted to Him in prayer. His timing is always perfect, though we don’t always understand the hidden reasons for delayed answers to prayer. We can still be sure that God knows the proper time and procedure for everything that we have committed to Him. I look forward to finding out when that proper time will be for Jon’s transfer. 

If we commit all of our concerns to God in prayer, we should probably include trusting His perfect timing as well. As I read the scripture today, it seems obvious that the Holy Spirit wants to give us a wise heart, to trust in divine timing, and release all of our worries regarding things we pray and ask for. We may have our deadlines but God’s timing exceeds deadlines. 

Lord, give us wise hearts to know that your timing and plans are always perfect. We trust you to answer prayers in their proper time and to lift all anxiety from our hearts and minds. Amen 

“And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.”

Luke 1:30-31 (RSV)

A lifetime isn’t long enough to fully meditate on one of the most profound mysteries of the Christian faith, the incarnation of Jesus. 

Every Christian denomination believes in the incarnation, yet it’s probably the most overlooked and least thought about, of all the miraculous events in the gospel. Once a year we are reminded of it at Christmas time, but then we quickly move on to the next part of the story. 

God is all powerful and could have brought us a Savior in several different ways. He could have made Jesus appear like a super hero, out of the sky in adult form, without parents, having no conception, infancy or childhood stages of His life. Or He could have brought a Savior to the world through the natural reproductive process which He ordained between a man and a woman, but He didn’t. 

God brought us the most remarkable Savior, and He chose to do it in the most remarkable way. 

The exalted and most high, infinite and eternal God chose to send His Son into this world, through a humble, Jewish virgin girl named Mary. She was created for that mission, though she didn’t know it, until the day when the angel Gabriel visited her. He told her that she was filled with the grace to become the mother of the Savior of the world. She had no idea what that fully entailed, but she accepted the most extraordinary mission of all time. 

Isaiah prophesied centuries earlier, that a virgin would conceive and bear a son, who is Immanuel, meaning “God with us.” (Isaiah 7:14)

No one understood the magnitude of those prophetic words; “God with us” and a “virgin will bear a son”. 

Isaiah’s words were overlooked then, just as the entire mystery of the incarnation is often overlooked today. It’s such an incomprehensible and unheard of concept, that we tend to move on past it. A virgin conception was totally unheard of throughout Hebrew biblical history.

God selected a very particular virgin womb to carry His Son. Mary was made for her mission, anointed to be His mother. The ovum in her womb was fertilized by the Holy Spirit, becoming an embryo, both human and divine, which developed into a fetus, and the baby boy she finally delivered at the appointed time. He was named Jesus, just as Gabriel told her to do.

Throughout the Bible, God helped certain women to miraculously become pregnant, after years of being barren, like Sarah, Hannah, Elizabeth and Samson’s mother, but none of them were virgins. The virgin conception is unprecedented in all of  scripture as well as in the Jewish faith. 

Like the Ark of the Covenant, in the Old Testament, Mary’s womb became a holy container carrying something sacred and untouchable by human hands. She gave birth to a son, who was both human and divine. God gave Mary the qualities needed to nurture His son and it was the highest of honors. 

Jesus began His earthly life as a helpless baby, dependent on the care of His two loving parents. Joseph was born for the purpose of fathering Jesus and protecting them both. It’s an overwhelming task, but he had all the right qualities to lovingly care for his family.

Jesus grew to adulthood knowing all aspects of being fully human, while being fully divine. He knew the ups and downs of human life, loving and being loved, enjoying friendships, eating, drinking, working and playing. He also knew rejection, sorrow, fear, anxiety, and He can still empathize with us in everything we go through.  (Hebrews 4:15)

When God demonstrated His plan to save mankind, the very first step was to become present in Mary’s womb. The same Holy Spirit now dwells in us. The incarnation will always be a reminder that the invisible and almighty God is present in our ordinary lives each and every day. 

“God with us” is the greatest and most extraordinary miracle of our faith, and it all started with the incarnation of Jesus. 

Lord, thank you for your awesome plan of the incarnation, which fills our hearts with the peace of your presence. May we never overlook this most profound truth. Amen

“And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”

John 3:14-16 (NAB)

Jesus spoke those words, comparing His death on a cross to the bronze serpent lifted up on a pole, from the Exodus story. We’ve all seen the image of the serpent wrapped around a pole, sometimes with wings. It originated three millenniums ago, from the exodus story and later it evolved into a universal medical symbol of healing. That serpent on a pole symbol has been sewn into medical patches, used in logos and appeared on many doctors’ lab coats. 

Jesus referred to this exodus story about His own ancestors, who were delivered from slavery. They passed through the sea that miraculously parted for them, as they headed for a promised land. They were in the wilderness stage of their journey, which was a difficult time for them, but instead of being grateful to God, the people persistently complained. There was a scarcity of water, food and the basic comforts of life, so they turned against Moses for bringing them there. 

When they were hungry, Moses interceded for them and God gave them manna from Heaven, but they grew tired of the bread from heaven, calling it, “wretched food.”

What an insult it was for God to hear people scorn His heavenly bread, but it wouldn’t be the first time. 

God sent venomous snakes into their camps, to chastise and teach them a lesson. After being bitten by an influx of snakes, the people started to repent and change their attitude. 

All the while, Moses constantly interceded for the people, asking the Lord to forgive and heal them from the deadly bites. 

Finally, God told Moses to make a serpent out of bronze and mount it on a tall pole. Anyone who looked up at that bronze serpent on a pole, would be healed of their venomous snake bites. 

It sounds like an odd solution to a problem, but in some mysterious way, it foreshadowed God’s plan of salvation for the entire world. The people looked up at a bronze serpent on the pole, and they were healed. About 1400 years later, Jesus was the living bread that God sent down from heaven. He was also scorned by His people, just like the first bread from heaven was. We look up to Jesus, who was lifted up on a cross for us, and we trust Him for healing and salvation. 

The bronze serpent on a pole is a story that illustrates God’s patience and extravagant mercy towards us. It’s also an example of the power of intercessory prayer, since Moses never stopped interceding for the people. They didn’t deserve it and they could never earn it, but God is merciful to all who ask. It’s how the gift of grace works, as a gift, not earned.

God’s love and mercy once again brought healing and forgiveness to all who would trust in His sacrifice on the cross. Even the criminal, dying on the cross next to Jesus, looked over to Him, asking for mercy and Jesus brought him to heaven that day. 

Whatever we are facing, God is still extending His mercy and healing to anyone who looks to Jesus and His cross of forgiveness and healing. The world is filled with serpents who bite and spread their poison, but the story from Exodus still points us to the cross, because God’s love, mercy and healing graces are the same yesterday, today and forever.

Lord, thank you for loving us more than we could ever imagine. We trust in you, Jesus, lifted up on a cross for us, so that we may receive mercy, healing and eternal life. Amen