Advent: Preparing for Christ’s Birth-1
By: Roger Himes Esq.
Tags: God, Jesus, Christmas, Christmas Gifts, Advent

Advent: Preparing for Christ’s Birth-1

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Advent is a time, a time that is less than a month before Christmas, when people meditate on the birth of Christ, and things surrounding it, preparing their hearts for this special time of year.

Most people think of Christmas gifts, or Santa Claus when they think of Christmas. Jesus is God’s gift to us on Christmas. It is said often: “Jesus is the reason for the season.” In this post and next, I’ll share a couple of stories that occurred just prior to the birth of Jesus.

Joseph and Mary, the Parents of Jesus

Joseph could have had Mary put away, and could have disowned his wife-to-be when he found out she was pregnant. It would have been wrong for her to be pregnant by him, but even more by another man.

Mary knew she was not guilty of any judgments because an angel had told her she was pregnant by God the Holy Spirit, and that she’d have a son. She was pregnant through the act of God.

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Shouldn’t we copy Mary’s faith?

She didn’t doubt the angel When the angel told her of her condition she just asked, “How can this be?” Then her concluding words were, “Be it done unto me according to your word.” Her trust wasn’t in WHAT was happening, but in God —in WHOM she believed.

Joseph’s Private Visit from an Angel

An angel also spoke to Joseph, to calm his fears and doubts. How many of us have had to rely on a statement from an angel? Joseph was a good man and listened to the angel and believed him. Would you have?

Any testimony Joseph made about this would certainly be challenged by most people. It would take a lot of courage and faith to give such testimony in the face of unbelieving skeptics.

Many of us only believe when we’re with the majority, where we feel safe. We stand with others who believe the same thing — like so many churches and denominations we have today that we can choose from. If we don’t find people who side with what we think, we usually look elsewhere.

The Bible talks a lot about hearing the voice of God. But because many think this means with our physical ears, they feel they never hear God’s voice. I’ve never heard his audible voice, but I’ve had many impressions in my heart that I knew were not my thinking. They were 4th dimensional, not 3 dimensional.

God’s thoughts and ways are much higher than ours (Isa 55:8–9). We can’t even think them, let alone hear them with our ears. They must be revealed to us. We should at least consider God when we have heart impressions. Theology is merely man’s ideas about God, and so is our human wisdom. But the gospel is God’s revelation of himself, this word and his work.

Zechariah Also Had a Visit from an Angel

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Zechariah and Elizabeth were the parents of John the Baptist, a cousin and the forerunner for Jesus who came to tell people about his coming. Zechariah was Priest, a religious leader, and worked in the temple.

But when the angel spoke to him about the fact that his wife, who was old, would have a son, he wouldn’t believe it. Unlike Mary, the mother of Jesus, he doubted what the angel said, and wanted proof that what he heard was true. Due to his doubt, he was struck deaf and dumb until after his son was born.

Choosing to Believe or Doubt Can Control Us

Mary and Joseph were simple people, probably not too educated, and they didn’t have the need to search the scriptures to help them believe. They didn’t have the need to consult with others and to receive counsel. They simply believed the angel and trusted God.

Zechariah was very different, even though he was a highly educated Priest. Often, highly educated people, even in high religious positions, are the last to accept spiritual occurrences and are the last to believe God’s revelation to them. They want to ‘check it out’ with the Bible and other people. Paul speaks to this a few times in his writings.