Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries "The Right Time" for Sunday, December 24, 2017
TEXT: And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. (Luke 2:6)"The time came." Every pregnant woman knows the weight of this expression. From the beginning of the pregnancy, we are always waiting, counting-when will the baby be due? When will the morning sickness end? When will we see the baby on ultrasound? And most of all, right at the end, how many more days am I going to have to carry this heavy baby around!?
But the time did finally come for Mary to give birth. Humanly speaking, it was the worst time possible-far from home, away from family, sheltering among animals, reduced to using a feedbox for a cradle. No doubt Mary and Joseph would have preferred something better. But God the Father chose this particular time and place for His Son to enter the world. Looking back, we can see why-this is the Savior who came "not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28b).
The time came. But with that, a new time of waiting began. As an adult, Jesus said several times, "My time has not yet come" (John 7:6, 8:20; Matthew 26:18; John 2:4). And what time is this? The time He would suffer and die to redeem us all, so that we could be freed from sin and become children of God.
It was for this time that Jesus came into the world-to rescue us, to redeem us, to raise us to new and everlasting life through the power of His own resurrection. Paul tells us, "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person-though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:6-8).
That tiny baby has become our Redeemer and Savior. Today is the right time for us to trust in Him.
THE PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank You for Your kindness to us, being born into our world and suffering and dying and rising, all at the right time for us. Keep us with You forever. Amen.
Love Came Down Reflection Questions!
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Today's Bible in a Year Reading: Ezra 8-10; Revelation 15
THE RIGHT TIME
Sunday, December 24, 2017
And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. (Luke 2:6)• When have you had the most trouble waiting for something to happen?
• If God gave you the choice, would you prefer to have been born before Christ’s birth, during His lifetime, or after His resurrection, as in fact you are now? Why would you choose that time?
• God’s ways are not our ways, and He often chooses to do things differently than we would. Tell a story from your own life where you found this to be true.
Ezra 8:1 These are the heads of their fathers’ clans, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Bavel during the reign of Artach’shashta the king:
2 of the descendants of Pinchas: Gershom;
of the descendants of Itamar: Dani’el;
of the descendants of David: Hatush;
3 of the descendants of Sh’khanyah:
of the descendants of Par‘osh: Z’kharyah,
and with him 150 males officially registered;
4 of the descendants of Pachat-Mo’av: Ely’ho‘einai the son of Z’rachyah,
and with him 200 males;
5 of the descendants of Sh’khanyah: the son of Yachazi’el,
and with him 300 males;
6 of the descendants of ‘Adin: ‘Eved the son of Yonatan,
and with him 50 males;
7 of the descendants of ‘Eilam: Yesha‘yah the son of ‘Atalyah,
and with him 70 males;
8 of the descendants of Sh’fatyah: Z’vadyah the son of Mikha’el,
and with him 80 males;
9 of the descendants of Yo’av: ‘Ovadyah the son of Yechi’el,
and with him 218 males;
10 of the descendants of Shlomit: the son of Yosifyah,
and with him 160 males;
11 of the descendants of Bevai: Z’kharyah the son of Bevai,
and with him 28 males;
12 of the descendants of ‘Azgad: Yochanan the son of HaKatan,
and with him 110 males;
13 of the descendants of Adonikam: the younger ones, whose names were Elifelet,
Ye‘i’el and Sh’ma‘yah,
and with them 60 males; and
14 of the descendants of Bigvai: ‘Utai and Zakur,
and with them 70 males.
15 I assembled them by the river that runs to Ahava, and we camped there three days. I reviewed the people and the cohanim but found no L’vi’im there. 16 So I sent for Eli‘ezer, Ari’el, Sh’ma‘yah, Elnatan, Yariv, Elnatan, Natan, Z’kharyah and Meshulam, who were leaders, and also for Yoyariv and Elnatan, who were men of discernment. 17 I gave them instructions for Iddo, the leading man in a place called Kasifya, and told them what to say to Iddo and his brother, who were in charge of Kasifya, so that they would bring us men to minister in the house of our God. 18 Since the good hand of our God was on us, they brought us Ish-Sekhel from the descendants of Machli the son of Levi, the son of Isra’el; Sherevyah with eighteen of his sons and kinsmen; 19 Hashavyah, with Yesha‘yah, from the descendants of M’rari, and twenty of his kinsmen and their sons; 20 and from the temple servants, whom David and the princes had assigned to serve the L’vi’im, two hundred temple servants, all recorded by name.
21 Then, there at the Ahava River, I proclaimed a fast; so that we could humble ourselves before our God and ask a safe journey of him for ourselves, our little ones and all our possessions. 22 For I would have been ashamed to ask the king for a detachment of soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies along the road, since we had said to the king, “The hand of our God is on all who seek him, for good; but his power and fury is against all who abandon him.” 23 So we fasted and asked our God for this, and he answered our prayer.
24 Then I separated twelve of the chief cohanim, along with Sherevyah, Hashavyah and ten of their kinsmen. 25 I weighed out to them the silver, the gold and the utensils for the house of our God contributed by the king, his counselors, his princes and all Isra’el present there. 26 I weighed out and handed over to them twenty-one-and-a-half tons of silver, three-and-a-third tons of silver articles, three-and-a-third tons of gold, 27 twenty gold bowls weighing twenty-one pounds, and two vessels of fine burnished bronze as precious as gold. 28 Then I told them, “You are consecrated to Adonai, the articles are holy, and the silver and gold are a voluntary offering for Adonai the God of your ancestors. 29 Guard them carefully, until you weigh them before the chief cohanim and L’vi’im and the leaders of the fathers’ clans in Yerushalayim, in the rooms of the house of Adonai.” 30 So the cohanim and L’vi’im received the consignment of silver and gold and the articles to bring to Yerushalayim, to the house of our God.
31 On the twelfth day of the first month, we left the Ahava River to go to Yerushalayim. The hand of our God was on us, and he protected us from enemies and surprise attacks along the road. 32 In time, we arrived at Yerushalayim, where we rested for three days. 33 On the fourth day, the silver, gold and articles were weighed in the house of our God and handed over to M’remot the son of Uriyah the cohen; with him was El‘azar the son of Pinchas; and with them were Yozavad the son of Yeshua and No‘adyah the son of Binui, who were L’vi’im. 34 The entire consignment was numbered and weighed, and at the same time the total weight was recorded.
35 The exiles who had returned from captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Isra’el — twelve young bulls for all Isra’el, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats as a sin offering; all this was a burnt offering for Adonai.
36 They also delivered the king’s orders to the king’s viceroys and governors beyond the [Euphrates] River; and these gave their support to the people and to the house of God.
9:1 After these things had been done, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Isra’el, the cohanim and the L’vi’im have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands and their disgusting practices — the Kena‘ani, Hitti, P’rizi, Y’vusi, ‘Amoni, Mo’avi, Egyptians and Emori. 2 They have taken some of the women from these nations as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed has assimilated to the peoples of the lands; moreover, the officials and leaders have been the main offenders in this treachery.” 3 When I heard this, I tore my robe and tunic, pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat down in shock. 4 All who trembled at the words of the God of Isra’el assembled around me when confronted with the treachery of these exiles; and I sat there in shock until the evening offering.
5 At the evening offering, with my cloak and tunic torn, I got up from afflicting myself, fell on my knees, spread out my hands to Adonai my God, 6 and said, “My God, I am ashamed. I blush to lift my face to you, my God! For our sins tower over our heads; our guilt reaches up to heaven. 7 Since the times of our ancestors, we have been deeply guilty; and because of our sins, we, our kings and our cohanim have been handed over to the kings of the lands, to the sword, to exile, to pillage and to disgrace, as is the case today. 8 Now, for a brief moment, Adonai our God has shown us the favor of allowing a remnant to escape and giving us a secure foothold in his holy place, in order for God to make things look brighter to us and revive us a little in our slavery. 9 For we are slaves. Yet our God has not abandoned us in our slavery, but has caused the kings of Persia to extend grace to us, reviving us, so that we can rebuild the house of our God, repair its ruins, and have a wall of defense in Y’hudah and Yerushalayim.
10 “But now, our God, what are we to say after this? For we have abandoned your mitzvot, 11 which you gave us through your servants the prophets when they said, ‘The land which you are going to in order to take possession of it is a land defiled by the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, because of their disgusting practices, which have filled it with their filth from one end to the other. 12 Therefore, you are not to give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons; and you are not to promote their peace or prosperity ever. Only in this way will you grow strong, enjoy the good things of the land and leave it as a lasting inheritance to your children.’ 13 Now, after all that has come upon us because of our evil deeds and our deep guilt — and even so, you, our God, have punished us less than our sins deserve and have given us a surviving remnant — 14 are we to break your mitzvot again by making marriages with the peoples who have these disgusting practices? Won’t you become so angry with us that you would destroy us completely, so that there would be no surviving remnant and no one who escapes? 15 Adonai, God of Isra’el! You are just; yet we have been left a surviving remnant that has escaped, as is the case today. Look, we are before you in our guilt; because of it, no one can stand in your presence.”
10:1 While ‘Ezra was praying and making confession, weeping and prostrated before the house of God, a huge crowd of Isra’el’s men, women and children gathered around him; and the people were weeping bitterly. 2 Sh’khanyah the son of Yechi’el, one of the descendants of ‘Eilam, spoke up and said to ‘Ezra, “We have acted treacherously toward our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples of the land. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Isra’el. 3 We should make a covenant with our God to send away all these wives, along with their children, in obedience to the advice of Adonai and of those who tremble at the mitzvah of our God; let us act in accordance with the Torah. 4 Stand up, and do your duty, for we are with you; take courage, and do it!”
5 ‘Ezra stood up, and he made the chief cohanim, the L’vi’im and all Isra’el swear that they would act according to what had been said; and they took the oath. 6 ‘Ezra then left his place in front of the house of God and went to the room of Y’hochanan the son of Elyashiv. After going there, he neither ate food nor drank water; because he was mourning over the treachery of the exiles.
7 A proclamation was issued throughout Y’hudah and Yerushalayim that all the exiles were to assemble in Yerushalayim; 8 and that whoever didn’t come within three days, in answer to the summons from the officials and leaders, would forfeit all he owned and himself be banished from the community of the exiles. 9 All the men of Y’hudah and Binyamin assembled in Yerushalayim within the three days. It was the twentieth day of the ninth month. All the people sat in the open place in front of the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain. 10 ‘Ezra the cohen stood up and addressed them: “You have acted treacherously by marrying foreign women and have thus increased Isra’el’s guilt. 11 Now, therefore, make confession to Adonai, the God of your ancestors; and do what will please him by separating yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign women.” 12 In response, the whole assembly cried aloud, “Yes, our duty is to do as you have said. 13 But there are many people, and it’s the rainy season — we can’t stay out here in the open. Also, it isn’t the work of a day or two; for there are many of us who have committed this crime. 14 Let our leaders represent the whole community; and let all those in our cities who have married foreign women appear at prearranged times, accompanied by the elders and judges of each city; until our God’s fierce anger over this has been turned away from us.” 15 Only Yonatan the son of ‘Asah’el and Yachz’yah the son of Tikvah, supported by Meshulam and Shabtai the Levi, opposed this.
16 The exiles did as agreed. ‘Ezra the cohen chose heads of fathers’ clans by name, and they began their sessions to look into the matter on the first day of the tenth month. 17 They finished dealing with all the men who had married foreign women by the first day of the first month.
18 Among the cohanim were found these who had married foreign women: of the sons of Yeshua the son of Yotzadak and his brothers: Ma‘aseiyah, Eli‘ezer, Yariv and G’dalyah. 19 They promised that they would send their wives away; and since they were guilty, they offered a ram from the flock for their guilt. 20 Of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Z’vadyah; 21 of the sons of Harim: Ma‘aseiyah, Eliyah, Sh’ma‘yah, Yechi’el and ‘Uziyah; 22 of the sons of Pash’chur: Elyo‘einai, Ma‘aseiyah, Yishma‘el, N’tan’el, Yozavad and El‘asah.
23 Of the L’vi’im: Yozavad, Shim‘i, K’layah (also known as K’lita), P’tachyah, Y’hudah and Eli‘ezer.
24 Of the singers: Elyashiv.
Of the gatekeepers: Shalum, Telem and Uri.
25 Of Isra’el: of the descendants of Par‘osh: Ramyah, Yizziyah, Malkiyah, Miyamin, El‘azar, Malkiyah and B’nayah; 26 of the descendants of ‘Eilam: Mattanyah, Z’kharyah, Yechi’el, ‘Avdi, Yeremot and Eliyah; 27 of the descendants of Zatu: Elyo‘einai, Elyashiv, Mattanyah, Yeremot, Zavad and ‘Aziza; 28 of the descendants of B’vai: Y’hochanan, Hananyah, Zabai and ‘Atlai; 29 of the descendants of Bani: Meshulam, Malukh, ‘Adayah, Yashuv, Sh’al and Ramot; 30 of the descendants of Pachat-Mo’av: ‘Adna, K’lal, B’nayah, Ma‘aseiyah, Mattanyah, B’tzal’el, Binui and M’nasheh; 31 of the descendants of Harim: Eli‘ezer, Yishiyah, Malkiyah, Sh’ma‘yah, Shim‘on, 32 Binyamin, Malukh, and Sh’maryah; 33 of the descendants of Hashum: Matnai, Matatah, Zavad, Elifelet, Yeremai, M’nasheh and Shim‘i; 34 of the descendants of Bani: Ma‘adai, ‘Amram, U’el, 35 B’nayah, Bedyah, K’luhu, 36 Vanyah, M’remot, Elyashiv, 37 Mattanyah, Matnai, Ya‘asai, 38 Bani, Binui, Shim‘i, 39 Shelemyah, Natan, ‘Adayah, 40 Makhnavdai, Shashai, Sharai, 41 ‘Azar’el, Shelemyah, Sh’maryah, 42 Shalum, Amaryah and Yosef; and 43 of the descendants of N’vo: Ye‘i’el, Mattityah, Zavad, Z’vina, Yadai, Yo’el and B’nayah.
44 All these had taken foreign wives, and some of them had wives by whom they had had children.
Revelation 15:1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, a great and wonderful one — seven angels with the seven plagues that are the final ones; because with them, God’s fury is finished. 2 I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. Those defeating the beast, its image and the number of its name were standing by the sea of glass, holding harps which God had given them. 3 They were singing the song of Moshe, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:
“Great and wonderful are the things you have done,
Adonai, God of heaven’s armies![Revelation 15:3 Amos 3:13, 4:13]
Just and true are your ways,
king of the nations!
4 Adonai, who will not fear and glorify your name?
because you alone are holy.
All nations will come and worship before you,
for your righteous deeds have been revealed.”
5 After this I looked, and the sanctuary (that is, the Tent of Witness in heaven) was opened, 6 and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean bright linen and had gold belts around their chests. 7 One of the four living beings gave to the seven angels seven gold bowls filled with the fury of God, who lives forever and ever. 8 Then the sanctuary was filled with smoke from God’s Sh’khinah, that is, from his power; and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels had accomplished their purpose.
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THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
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