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Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.” Luke 2:25-32
Simeon was a blessed man. He got to see the salvation of the world prior to his death. I often wonder if I was there at the time of Christ's life if I would have believed. After all He was born in a lowly stable to a young woman who was a virgin. Could I have believed that? Could I believe a carpenter's son could save the world? Would my eyes recognize Him as the light for the Gentiles and the glory of Israel? I am not convinced I would.
I am often relieved that I live at this moment in time. I do not think I would do well skinning my food or plucking chickens for dinner. I like getting the boneless, skinless chicken breasts on styrofoam with plastic wrap on top. I like having water run through a faucet in my kitchen and a toilet inside my house to flush. And I love antibacterial wipes!
But what I love even more is having a Bible that gives me the information that God knows I need to live by and to understand salvation in His son Jesus. I did not accept the Bible as fact easily and spent time researching its validity and reliability. But found when finished it to be true and when I read about the incredible gift of Christ... the son of God... who came in form of a man, born in a stable and willing to die for me I am in awe.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
Simeon was a man who lived a good life and was devoted to God. God honored his devotion by answering his prayer. God still does that for us. First and foremost the prayer we all seek answered (whether we state it or not) is to have meaning to life, then we hope that there is more to life after we die. In addition we all have this emptiness within that for the most part we can't articulate what it is. Once we accept the free gift that God presented to us that first Christmas of long ago, our lives begin to have meaning, the prayer for eternal life is answered and that emptiness is filled.
Isn't that all a wonder? And wonderful? How that date in history over 2,000 years ago when a star shown in the sky leading shepherds and wise men to where a baby laid, could change the world, change our hearts, and create a way for us to have eternal life.
WOW!
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On a personal note:
I made a commitment to the Lord to write a post weekly for a year which ends in January 2011. After considerable prayer I have decided to limit my CAST Team posts to once a month. This past year I have featured almost 400 awesome shops! I love to write about the greatness of our Lord but featuring the shops and discovering the great talents takes more time than I have to give to it right now.
The CAST Team blog has been a blessing to me and I hope to you too. It would be nice to have someone take up the devotional writings... even once a month like I am doing. Please pray about it and do not shy away because you think you can't. I can't on my own either. It is only through the grace of the Lord that I am able to write at all!
I wish you a blessed Christmas filled with Christ's peace and joy!
Your sister in Christ,
Phyllis
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Please check out these wonderful shops who have honored the true meaning of Christmas with their talents.
Stained glass nativity by DianasStainedGlass
Holy Family by Precioust
Personalized story book by kplus
Comments (5)
Phyllis - when I accepted the Holy Spirit into my heart totally I just knew that every word in the Bible was the Word.
I am going to miss starting my week without your wonderful writings but when the Lord closes one door He opens another. I am glad you will be writing once a month.
I have often thought about the "times" when Jesus walked this earth and what I would have done if I had the wonder of Him standing in front of me. I know I would fall at His feet. He is the love of my life.
♥♥♥
Sue
Phyllis, what a wonderful talent God has given you. Each time I read your posts, you bring the word alive and meaningful. I have certainly enjoyed and appreciated your devotionals.
Once a month will still be a blessing which I will look forward to.
Roxanne
Phyllis, I love your posts!! Thank you so much for your commitment of the past years to open scriptures to us and and share what the Lord has given you. You truly are a blessing!
This morning I read this question... "Which is the greater gift: to sacrifice the one who is most precious to you, or to sacrifice yourself?" WOW! Definitely the greater is to sacrifice the most precious...but God did both, didn't he. :)
blessings, ZudaGay
Thank you for the post ~ very encouraging. I've often thought about Simeon at the Temple when he first saw Jesus ~ what thoughts crossed his mind? Did he cry? Did his heart leap for joy? I probably would have bawled like a baby. What a great reminder of what this Christmas season is about.
I wrote a long, long comment and then lost it when I hit "post" . . . I'll try to get back later.