There’s a Miracle Happening… Here!

Luke 1:46-50 And Mary said: “ My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has had regard for the humble state of His bond-servant;… For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name. And His mercy is to generation after generation Toward those who fear Him.

I wish I had said that!

But it wasn’t me. 

Not then… but today… I echo the very same thing!

I haven’t been given the privilege of birthing the Son of God into a world which is desperate for redemption and salvation whether we know it or not. I have been given the privilege of being vowed to a man who is as faithful as Mary’s Joseph. A man who is as kind and protective and loving in the face of questionable times.

I’ve also been given the privilege of birthing three wonderfully, rich in spirit, children. They have faithfully given me a crown of white hair which I have honorably polished to a full head of white hair crown.

And now, though one couldn’t imagine anything more privileged, the Mighty One has done an even greater thing for me. He has called me, and sought me, and bought me, and is changing me into His very own child.

A miracle is certainly happening here! And there! And… look over there… God is birthing, and seeking, and calling, and paying the outrageous price for, and changing so many into His very own children. A number that eclipses even the grains of sand on this earth.

A miracle is indeed happening here!

We are in the midst of Hanukkah and I have had the privilege of “picturing” this Festival of Lights – this re-dedication of a temple that was savaged by an ugly Greek king who wished to destroy God’s possession – Israel, and make them slaves of his kingdom. (Not that much different today, as those who hate God, wish to damage His people and destroy their altars.)

But God… always makes a way in the dessert when there is no way to be seen. Whereas our eyes seek miles and miles of green pastures, God provides small tuffs of grass, EVERY MORNING, amidst the rocks of the desert and the morning dew. Enough to feed all the sheep who are walked every morning along the paths where they are led by their shepherds. The sheep don’t worry about having enough to overfill their bellies and the shepherds don’t judge the paths before they lead the sheep on them, nor worry there may be better paths to seek. A miracle? EVERY morning? I’m not sure anyone even notices… but God!

When the Maccabees defeated the enemy and took back their Jewish ways, the first priority was to re-dedicate God’s Place back to Him. That meant lighting the lamps and keeping them lit which took (takes) oil (God’s brand of perfect oil) everyday. The nasty Greeks left them only enough of their temple oil for one day, and it takes at least eight days to make one.

What would we do in that situation? 

They lit the lamps and began making the required oil, going forward with the rededication!

As I created the Hanukkah Swag Bag, with it’s eight days of gifts, I had many moments of dwelling upon the miracles happening all around us everyday!

What would it have been like to “expect” the lamps to go out and see the fire lighting them never going out? Would the seeing of such wonder, cause me to believe? Would the knowledge of the impossible leave me breathless? As the rededication continued, would I REDEDICATE myself to my God who provided this stunning happening only He could provide?

I had the opportunity to artistically hand make, eight days of gifts to highlight eight days of God’s Word to Train us up in the way we should go!

The first day; I pondered the miracle Hanukkah is famous for and WHO is our light today…  Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”  John 8:12 

The second day; I wanted to display God is Good – ALL THE TIME, and I wanted to hang it within eyesight as a reminder to our hearts, of His love and blessing…  Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘In this way you shall bless the sons of Israel. You are to say to them: The Lord  bless you, and keep you; The Lord  cause His face to shine on you, And be gracious to you; The Lord  lift up His face to you, And give you peace.’ So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and then I will bless them.”  Numbers 6:22-27 

The third day; We only need Faith the size of a mustard seed… (Matthew 13:31-32)

The fourth day; there is always the temptation of distraction by gold and such…  For what good will it do a person if he fails the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul? Matthew 16:26

Day five; let us stir up love with our fellowship (and fun and games)… meeting together (Hebrew 10:24-25)

Day six; the oil… our oil… which comes from the Holy Spirit along with the wisdom to keep our lamps filled… (Matthew 25:1-4)

Day seven (SPOILER ALERT that’s tonight); something to do with “This Little Light of Mine”… and a city set on a hill (Matthew 5:14-16)

Everyday of this festival has been a revelation of the miracles God speaks into our lives, EVERDAY and ALL DAY THROUGH! 

The picture of one day’s worth of oil provided all they needed for the time they needed it, led me to wonder how many miracles have I NOT SEEN? How many miracles do I (we) take as expectations of a good life, luck, not a big deal, just our imagination? 

How many? Do I (we) take for granted the BIG ONE? The biggest of all! Creation! And EVERY MOMENT life is sustained by the pain of God.

The greatest gift from creation?  Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Genesis 2:7

God’s greatest gift to you, and me, and each of the millions of living beings who has His breath in them. His greatest gift! OUR LIFE!

For You created my innermost parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. My frame was not hidden from You When I was made in secret, And skillfully formed in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my formless substance; And in Your book were written All the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. Psalm 139:13,15-16 

His greatest gift to you is YOU! His greatest gift to me is ME!

I will give thanks to You, because I am awesomely and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. How precious also are Your thoughts for me, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.  Psalm 139:14,17-18

Do you know it very well? Does your soul know it very well? Are His thoughts of you precious to you? Do you have any idea the vastness of them?

The last gift in the Hanukkah Swag Bag is a tiny box with the words, “To God With Love”…

A Miracle is Happening Here…

What will you fill this tiny box with to give back to God? I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2

And then????

The miracle of God to beat EVERY OTHER MIRACLE happens…  For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons and daughters of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, “ Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, Romans 8:14-16

Our Abba is GOOD ALL THE TIME! And all the time, our ABBA IS GOOD!

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.