22 When
the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph
and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as
it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be
consecrated to the Lord”[b]), 24 and
to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a
pair of doves or two young pigeons.”[c] 25 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[d]
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.”
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.”
It is hard for us to be satisfied.
All the giving and we can still feel
empty
Jonny
carson gave his son a $100 tank
He
played in the box
Well, its over. It’s the day after Christmas is over.
Decorations
that went up so early are now removed
Extra
things marked down -
Replaced
with valentine’s day
Regarding
the after Christmas feeling,
John Walton a presbyterian minister wrote, “Nothing is as over as Christmas
when it’s over. The empty boxes, the pretty paper on the floor, the stray
tinsel from the tree, the empty cartons of eggnog stuffed into the trash bag.
Life has come back to normal, whatever that is, and it means that the diversion
of the past few weeks, the frenzy and fuss, the lights and glitter are packed
away once again like the star at the top of the tree; taken down and carefully
wrapped, padded and protected in its box. And what is left? Conflicts around
the globe, homeless people sleeping in the streets, hungry people begging for
food, worries about health, kids that concern us, jobs that wear us down. We’re
back to where we left off before the holidays
Nothing
is quite so over as Christmas when it is over.
Lou holtz
A number
of years ago, when Lou Holtz was at the University of Arkansas, he was taking
his team to play a bowl game in Tempe, Arizona. The game was to be played on
Christmas day. He was asked how he felt about playing a game on Christmas,
rather than being with his family. The coach answered candidly: "I would
rather be in Tempe. After all, once you have been to church on Christmas eve,
had Christmas eve dinner, and opened the presents, Christmas is the most boring
day of the year."
We are just a few days past Christmas
We are just a few days past Christmas
But
there is an inevitable let down
So
much packed into 4 weeks of advent
We
could talk about keeping Christmas going, but who could handle it
We
don’t want the clogged streets around the mall all year.
And
who could maintain the pace of eating?
In
fact, many of us are already planning our diets to begin January 2.
Actually,
we need a little respite from all the busyness, don’t we?
Mary
and Joseph weren’t allowed to reside permanently in Bethlehem and neither can
we.
It’s
back to the real world…
And
learning to find satisfaction in this world
Simeon…waited a lifetime for god to act
1. ritual circumcision
2. dedication of newborn, sac two doves
3. purification of mothers after giving birth
4. appearance of the savior of the world
Simeon waited…..applied himself….Celebrated…was ready to go
29 “Sovereign
Lord, as you have promised, you
may now dismiss[d]
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.”
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.”
Amazing!
He is so happy that he is ready to die.
He
has experienced the most important thing in life.
He
has seen god’s salvation
we waited for christmas, it came, it went,
life goes on for us
--quiet descends. We get bored. it stinks
was it always this difficult to find satisfaction in life?
some years ago tom brokaw was on the radio
He was
expressing frustration with the current generation as he extolled the virtues
of the greatest generation.
young
people these days actually got it easy. Their grandparents had endured truly
devastating events like The Great Depression and WWII. The current crop
of young adults, he concluded, doesn't even have a clue about real
hardship.
A young
man called in…surely the Depression and WWII certainly created terrible
hardships for the people who faced them that he, nonetheless, believed his
generation faced an even greater hardship. The caller said, "The loss of
hope." He said that his experience indicated that many of today's young
adults had simply stopped believing that things were going to get better. They
didn't expect to live as well as their parents had lived. They weren't expecting
a brighter future. They have simply given up hope.
He
said, The Great Depression, as terrible as it was, in many cases brought
families together as they worked side by side in the hope of saving their
families. Most of his friends, he said, grew up in families in complete
disarray and have given up the hope of ever having a real family experience of
their own.
He said, WWII was a terrible event that obviously cost
thousands of Americas' young men their lives. Then he said, and even though they
knew the risks they still enlisted voluntarily by the millions because they saw
it as a cause worth dying for. Most of those in his generation, he said, can't
imagine anything worth dying for. The Great Depression and WWII created
terrible hardships. But I submit to you that the greatest hardship of all is
living without hope."
It’s an interesting discussion
It’s
a many sided dilemma
So
the opportunities are different.
What
happened to spain after the defeat of the Spanish armada in 1588
All
of central and south America speak Spanish
500
million people.
Opportunities
different yes.
Did
they close up shop?
The
British empire
The
empire on which the sun never sets
20%
of worlds population over 50 countries
What
happened to them after two world wars?
Did
they close up shop?
I want to ask a question
Do we hope in circumstances or in god??????
Do we hope in circumstances or in god??????
Are
we happy only when the stock market is up
Only
when we win the war
Only
when we are getting presents
Only
when we get the next best thing
Is
it possible that we even get all of those things and still want more?
We
drive a car but want another
We
won the last war but insist on winning them all
[Maybe we should have fewer wars]
The
market is up, but we used to be happy with 14,000 now we would be depressed by
that.
Simeon waited his entire life to
experience god
It
is all he ever wanted
We
can have that any time
I suggest o you that the joy in life is
found not in the outcome of events or possessions, but in the promise of god
Difficulty
will befall us all. Life happens.
We
have to decide what we will do with every single day
We
want everything, but how much are we willing to invest of our hearts to achieve
satisfaction in life
The Jesus Store
One day
a woman went shopping at the mall. She was surprised to see Jesus behind the
counter. She knew it was Jesus because he looked just like the paintings she'd
seen in museums and in devotional books. Finally she got up her nerve and
asked, "Excuse me, but are you Jesus?" "I am." "Do you
work here?" "In a way; I own the store." "Oh, what do you
sell here?" "Just about everything," Jesus replied. "Feel
free to walk up and down the aisles, make a list, see what it is you want, and
then come back and I'll see what I can do for you."
Well,
she did just that. She walked up and down the aisles, writing furiously. There
was peace on earth, no more war, no hunger or poverty. There was peace in
families, harmony, no dissension, no more drugs. There careful use of
resources. By the time she got back to the counter, she had a long list. Jesus
looked over the list, then smiled at her and said, "No problem." And
then he bent down behind the counter and picked out all sorts of things, and
finally stood up, and laid out the packets on the counter.
"What are these?" the woman asked. "Seed
packets," Jesus answered. "This is a catalog store." "You
mean I don't get the finished product?" "No, this is a place of
dreams. You come and see what it looks like, and I give you the seeds. You go
home and plant the seeds. You water them and nurture them and help them to
grow, and someday someone else reaps the benefits."
Christmas may be over but life is still
good.
Stop waiting for some magical event to be happy
you
are probably not going to win the lottery
Your ship is not going to come in.
frankly, Its all already here if you know Jesus…..
Your ship is not going to come in.
frankly, Its all already here if you know Jesus…..
you
have the seeds of satisfaction within you
within
your relationship with God
if we lost it all today
and
what does that mean. What is all of it?
if
we lost electricity, eating out, new clothes, the stock market, even sporting
events
we
still have it all if he have him
knowing
Jesus is the single most valuable thing in this world
people
who live with nothing, live in peace because they have him
people
who are sick and dying – die in peace because they have him
When
I was a kid I wasted December waiting for Christmas
A
friend of mine told his staff on the 23rd, don’t waste the 23rd,
getting ready for the 24th
The
23rd is a great day too.
Every
day is a blessing.
life
goes by fast
no better offer is going to come along
Christmas day may be behind us but the celebration is just beginning
The
savior is here
let’s find joy in him
let’s find joy in him
