A Year with Jesus

Note from Jesus

Dear Servant of the Lord,

If you take the time to look at the grand story of grace in the Bible, you will notice servants of the Lord playing important roles all along the way. A few of these servants were big characters with big personalities playing big parts in the grand drama of the Bible. However, the vast majority of God's servants were bit players and role players, many of them unnamed. But each one was crucial to the story!

I want to remind you of a few of them. In fact, you might want to do some research on them if you don't recognize their names. Folks like Seth and Isaac, who do not have a lot written about them, but were hugely important in God's unfolding promises. There was Jael, a brave and clever wife who killed Israel's greatest threat. You meet three mighty men of David who brought him water from the well by the gate at Bethlehem at one of the lowest points in his life. There was Mordecai for Esther. Then there was Jehosheba who saved Joash and preserved the line of David and preserved God's promise of the Messiah. Along the way you meet an unnamed boy who provided his fish and bread that I used to feed a crowd. There was Andrew, the apostle who was in his brother Peter's shadow, but who always seemed to be the one to get people to Me. There were folks like Dorcas, Lydia, and Phoebe, who served others and blessed My early churches. There were special folks like Onesiphorus, who blessed the apostle Paul.

There were, of course, many others. I mention these just to make this one point: Behind any great movement of God, there are unnamed, yet essential, servants paving the way. We - Father, Son, and Spirit - know each person that goes with each name. We will not forget their work for the kingdom of God or the sacrifices they made.

So before you read about a few of the special servants from the story of My birth, I want to remind you of something very important. There is nothing that you do to serve others in My name that will be forgotten. In My kingdom, the greatest has always been - and always will be - a servant.

Verses to Live

Two precious people are introduced to the joy of a child after years of faithful service. Their names are Zacharias and Elizabeth.

To understand the life of Jesus, I must first give you some background history, events that occurred when Herod ruled Judea for the Roman Empire. Zacharias was serving as a priest in the temple in Jerusalem those days as his fathers had before him. He was a member of the priestly division of Abijah (a grandson of Aaron who innovated temple practices), and his wife, Elizabeth, was of the priestly lineage of Aaron, Moses' brother. They were good and just people in God's sight, walking with integrity in the Lord's ways and laws. Yet they had this sadness. Due to Elizabeth's infertility, they were childless, and at this time, they were both quite old - well past normal childbearing years.
(Luke 1:5-7)

My mother, Mary, was a precious young virgin who was challenged with the seemingly impossible and committed herself to be God's servant regardless of the cost.

Six months later in Nazareth, a city in the rural province of Galilee, the heavenly messenger Gabriel made another appearance. This time the messenger was sent by God to meet with a virgin named Mary, who was engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David himself. The messenger entered her home.

Messenger:
Greetings! You are favored, and the Lord is with you! Among all women on the earth, you have been blessed.
(Luke 1:26-28)

Mary (deciding in her heart):
Here I am, the Lord's humble servant. As you have said, let it be done to me.
(Luke 1:38)

Two older servants of the Lord, Simeon and Anna, proclaimed the meaning of My birth as they met Me in the Temple.

While fulfilling these sacred obligations [the dedication of Jesus and a sacrifice] at the temple, they [Joseph and Mary] encountered a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was a just and pious man, anticipating the liberation of Israel from her troubles. He was a man in touch with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Anointed One. The Spirit had led him to the temple that day, and there he saw the child Jesus in the arms of His parents, who were fulfilling their sacred obligations. Simeon took Jesus into his arms and blessed God.

Simeon:
Now, Lord and King, You can let me, Your humble servant, die in peace. You promised me that I would see with my own eyes what I'm seeing now: Your freedom, raised up in the presence of all peoples.
(Luke 2:25-31)

At that very moment, an elderly woman named Anna stepped forward. Anna was a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She had been married for seven years before her husband died and a widow to her current age of 84 years. She was deeply devoted to the Lord, constantly in the temple, fasting and praying. When she approached Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, she began speaking out thanks to God, and she continued spreading the word about Jesus to all those who shared her hope for the rescue of Jerusalem.
(Luke 2:36-38 )

These are just a few of the precious and faithful servants who paved the way for My coming to you!

Response in Prayer

O Father, I sometimes feel that no one notices the kind things I try to do for them - this feels especially true with those closest to me and whom I love most dearly. I know that I am selfish to feel this way. So I am thankful for the reminder about those who served You in the past. These examples remind me that I don't need the applause of others if I know I've blessed them, brought You joy, and paved the way for Jesus to touch their hearts. O dear Father, please be honored in my service to others and open my eyes to see how I can serve others more fully in Jesus' name. Amen.