When do we need a miracle the most? How do miracles come about? Do we play a role in God’s provision and plan to be implemented in our lives?

A need fulfilled begins with the need. Miracles follow problems.

If we are going to experience the miracles God wants for us, we must listen to Jesus and obey him.

The gospel of John tells us that Mary, the mother of Jesus, told the servants to listen to Jesus and to do whatever he told them to do when they had run out of wine in Cana of Galilee. John tells us, “His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’” (John 2:5, ESV).

Happy new year! 

I hope and pray you have had wonderful Christmas with your family and friends, and an exciting and reflective new year celebration. 

The Feast of the Holy Family, is where Jesus was found after the Passover Feast by his parents who had lost track of him for three days (see Luke 2:41-52). There is so much going on in this text contextually.

For instance, the caravan the family was traveling in was most likely filled with family and travelers from the holy family's Nazareth community. This group would have been assisting each other with the care of the children, and it would have been easy to assume another family member, or community member, was lending a helping hand with the boy Jesus.

Another factor at play here is Jesus' age, he was twelve according to the text, most likely nearing his time of becoming a man at thirteen. Because of his age, Jesus could have been traveling with the women up ahead, or with the men who were traveling in the back of the group to keep watch, to protect, and to go at the pace of the women and children up ahead. This would have made it harder to keep up with where Jesus was during the journey. 

My favorite element of context in this account is where they find Jesus, in the Temple, most likely in Solomon's Portico according to some scholars. The text tells us, "After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers" (Luke 2:46-47, ESV). 

You can hear echoes of Jesus' later words as an adult when he proclaimed, "I say this because she traveled from far, far away to listen to Solomon’s wise teaching. And I tell you that someone greater than Solomon is right here, but you won’t listen!" (Matthew 12:40, ERV). 

Have you been baptized by water and the Holy Spirit? Do you need to be baptized? What does our baptism accomplish?

Baptism is essential for the follower of Jesus. Even Jesus himself was baptized in obedience to his Father by John the Baptizer.

Each of us are called to be born of water and the Spirit of God through baptism, identifying with Jesus’ own death, burial, and resurrection.

When we are baptized, the water symbolizes the washing away of our sin, the death to our old nature, and our new birth and salvation through the rejuvenating waters of baptism and the Spirit of God.

Luke tells us in his gospel account that “John answered them all, saying, ‘I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.’” (Luke 3:16, ESV).

Who has God revealed himself to? How has God revealed himself? What should be our response to God’s revelation?

God has shined his light into the darkness of this world and has revealed himself to all people through his son Jesus.

The Gospel of Matthew tells us, “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’” (Matthew 2:1-2, ESV).

God revealed himself to wise men in the east through the appearance of a star. God called these people to worship him by revealing himself to them through the light of his revelation in this stellar appearance.

Have you heard the expression, “Can you flesh that out for me?” What does it mean to “flesh something out”? What does it mean when the Apostle John says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”? (John 1:14, ESV).

An AI definition of “flesh that out” says, “The phrase ‘flesh that out’ means to provide more details or information about something, or to make something more complete. For example, you might flesh out an argument, essay, or plan.”

God literally “fleshed out” a comprehensive argument for who he is and his plan for salvation for all people in his son Jesus in the incarnation. God’s expression of his love for us is made complete in his son Jesus being born into this world to save us.

The Apostle John tells us, “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:11-13, ESV).

What is the greatest Gift you have ever been given? What is the greatest gift you have ever received?

We receive good gifts from those who love us. We give good gifts to those we love.

Gifts are for giving and receiving. We cannot experience a gift that has been given to us, unless we receive that gift, open it, and welcome that good gift into our life.

God gave us the greatest gift of all of time when he gave us his own son Jesus. God gave us the gift of his love and forgiveness by giving his son to come in our humanity, to be with us, to die for us, and to defeat death by his resurrection, and to give us his life.

The gospel of Luke tells us, “In the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’” (Luke 2:8-12, ESV).

Are you preparing the way for the love of God? In what ways can we prepare ourselves for the love of God?

God’s love often looks differently than we might expect. We must trust God’s purposes and plan and prepare the way for the love of God in our lives.

Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus, prepared the way for God’s love in her life. This preparation for God’s love provided the way for the love of God in our own lives through Jesus’ advent. Because Mary prepared the way for God’s love, we can prepare the way for the love of God in our lives.

The Gospel of Luke tells us of the Angel Gabriel bringing God’s message of purpose and love to Mary. After Gabriel said to Mary, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” He told Mary that God was with her and had chosen her as the vessel of God’s coming love for his people in his son Jesus.

“Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’ And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. …For nothing will be impossible with God.’ And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her.” (Luke 1:34-38, ESV).

Are you experiencing God’s joy in your life? What is preventing you from experiencing the fullness of joy that God has in store for you? How can you prepare for God’s joy in your life?

Our God is a God of joy who desires joy for his children, and who delights to rejoice over his children.

God speaks through the prophet Zephaniah saying, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17, ESV).

Our God is with us, our God saves us, our God rejoices over us with gladness, our God quiets us with his love, and our God rejoices over us with loud singing.

Are you experiencing peace in your life? Are you making any preparations for peace in your life? What would you be doing differently if you were preparing the way for God’s peace in your life? How would peace be ushered in by God as a result of preparing the way?

We often get what we plan, design, or prepare for. It has been said that “If we fail to plan, we plan to fail.” It might also be said, “If we fail to prepare, prepare to fail.”

When we seek God’s peace, we should also prepare ourselves for God’s peace.

In Luke’s Gospel account we see the beginning of the preparation for the peace we are longing for. Luke tells us, “The word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” (Luke 3:2-6, ESV).

What does it mean that Jesus is our king? If Jesus is our king, what does his kingdom look like and what is our role in his kingdom?

If Jesus is our king, we can trust his rule and reign in our lives. If Jesus is our king, we can serve him and his kingdom and not worry about establishing our own authority or kingdom in the world. If Jesus is our king, then we are called to be subjects of his rule and his kingdom, and we are called to be participators in his kingdom.

In John’s gospel account, Pilate, a Roman ruler in Judea, questioned Jesus’ kingship. Jesus answered, “’My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.’ Then Pilate said to him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.’” (John 18:36-37, ESV).

Where does your confidence reside? What do you place your confidence in? Have you ever neglected or thrown away your confidence?

We all place our hope, trust, and confidence in something or someone. What we place our confidence in gives us assurance of future hope and promise, or it leads us to despair or deficit.

As followers of Jesus, our confidence is in God’s faithfulness, which comes with great promise.

It is possible for us to have confidence in the wrong people or things. We can misdirect or throw away our confidence, and thereby throw away God’s good reward and promise.

The author of Hebrews instructs us in this regard, saying, “Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” (Hebrews 10:35-36, ESV).

What is the significance of the sacrifice of Jesus as our great high priest?

While priests had to offer sacrifices repeatedly for their sin, and for the sins of the people, Jesus’ sacrifice is perfect because he is sinless and offers himself once and for all as the perfect sinless sacrifice for all the world and for all of time.

The author of Hebrews wrote, “For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” (Hebrews 9:24-26, ESV).

How can we be confident in life after death? How do we trust that our loved ones who have died are with Jesus and are living eternally? How do we have confidence in our own eternal life after death?

We can be confident of eternal life, because we have an eternal high priest-Jesus. Because Jesus lives and intercedes on our behalf, we too can have eternal life in him. We can be confident of the eternal life of our loved ones, and our own eternity, because God is eternal.

The author of Hebrews writes, “The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he [Jesus] holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.” (Hebrews 7:23-26, ESV).

Are you growing in maturity in your relationship with Jesus? Are you growing up in the Lord, or are you growing old in the Lord?

It has been said that “Converts grow old in Jesus and disciples grow up in Jesus.”

As followers of Jesus, we are called to grow and to mature in our relationship with God.

The author of Hebrews writes, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” (Hebrews 5:11-14, ESV).

Who is able to best sympathize with you in your struggles? Who sympathizes with you when you are at your lowest and weakest? Who is best able to serve you and help you in your time of need?

When we are struggling and are at our worst, and when we are tempted to sin and are weak, we need grace and mercy. We need help in our time of need. We need someone who understands. We need someone who has been where we are. We need someone who has experienced what we are experiencing and has come out the other side victorious. We need sympathy. We need empathy. We need help in our time of need. We need rescue.

The author of Hebrews teaches us, “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16, ESV).

Have you considered Moses? Have you considered that Jesus is greater than Moses? When was the last time you contemplated Jesus and really considered who Jesus is, what Jesus has done, and what Jesus means to you and for your life?

We are called to consider Jesus who is greater than Moses, who helped free God’s people from slavery in Egypt, who gave God’s people the law, and who helped lead the people of God to the promised land.

The author of Hebrews writes, “Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house.” (Hebrews 3:1-2, ESV).

Where does your salvation come from? Who is greater in your life?

Our salvation comes through Jesus alone. Jesus is greater in our lives, and Jesus is all powerful and perfect in his provision for life, and for our redemption and restoration.

The author of the book of Hebrews teaches us, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” (Hebrews 2:14-15, ESV).

Jesus took on our suffering and death in his own flesh. The death of Jesus, and his resurrection, produced the end of death, the final defeat of the enemy, the devil, and our resurrection life. Because Jesus is greater than death and the evil one, we have no need to fear death, or to be slaves of fear, which is often brought on by evil and death.

How can we avoid the evil in this world and in our lives? What do we need to move away from and what do we need to move towards to experience God and to avoid evil?

Avoiding evil is just a part of the call as a follower of Jesus. We do not simply avoid evil, we also need to move towards God and the good.

The Book of James teaches us, saying, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded... Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” (James 4:7-10, ESV).

What is the wisdom of God? What does God’s wisdom look like in our lives and in this world?

It has been said that, “Wisdom is applied knowledge.” Wisdom is putting God’s word, God’s truth, into practice. There is right knowing, and then there is right doing. Right knowledge without the implementation of truth is folly.

As the saying goes, “Information without application leads to stagnation.”

The Book of James teaches us, “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (James 3:16-18, ESV).

Can someone live in absolute poverty and be filled with the riches of God? Is it possible to have all the money in the world and still be impoverished?

It has been said, “Some people are so poor, all they have is money.” 

We can be impoverished economically and be rich in God—possessing the kingdom of God and all God has for us. 

In his general letter, James says, “Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?” (James 2:5, ESV).