Welcome to the first Wednesday Bible Study for the month of December! The end is in sight for those who are eager to put this year behind us. I am not so sure next month won't be filled with some surprises, too, and not necessarily good ones. With the world on edge, tired and weary of Corona Virus, sick of the debates on whether to send children to school in person or not, racial tension, wearing masks...or not, or improperly.....we all could use some good news! So today we are forgetting those things which are behind us and we are putting our eyes on the prize, amen?!!
Today I want to encourage those of us that have dreams inside our hearts right beside some self-doubt, or reservations that we could actually do the big thing we have been pondering. If God has put something in your heart: a dream, an idea, a thought.... and it seems too big for you to do by yourself, my friend you are dreaming in the right size. God gives us desires to do things that seem impossible and in the natural it very well could be. We know how God works, though. He uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things for Him to further the Kingdom. I have three perfect examples of this in today's lesson.
LUKE 2:15-20 (15)And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. (16)And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. (17)And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. (18)And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. (19)But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. (20)And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
Just imagine how those shepherds must have felt. It was incredible that they witnessed the heavens open and angels heralding the blessed birth of Jesus! The Savior! Messiah! Jesus was born and all of heaven wanted to let the world know. With great fanfare the angels lit up the sky and sang a chorus unmatched in joy and exuberance. And who was the audience? Not the king and his royal cohorts. Not the high priest and religious leaders of the day. Not to the government, law makers, the wealthy, the advantaged. No! God Himself declared the birth of His only begotten Son to lowly shepherds, hired hands out working in the field. The common, ordinary working class people! The ones others looked down their noses at. The ones that were made fun of for smelling like the sheep they cared for. The outcasts who did the hard work others avoided. They heard it first! The Wise Men who came to seek Jesus were not even the first to hear about His birth. No, it was the humble shepherds.
What great message is trumpeting in the halls of your heart? What is God longing to have you be a part of that no one else is being asked to do? What incredible, miraculous, big, bold, awesome anointing is He wanting to place on your life to do great exploits for the King of kings and Lord of lords. Friends, don't second-guess yourselves. If it is a little scary and a little exciting at the same time, jump in! Take a leap of FAITH and say, "I'm all in God! I don't know how! I don't know when! I don't know the details but count me in!"
The shepherds aren't the only ordinary people God uses in this epic story of God's love and grace as He gives the world the greatest gift! Joseph is the stepdad to Jesus. He is not the biological father of Jesus. Imagine his dreams to marry the young girl he loves. He must have had plans to have a happy life. He was a carpenter so maybe he was going to build them a home. Joseph is an honorable man. When he finds out Mary, his fiancee, is pregnant he must have been crushed. He knew the child wasn't his because he had never been with her intimately. He could have been so hurt that he tells his family and friends that Mary had been unfaithful and put her to a public shame, but he didn't. God sends an angel to tell Joseph to not be afraid to take Mary for his wife. He explained that Mary was having no ordinary child. The mix of emotions must have been overwhelming. Can you imagine the relief? The honor to be a part of Jesus' story. The gravity of what it would mean to father the Son of God? God did not choose a rich man. He did not pick the strongest, most handsome, and wisest man in the land. He chose a man of honor and integrity to be Mary's life partner and a strong father-figure to Jesus. He was to be in Jesus' life, not in the shadows like we hear so often. We don't know what happened in the years Jesus was a child and teenager. We do know that God chose Joseph specifically. It was no accident. He chooses the ordinary to do the extraordinary.
What big responsibility is God giving you? Is it scary? Is it exciting? Are you humbled He chose you but yet in wonder and awe of the magnitude of what He is calling you to do? Will you step out on in faith? Will you trust and believe even when it looks like your plans were going one way and God has stepped in and rearranged everything? You may feel crushing pain as you think your dreams are dashed, but take heart! Like Joseph, God is going to reveal His wonderful plan to you and you will get a better set of dreams and plans and it will be with greater reward!
Our final example of God taking an ordinary person and using them for extraordinary purposes is Mary. She is a very young girl. Some scholars say she was only 13 years old when she was pregnant with Jesus. I do not know but it seems with the culture and this time in history that it may be more accurate than we think. Can you even imagine being a teenager and an angel appears in your room to give you news that you will be the mother of the Son of God? What questions she must have had. She did not doubt it. She asked how it could be possible and the angel told her. Her response is acceptance and said let it be like you told me. She started praising God and she even went to visit Elizabeth and share her great news! God chooses you and me to do big and amazing things for His purposes.
What has God revealed to you? What part of His plan for your life has He removed the curtain and allowed you a glimpse of ? How did you react? Were you surprised? Do you have questions? Did you humbly accept it and begin to rejoice? What is God asking of you?
Friends, we may feel like there is nothing special about us. We may not feel like God has a giant billboard with lights flashing telling us the particulars of our destiny. He may be dealing with us in a big way, but even if He is not, there are things that must be done to further His Kingdom. We have to tell our family and our friends why we believe in Jesus and why He is the hope that anchors our soul. We must get busy working for Him. It does not matter whether it seems like a small thing or not, just do it and watch God make it grow, flourish, and spread like wildfire.
God put it in my heart years ago to have a Bible study in my home. I did that faithfully and sometimes I had one friend, other times I had 2-3 friends. We broke the Bread together and we dug deep into Scripture. We prayed and fellowshipped together. It was wonderful and after a while the seasons of my life changed. I no longer had those studies in my home. A couple of years ago God put the desire in my heart to do that again. A friend and I tried to do it over the phone since she now lived out of state but it was difficult to make it work. I tried again a few more times and then this year, a couple of months ago, I started having a Bible study with my daughter and a friend of ours. My friend in Indiana found out that we were doing that and asked if she could join us via Zoom and I said yes, of course! The first night we had 8 for the Bible study! And it continues to be a wonderful time to grow in faith as we share together. I didn't know when I asked one friend to have a Bible study in my home what God was going to do and how fast He would make it grow. I still have no idea how far He will take it. He wants to use you and me to do extraordinary things for Him. Say yes to the call and watch Him work!
I hope this has been encouraging today. I always want to speak life to you and these blog posts help me more than anyone else! My prayer is that something I said today has been strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!
~Bridgett Owens
