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A "Mary Moment" with the Lord.

12/19/2023

Are you expressing that you love or loathe the Lord?
When reading the Christmas story I couldn’t help but recognize the attention to detail when the love that Mary had for her newborn was described for us.

To Love
- Luke 2:7 (NKJV) And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
  - The imagery is sweet. What a moment she shared with her newborn. The peace, the stillness, the caress, the recognition of how delicate He was. This young lady is having a precious moment with her son. She took the time and effort to carefully wrap Jesus, and lay Him down.
  - In John MacArthur’s study Bible we read in the footnotes on p. 1514 about “swaddling cloths. Strips of cloth used to bind a baby tightly…This is still the custom in some Eastern cultures. The absence of swaddling cloths was a sign of poverty or lack of parental care.”
  - Lack of parental care, or what it looks like to loathe a newborn child is described for us in this next passage from the OT.
To Loathe
- Ezekiel 16:1-5 (NKJV) Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: “Your birth and your nativity are from the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 As for your nativity, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. 5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were thrown out into the open field, when you yourself were loathed on the day you were born.
  - In John MacArthur’s study Bible we read in the footnotes on p. 1169 that “Israel, in the day of its birth, was unwanted and uncared for.”
  - The Merriam-Webster Dictionary shares with us that to loathe someone is, “to dislike greatly and often with disgust or intolerance : DETEST.”
I’m thankful that we get to read about this moment that Mary had with her newborn. What we have recorded for us in no way reveals that she loathed Him.
Let me ask you, what is your treatment of the Lord?
- Are you careful in your study of His word?
- Are you careful in the way in which you share Him with others?
- Or do you throw His words and reputation around flippantly as though they don’t mean anything?
- Do you loathe/detest Him and His ways? Are you disgusted with Him because of how certain circumstances have turned out in your life? Is He really the one to blame? You say you love Him, but you live quite the opposite of that…you don’t spend time with Him in His word or in prayer…you don’t attend Church…you don’t spend time with His people. What is it about either Him, His Word, or His people that you can’t tolerate?
In what ways have you proven that you love and care for Him? What does it look like for you to metaphorically wrap Him in swaddling clothes, or to lay Him down?
In what ways might it have come across as though you loathe Him, or that you’re disgusted by Him or His people, or that you want nothing to do with Him or His people?
I pray that you’ll have a Mary moment with Him this Christmas season and for the rest of your life…treat Him as tenderly as His mother did.

Practicing His Presence,
Nate

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Welcome Home this Holiday Season

12/10/2023

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Real Dudes,
The Holiday season can be a time of rejoicing as family members are able to get together after spending some time apart because of geographical distance. But I don’t want to ignore the fact that some might not get together because of distant hearts.
The Lord expressed this strained relationship in Isaiah 29:13 and in Matthew 15:8 when He states that “their hearts are far from me.” This got to thinking about the parable of the Prodigal Son. The father in this story recognized that his son willingly chose to go his own direction in life…to be distant geographically and in heart.
When you read the passage below, do you see the father chasing after his son as he left? Calling him and demanding that he return? Awaiting an opportunity to subtly slide a Bible verse to him in some way so he’d feel the guilt? What we’re given is that the father just waited with arms open wide.
What we know about the prodigal son is that in God’s timing he came to his senses. I am praying for families…for the family members of the prodigals to be patient and allow God to work on the prodigals hearts, to be patiently awaiting for their return and be prepared for a celebration rather than a scolding, and for the prodigals to come to their senses, to come to their senses and then take the humble action of actually coming home.
Family members, don’t give up…keep waiting by the door, however that looks for you, however hard that is for you, keep praying for their return, and be sure that your open arms send the message that they are loved and welcome home. The prodigals don’t need to be reminded of what they did, they’re well aware of that and have been beating themselves up because of their previous actions, but reminded them that they’re still loved and welcome in your presence. Also, be able to block out the noise of others who might question your actions of how you’re receiving your prodigal home…live in the example of what God the Father set before us in the passage below.
Praying for families to come together this Holiday Season!!!
Practicing His Presence,
Nate

Parable of the Lost Son from Luke 15:11-32 (NLT)
11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.
13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.
17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’
20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’
22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’
28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’
31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

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A "Mary Moment" with the Lord.

Welcome Home this Holiday Season

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