FWD: Morning Manna (Dec. 15); BP: Lk. 1:5-10; RBTTY: Rev. 6; Amos 1-3

 
Samuel D. High
sdhigh@aristotle.net

 

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-----Original Message-----
From: Apostle Tom <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Sent: Fri, 14 Dec 2007 12:41:09 -0600
To: <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Subject: Morning Manna (Dec. 15); BP: Lk. 1:5-10; RBTTY: Rev. 6; Amos 1-3
 

December 15                                                            “On Being In the Right Place At the Right Time”

 

“There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia—and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron and her name was Elizabeth.  And they were both righteous before God, walking the in commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.”

                                                                                                                                                   Luke 1:5-6

     Even though we only “see in part as one peering through a glass dimly” (I Cor. 13:9-12), we can rest assured God sees the “Big Picture” and has included us in it.

     How often we resemble the four blind men who’d been led to a large elephant.  Each one of them grabbed a different part of the towering beast, deftly feeling it with their nimble fingers.  Later on, they “compared notes” and it’s interesting what they had to say:

 

     “Oh, an elephant is like a large, long, thick vine,” said the blind man who’d held the trunk.

     “No, an elephant’s like a think rope,” said the blind man who’d held the tail.

     The other two immediately objected, with the one who’d held the leg saying “No, no, no!  An elephant is like a towering tree,” while the one who’d held the ear said, “You’re all crazy!  An elephant is like a large banana leaf waving in the wind!”

 

     We laugh about such as we try to picture this scene in our mind; yet, in reality, that’s the way we so often are when it comes to God’s will, aren’t we?

     Assuredly so. 

     That’s why today’s Manna reminds us of the importance of being yielded to the Father’s will for our lives—so we, like Zecharias and Elizabeth, can always be “in the right place at the right time.”

 

     Zecharias, whose name means “The Lord remembers,” was a good priest—yea, a Godly one, who was of the “course of Abia” and a part of Jesus’ ancestry.  And, his dear wife, Elizabeth, whose name means “God is my oath,” came from the line of Aaronic priests.  Thus, it was no accident that both of them were “righteous before God and beyond reproach as they walked daily in all of His commandments and ordinances.”

 

     Likewise, it was no accident that the Lord God reached down into time and space at that point in history and chose them to be the parents of John the Baptist, Christ’s forerunner.  He’d already led the Roman Empire to develop an elaborate road system, which would make the spread of the Gospel much easier.  And, what better folks to use for helping “prepare the way for the coming of the Lord” (Is. 40:3) than this aged couple who’d devoted their lives to serving Him?

 

     Oh, dear Pilgrim, so often we look at our lives—where we are and what we’re doing/ not doing—under the “microscope of misery” rather than the “telescope of triumph” (I Pet. 1:9).  We sit in judgment on ourselves (and others) instead of leaving such things up to God, the Righteous Judge.  May the Holy Spirit help us to remember the Lord has a plan for our lives (Jer. 29:11) and will “work all things together for good when we love Him and are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28).  Amen and amen.