Zechariah's Song

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Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Then his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy:  “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people.  He has sent us a mighty Savior from the royal line of his servant David, just as he promised through his holy prophets long ago.  Now we will be saved from our enemies and from all who hate us.  He has been merciful to our ancestors by remembering his sacred covenant—the covenant he swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham.  We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live.  “And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord.  You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins.  Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”  Luke 1:67-79(NLT)

Before the birth of his son, John the Baptist, even before his wife Elizabeth was pregnant, Zechariah was visited by an angel.  The angel told him their childless days were about to come to an end, and that child would be used in a magnificent way to prepare the way for Messiah.  Zechariah had trouble wrapping his mind around the miracle of an aged, barren woman giving birth, so the angel gave him something else to ponder – silence!  The old man, new father to be, had a long time to think about what the angel said, roughly 9 months; that’s a long time without voice. 

I’ve always had two thoughts about Zechariah’s story:

1.      It’s a heartwarming and joyful ending the way he finds his faith and his voice to bless his little son, John.

2.      Why didn’t Zechariah believe when the angel first spoke to him?  It would have saved him so much grief to believe.

And immediately after thinking how that Hallmark ending would have been better, and how Zechariah’s unbelief made it tougher on everybody, my heart is condemned for second-guessing anybody, let-alone thinking of a “better” story to replace God’s story.  On top of that, some of the wrong turns on the faith road of my own life don’t exactly place me in the running for replacing Moses or Abraham.  So, who am I to judge?  Life is all about choices and faith, and sometimes we mess it up.  And I then become thankful that God chose to include Zechariah’s tepid, timid, weak faith in His Word; that gives me understanding and strength to press on in making better choices.

By the time the baby was born Zechariah had found his faith, which gave him back his voice, and the first words he spoke were those words for which the world had been waiting since Adam and Eve were evicted from the garden…your Messiah is near, and the darkness will have to leave!

For You Today

If you’ve lost your voice because of a bad choice, don’t sit in the ashes of your life grieving too long; take the first opportunity to lift-up the joy that surrounds you.  God may put a prophecy in your mouth like He did with Zechariah’s song.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image:  Wikimedia Commons

Awake in the Pigpen

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Friday, May 27, 2016

Jesus told them this story:  “A man had two sons.  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.  “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.  About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve.  He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs.  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.  “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!  I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.  Please take me on as a hired servant.”’    Luke 15:11b-19^(NLT)

I was about 30 seconds out of seminary in 1983, sitting in the study of our first full time church.  I began to reflect on awakening in the pigpen of my life about 10 years prior, and the journey from pigpen to pastor.  I wrote down this little verse:

I can recall, O Lord, when first You called,

And how I dawdled, debated, and stalled.

          Come, child, You said;

 My way, I said;

So started this weary wanderer away from home.

Lord, I have strayed throughout the years,

And now I can see, through blur and sting of tears

Thy face, Thy loving smile;

Which beckoned all the while,

To welcome this weary wanderer home.

And now, Father, in spite of all I’ve done;

Could it be that there is still some

          Place of service, need for me,

          A life – love’s reality,

To warmly see this weary wanderer home?

I see my need so deep; yet deeper still

Is Your love….I draw from Your endless well.

          And life is giv’n; I need run no more;

          Except when, in serving Thee, 

          You show

This former weary wanderer a brand new home.[2]

Having been raised in a devout Christian home I wandered from the faith through my middle teens and twenties.  Awakening in the mess of a self-made pigpen of selfishness, greed, and the kind of unhappiness that not only makes you miserable, but draws everyone else around you into your downward spiral…well, to say the least, I knew there had to be a better way than mine to navigate the rough waters of life.

I’m a slow learner when it comes to admitting I’ve messed it up and need to change.  In short, I was, and sometimes still am, a prodigal son.

And aren’t we all?

And doesn’t the wandering always lead to the pigpen?

For You Today

Like a patient, loving father to the prodigal, Father God has a ring, sandals and royal robe waiting for you at the party.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today…have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Image: By Sebastien Dusart, via Wikimedia Commons

[2] “Wandering” ^©Russell Brownworth, April 1983