Today Our Daily Bread Luke 2 & John 1:14

Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.

Luke 2
The Birth of Jesus
1At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2(This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3All returned to their own towns to register for this census. 4And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David's ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5He took with him Mary, his fiancé, who was obviously pregnant by this time.
6And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the village inn.
The Shepherds and Angels
8That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, 10but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! 11The Savior--yes, the Messiah, the Lord--has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!"

13Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others--the armies of heaven--praising God:
14 "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors." 15When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Come on, let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
16They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17Then the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18All who heard the shepherds' story were astonished, 19but Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20The shepherds went back to their fields and flocks, glorifying and praising God for what the angels had told them, and because they had seen the child, just as the angel had said.
Jesus Is Presented in the Temple
21Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived.
22Then it was time for the purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. 23The law of the Lord says, "If a woman's first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the Lord." 24So they offered a sacrifice according to what was required in the law of the Lord--"either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."
The Prophecy of Simeon
25Now there was a man named Simeon who lived in Jerusalem. He was a righteous man and very devout. He was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he eagerly expected the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. 26The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Messiah. 27That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, 28Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying,
9 "Lord, now I can die in peace! As you promised me,
30 I have seen the Savior 31 you have given to all people.
32 He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!"
33Joseph and Mary were amazed at what was being said about Jesus. 34Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, "This child will be rejected by many in Israel, and it will be their undoing. But he will be the greatest joy to many others. 35Thus, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul."
The Prophecy of Anna
36Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, and was very old. She was a widow, for her husband had died when they had been married only seven years. 37She was now eighty-four years old. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. 38She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about Jesus to everyone who had been waiting for the promised King to come and deliver Jerusalem.
39When Jesus' parents had fulfilled all the requirements of the law of the Lord, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee. 40There the child grew up healthy and strong. He was filled with wisdom beyond his years, and God placed his special favor upon him.

Jesus Speaks with the Teachers
41Every year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. 42When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended the festival as usual. 43After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn't miss him at first, 44because they assumed he was with friends among the other travelers. But when he didn't show up that evening, they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. 45When they couldn't find him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for him there. 46Three days later they finally discovered him. He was in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, discussing deep questions with them. 47And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
48His parents didn't know what to think. "Son!" his mother said to him. "Why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere."
49"But why did you need to search?" he asked. "You should have known that I would be in my Father's house." 50But they didn't understand what he meant.
51Then he returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them; and his mother stored all these things in her heart. 52So Jesus grew both in height and in wisdom, and he was loved by God and by all who knew him.
~Lena’s Journalin’~
I’d like to pre-empt today by telling you a little bit about how God speaks to us through His Word.
Ever wonder why the Word of God is at times hard to understand or put together or “get”?
The Word of God is a treasure, it is very costly to the person who wants to know it, and further than that, wants to know Him, remember from past days, he IS the Word made flesh, which dwelled among us long ago, and now lives inside of hearts who invite Him to come and stay.
What is costly about this treasure? It takes the pouring out of one’s whole life to “get it”. It takes effort and digging in, which can be work. It is free to anyone who wants it, but it will consume your whole life- if you allow it, and that is what it was set out to do, for whosoever will. It takes you on a very pinpointed pathway with a tremendous amount of focus and discipline, this pathway is very, very easy to get off of, the world and God’s enemies make sure of that. It calls for commitment and covenant, where God gives, we receive, we give, God receives, etc. It is a kingdom, a way of life, a path to follow, it is about LOVE which gives and receives, rather than giving and taking or buying and selling. He gave all that cost Him the most, He gave what was most precious to Him and does not love us based on conditions at all, but the nature of love looks for a response, to be given love back, because it is the nature of love to respond, no response, something needs looking into.
This last hint and we’ll go on. Jesus spoke in parables and said he who has ears to her let him hear…well we know everyone has ears, God made it so, but who is really listening will become evident by their life transformation and active responses to the words of the Lord. The Lord is whoever we obey or respond to. If we respond to ourselves a lot, we are our own lord, if we listen to and follow after the voice of the world as our teacher, the world is our lord. If we listen to God’s enemy often, then he may even have been our lord. Jesus said before we change lord’s the enemy was our father. Father is an endearing term, one of respect, and who we respect is evident in who we heed, if we heed someone we can say they are our “father”. Listening to means doing what is told. Anyway, when a person hears and does not understand, if they are a follower and want to understand, they’ll do what any interested party would, and that is, ask questions, press in further, inquire, spend time studying. These are signs of disciples, disciples continue, and gain more and more understanding. They understand somewhat, that following Jesus just means living with Him in a covenantal relationship and being and learning more and more, taking your lifetime and more to get to know and understand. Did you ever hear someone say to a person they love, “I just want to spend my whole life getting to know you?” It’s not about quota’s or brownie points, it’s about life and life more abundantly than one would have without Him and a relationship with Him!
Read this passage through the eyes of a person, who is trying to solve a mystery, through the eyes of a lover who wants to know their partner more and more and then write me a post or send the group an e-mail to tell us what you see. I’ll post some of my own comments later on.
One things I saw from the first few verses today as I read, was that the world id calling all people to come and give an account, it is calling us to conform to it, through our ancestry etc. Like it tells me who I am, where I came from, who I was born to etc. It wants me to conform to its own words over me and be doomed to that destructive destiny, yet inside of all of that a Savior was born and that Savior can come into my own world and save me from its call to conformity and the destiny of doom. That Savior offers me a new name a new mark and new lineage and new life, in the midst of the pressures of life and the world I live in.
More later on……..



John 1:14 So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. F1 And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.