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When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, “I am God Almighty. Live in my presence and be blameless. I will set up my covenant between me and you, and I will multiply you greatly.”

Genesis 17

How impatient are we? If you don’t see God moving in your life within a few days of asking for something, do you feel as though he has forgotten you? Even worse, do you think he doesn’t care or can’t act if you don’t see *results* pretty soon? How short our attention span. Abraham was 99 years old when God came to him and engaged in the covenant with him. That’s longer than most people live. What if we were willing to wait a lifetime (or longer) to see God act. What if we remained faithful to God and trusted him for all of our tomorrows for the next 99 years no matter what things look like. We’ve all probably heard the sentiment before “I tried church and it didn’t work.” What do people mean when they say something like that? Abraham could have said “I tried God for 98 years and I haven’t heard a peep… I quit.” Don’t quit. Keep going. Remain faithful. Be a regular participant and genuine contributor through your church, a local body of believers. Trust in Jesus. Don’t give up… keep going. See you Sunday.

The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and tell you this good news. Now listen. You will become silent and unable to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time…. After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived and kept herself in seclusion for five months. She said, “The Lord has done this for me. He has looked with favor in these days to take away my disgrace among the people.””

Luke 1:19-20, 24-25

Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous people, they were blameless before God with respect to the law. And yet, their initial reaction to the word of God was skepticism. It’s not that Zechariah didn’t trust God, he did, and Elizabeth could not mistake the fact that she was with child… but they still struggled with what God was doing. Zechariah responded to Gabriel, THE angel, with bewilderment. Elizabeth responded by staying in seclusion. Yet, God’s plan continued on. The angel of the Lord still went to Mary and Jesus came into the world. Be encouraged, even when we doubt and struggle with what God is doing, His plan continues on, we can still be part of what He’s doing. Let us follow Zechariah and Elizabeth’s example of following through after faltering. “His name is John!” Let us prepare the way for Jesus in our homes this Christmas season.

Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

Colossians 3:14

We know Paul believes in Love, see 1Corinthians 13, so what is love? It is putting others ahead of yourself, not because they deserve it, but because of what Jesus has done for you. Paul is telling his readers that unity does not come from the absence of disagreement, but it comes from deferment. Simply put, unity comes at your expense. Love is not “you give a little and I give a little and we’ll meet in the middle,” love gives completely, whether or not the other person budges an inch. Love is hard, love is work… but love is worth it. This is not a call to compromise on core principles, or to be a pushover who gets run over… However, realize that unity, in a family, a church, or any other group, comes not when we “get our way” but when we defer to others for the sake of all, that’s what Jesus did.

After Ehud, Shamgar son of Anath became judge. He also delivered Israel, striking down six hundred Philistines with a cattle prod.

Judges 3:31

The time of the judges was turbulent in the life of Israel. They were in the land, they owned their property, but there was no central direction. Everyone did whatever they wanted and it was a bit chaotic. There’s a great little story about Shamgar, just one verse, and I love this guy. He did not sit around and complain about how bad it was, he didn’t blame others for their predicament, he just got to work and the Lord was with him. The Philistines were everywhere, big problem. What’s the possible solution? He didn’t have any weapons or it was just him. He had a cattle prod, so he used it. He didn’t have an army, so he did his best himself. It wasn’t up to him how the battle would turn out, but it was up to him whether or not he jumped in and did his best. This is what he did, and so should we:

• Shamgar used what he had
• He did the best he could
• And he left the results to God