It’s a big weekend for us. Rachel is coming home from Nashville. She will be here through the holidays and leave on Jan 1 for Birmingham, England. She’s going with a ministry called “GlobalScope,” which is under the same missions group as our Africa connections. She will be doing campus ministry there as a student with 8 other young people at the University of Birmingham. It’s crazy to think about. It’s a 6 month deal and we won’t see her at all. So we’re gearing up for that.
And it’s Madrigal week at Lincolnway East. All of my girls have been a part of this wonderful program that brings old fashioned Christmas to the area. Becca and Lauren are a part of it and it’s fun that they get to be together, like Lauren and Rachel were 3 years ago. Both sets of grandparents are coming in and it will be a great time.
And it’s Denise’ birthday on Monday!
Other than that – it’s all quiet at the Harlows
How is it for you?
We’ve been talking about allowing the Supernatural to invade our Christmas and I was reading in my devotions in Luke this week and found this exact illustration of how we usually live out our Christian lives…
Luke 4:14-30 (NIV)
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”
24 “I tell you the truth,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
Jesus says, “Look, I know you are too familiar with me to understand this. That’s always a problem.” And they were so familiar with him that they thought he was crazy and “tried to throw him off a cliff!”
Catch the whole thing. Jesus came to preach good news, proclaim freedom, give sight, release the oppressed, and proclaim God’s favor. Who doesn’t want some of that?!?
They didn’t.
Because they didn’t believe him.
Maybe you haven’t tried to throw Jesus off a cliff – but do you believe?
Tim
Happy Birthday Denise and Merry Christmas to all the Harlows.
Posted by: Debbie H. | December 08, 2007 at 01:28 PM
Wishes for a A Wonderful and Fun :) Birthday Denise! So glad your family is all together to Celebrate! GOD BLESS YOU!
Posted by: Paula | December 10, 2007 at 08:43 AM