As the days count down to Christmas, life seems to speed up instead of slow down. There are final preparations to make for the arrival of loved ones. There are last-minute gifts to acquire while navigating through crowded stores and boutiques. There are stockings to fill, presents to wrap, and traditions to follow through on.
But despite the breakneck pace of the holiday, it’s also a good idea to slow down and reflect on why we celebrate. And in these moments, God wants to refresh you by presenting a gift of his very own.
It’s easy to read through the story of Jesus’ birth. It’s another thing entirely to pause and think about its significance, both in the tiny village of Bethlehem and in modern society. So may you hear the story in a new way this year. And as God refreshes you with his gift, may you in turn refresh others.
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…Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.
While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger because there was no room in the hostel.
There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.”
At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises:
Glory to God in the heavenly heights,
Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.
As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. “Let’s get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us.” They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed.
--Luke 2:1-18 (The Message)
23 December 2006
09 December 2006
Pure Refreshment 1.23 -> Obey the Signals
They have the ability to exert control upon our daily activities. They speak a language that is understood by billions of people.
They also swing from overhead wires and hang on the tops of poles.
Traffic signals are a necessity in today’s fragmented, get-it-done-yesterday society. So in order to keep vehicle accidents as low as possible, intersections are equipped with a series of these devices that regulate traffic in a safe manner. It’s a pretty simple system: one group of vehicles goes through while the others wait. Each gets a chance to pass through the intersection—when the signal says it’s okay to do so.
So what do traffic signals have to do with the life of faith? Let’s take a look.
When a person takes Jesus at his word and believes he is their Forgiver and Leader, a journey begins that will produce as its end result a person who emulates him in words, thoughts, and actions. Between then and the final encounter with him, there are many decisions we have to make—what career to pursue, who to marry, where to go on vacation, and thousands of others. Each of these decisions creates an intersection in our life between our way and God’s way. And at each intersection is a traffic signal.
These crossroads of our journey of life provide two opportunities to follow God: in decisions and in timing. One of my favorite verses in the Bible finds God talking to Jeremiah about this subject. He tells the people of Israel to “stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls” (Jeremiah 6:16a [NIV]).
Making the decision God wants us to involves consulting him for advice through prayer, seeing what the Bible says, and receiving wise counsel from trusted individuals that are Christians.
Yet even after following all these things, a person can still make decisions that are not the best ones possible. The reason involves the traffic signals that are positioned at these intersections of life.
Most countries in the world use a series of three colors to denote what a driver should do at a traffic signal. A green light means go, a yellow means caution (or slow down), and red means stop. Failure to obey these can be dangerous, such as when a driver runs a red light or does not move when a green light is displayed.
God’s traffic light system works in a similar way. A green light means to proceed; a red light means not to proceed, and a yellow light is the indication to wait. A failure to obey these can alsoin our lives, through The key is to get to know God so well that we understandact on them according to what the traffic signal says. be dangerous—we might miss out on something significant God wants to do our lives, or a combination of the two. his directions for the journey and
A great example of the traffic light principle can be found in the book of Judges. God had informed Gideon clearly that he was going to lead Israel to defeat the Midianites. At this point, Gideon had 32,000 men ready for battle, but God reminded him to look at the color of the ‘traffic light,’ which was red: “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands” (Judges 7:2a [NIV]). If Gideon had went into battle with that number of men, Israel could boast that their own strength saved them instead of God (see Judges 7:2b). Instead, Gideon was told to allow those who were scared to go back to camp. That cut the army to 10,000 members.
What color was the ‘traffic signal’ showing now? Gideon was listening to God and discovered that the color had changed—to yellow. There were still too many men! Another round of trimming down the army occurred, based on how a person drank water from the stream. When God was finished, only 300 were left—only .93 % of the original army! At this point, God revealed the green light, and Gideon and the troops had a sizable victory that showcased God’s power and might.
We can’t say that Gideon always made the right decisions, however. Later in Judges, he was asked by the Israelites to rule over them. The ‘traffic signal’ was red, so he refused. However, he asked for a gold earring from each of the men that gathered the Midianite treasure. Soon Gideon had created an ephod (a priestly garment) that, regardless of Gideon’s intention, served to draw the people away from God. This ‘crossing the intersection’ when the light was red turned the faith of many Israelites away from God and even became a stumbling block to Gideon himself (see Judges 8:22-32).
The journey of faith is not always an easy one. Sometimes we don’t hear God clearly. Sometimes we get impatient. Sometimes we turn our eyes to the wrong things. Sometimes we do the right things for the wrong reasons (or vice versa). The good news is that even when we make mistakes, God helps us to get back on the main road. For no situation we face, no matter how challenging or impossible it seems, is a wasted situation (see Romans 8:28, 31).
Think about the decisions you’ve made along your journey of faith up to this point. What color has the traffic signal been for these? How can you see God’s hand at work in these situations? Are there any upcoming decisions that you need both direction and timing from God? What will you do?
Stand at the crossroads and look. And ask. And when the time is right, may you refresh others as God has refreshed you.
--1 John 2:16-17 (The Message)
“Experience is never the ground of my faith; experience is the evidence of my faith.”
--Oswald Chambers
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