December 29
"So it is still. Events upon which the attention of all heaven is centered are undiscerned, their very occurrence is unnoticed, by religious leaders, and worshipers in the house of God. Men acknowledge Christ in history, while they turn away from the living Christ. Christ in His word calling to self-sacrifice, in the poor and suffering who plead for relief, in the righteous cause that involves poverty and toil and reproach, is no more readily received today than He was eighteen hundred years ago.
Mary pondered the broad and far-reaching prophecy of Simeon. As she looked upon the child in her arms, and recalled the words spoken by the shepherds of Bethlehem, she was full of grateful joy and bright hope. Simeon's words called to her mind the prophetic utterances of Isaiah: "There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. . . . And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins." "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. . . . For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isa. 11:1-5; 9:2-6.
Desire of Ages, page 56 from the chapter, 'The Dedication'
The priests of that day don’t get a very good review here do they? We might define them as people who are simply doing the job for the money and the prestige.
With our knowledge we might simply recognise that all priests are the same, even the current religious leaders are no different! While I am not a Priest, but a Pastor, it could be said that I’m just like that priest who met Joseph and Mary, the man who dedicated the little child and who could not recognise the real blessing bestowed by Anna and Simeon.
It is true to say that I, like many another preacher today, could well be described as a time-serving employee, there for the kudos and the money. There are times when I know I have preached a sermon, and while believing all it says have not given everything.
This chapter does give an unflattering tone to the role of the modern church Pastor. Indeed, all who are in some form of influential position in a church, should take note that it is possible to have a form of godliness, and deny that there is spiritual power behind the position.
What do we do? Should we give up in despair? I love the story of Nicodemus. He came to Jesus by night, possibly ashamed, possibly fearful and hid his true need behind rather obscure questions.
Jesus could simply have turned the man away, recognising the man as a time-serving functionary – but Jesus gave guidance. It is true that the words appear to have had little effect at the time – but when the crunch came Nicodemus stood for the truth, and for the Man.
You, as a leader, as a model for others to look up to, may well wonder if your heart and soul is in your profession. Hold fast! What people may think about you, and what you may think about yourself is not as important as what Jesus thinks about you. Spend time with Him, if there are changes needed they may come – because Jesus will never reject the person who comes to Him – by day or night.
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Housekeeping details for you
The point of this short blog will become clear if you decide to use this reading in the way we intend it. Netherfield Seventh-day Adventist Church believes in healthy churches. You can see what that means if you head to the relevant Healthy Churches page of the website. We also want other churches to be healthy. That means you can join in our campaign to create healthy churches, with healthy people serving the people in those churches.
A healthy church is one where Jesus comes first. A healthy church is one where the people work together to put Jesus first. One thing we are doing is to join people together to spread that news. I would like you to look at our prayer partners page. This will explain how we want you to use this short devotional. Very basically we want you to find a like-minded Christian friend who you will join with to : choose to pray together every day, decide together on a way to serve other people together, to help them grow as Christians - and to invite the Holy Spirit into your life every day. This blog that you will receive every day simply gives a common spiritual purpose. If you are a newcomer and want to join the blog with this object in mind click here
