exalting Jesus and preparing his Bride for his return
exalting Jesus and preparing his Bride for his return
John, whose name means “God is gracious”, was a forerunner, with a very clear ministry to prepare the way for Yeshua. He is described as “the voice of one crying in the wilderness” – he is to be a voice of preparation, and a voice of separation. The voice of preparation was, concerning Yeshua, pointing toward the one who was to follow him; the one of whom John said “he must increase and I must decrease.”
Elisabeth was descended from Aaron the high priest, and lived with her husband Zachariah in the hills of Hebron, about 30 miles south of Jerusalem in the Judean hills. Like her husband, she was a devout believer in God, following the law and all the ordinances, living a godly life. Elisabeth – or Elisheva in Hebrew – means “God has promised”.
“In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zachariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elisabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.” (Luke 1:5-7)
(Luke 2:1)
Each day for the next 12 days we will be taking a look at the main characters involved in the Christmas story. Some are well-known, others maybe a little more obscure. The bible is full of revelation, and for me the stories behind these characters throw a lot of light on what I thought I knew.
Have you ever started watching a TV series and discovered you’ve actually missed several preceding episodes. So frustrating!!! Whilst you’re trying to follow the plot you keep finding yourself unsure of what is actually happening. What actually is the plot?
Already many resolutions will have been broken – we are fickle, and although our intentions may be good, our flesh is weak. Thank God that He values our intentions but we need to learn to “lean” on our beloved to see them transform into lasting actions.
Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
One of the things that has most transformed my Christian life in the last few years has been learning how to meditate on the Bible.
Even though Valentine's Day has pretty awful roots with its traditions and customs originating from two of the most sexually perverted pagan festivals of ancient history: Lupercalia and the feast day of Juno Februata, many will celebrate love today with cards, flowers, champagne and special food, amongst many other romantic gestures.
"...leaning on her Beloved" This little phrase really captured my imagination this week.
What does this mean? What’s this about “leaning”?
All humans have a longing to "know". This longing has been placed within us by the uncreated God before we came into any physical being. So, it is not unnatural for us to be inquisitive about who we are, how we got here and why we are here.
