Thoughts From Luke - Day 9

                                              Luke 2:25-52
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. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. ²⁷ 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, ²⁸ Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

²⁹ “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
    you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
³⁰ For my eyes have seen your salvation,
³¹     which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and the glory of your people Israel.”

³³ The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵ so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

³⁶ There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, ³⁷ and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. ³⁸ Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
³⁹ When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.
⁴⁰ And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.
 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. ⁴² When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. ⁴³ After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. ⁴⁴ Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. ⁴⁵ When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. ⁴⁶ After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸ When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
⁴⁹ “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”⁵⁰ But they did not understand what he was saying to them.⁵¹ Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. ⁵² And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

         Are you spending time in the presence of the Lord? It is not only vital in our Christian life but frankly, it is the Christian life. It's sort of like saying, have you played baseball lately? It's vital to play baseball as a baseball player but frankly, if you aren't playing baseball you aren't a baseball player. A Christian is one who is in a relationship with God which implies spending time with Him. In this passage we see some of the benefits to spending time in God's presence. In the Old Testament this meant going to the temple. Now, God's presence is with you everywhere you go. Since we are still Old Testament in this passage even though it's New Testament - figure that one out - we will look at the benefits of going to Church and equate that with spending time in God's presence.

       First, look at Simeon. By spending time in God's presence, he got a glimpse of Jesus. When we have a quiet time, quite often we are just learning about God but then there are occasions when He shows up and we are overwhelmed by His presence, glory, love for us, etc. I confess that these are sporadic in my life but just as with Simeon and Anna, be faithfully in your quiet times, going to church, serving, witnessing, ministering, etc. and He will show up and it will be worth dying for. Simeon also developed a proper perspective on life and death. Meeting with Jesus was so sweet that he no longer feared death. To him, death was being dismissed to eternity in the presence of God. Those sporadic glimpses of God here on Earth become daily occurrences in Heaven for all eternity. Christians get so caught up with the 75 years they have on this planet that it consumes their time, thoughts, resources, and we desperately cling to hang onto this life. It makes us ineffective, unhappy, Christians who aren't any different from the world. Being in God's presence changes what kingdom we are living for and takes the fear out of death. Simeon also had a horizontal transformation. Spending time with God enabled him to love people - even Gentiles. Most Jews hated gentiles and the last thing they would want would be equality with them much less to spend eternity with them. Spending time in God's presence enabled Simeon to be humble and see himself equal with everyone and equally loved by God. It removed classism. It removed racism.

       Looking at Anna, and Simeon for that manner, she started proclaiming the redemption of God to anyone listening. Spending time in the presence of God enables you to be an effective witness. When I am overcome by the busyness of this life and am just trying to make it through the day, people pass by me all day long and I don't think about witnessing to them. However, if I have had a good time that morning in fellowship with God, I think about Him and His kingdom throughout the day and I look for those and have prayed for those opportunities to share.

      Lastly, look at the effect on Jesus. His parents, by taking Him to church, by spending time in God's presence, they raised a Child that loved God. Spending time in God's presence will make you an effective Christian parent and give you the best chance to raise Godly kids. https://speakingtruthwithlove.wordpress.com/2016/07/04/how-skipping-church-affects-our-children/
Cara, our granddaughter who is 3 would wake up early, when she spends the night at our house, (it seems I am always "sleeping" at the hospital on those nights) and go out on the back porch where my wife would be having her quiet time. Cara would sit next to her and have her Bible, a pink sparkly Bible, hold it upside down and pretend to read. She tells Karen, "when we are at Mimi and Gish's house, we read our Bibles when we wake up." And we can see the effect it had on a 12 year old Jesus who when accidentally was left behind in Jerusalem, found the most safe and comfortable place to be was the Church. Not only that but His knowledge of spiritual things astounded them all. Most people have the Church teach their kids spiritual things. Jesus came to Church and taught them. How? He was being trained at home by Godly effective Christian parents. I can't stress enough the importance of modeling to our kids and demonstrating that we practice what we believe and prioritize it in our own lives.

      Lord, meet with me today. May I sense Your presence throughout the day. May I live for Your Kingdom not my own. May I share about You boldly and effectively today and may my kids and Grandkids walk with You today. Amen