Fashioned for Gifts & Surprises

I love a SUPRISE gift, especially when the receiver has no idea that the surprise is coming! A few weeks ago, at my final Inspire Conference as the PennDel Women's Director, I was totally surprised when I was presented with Buster, a Cavapoo puppy! He is the sweetest gift, and our family loves him already, although a puppy brings a lot of work, like having a toddler.

For a surprise to be a surprise, SILENCE is required between the recipient and the giver, which can be difficult on both ends. As the receiver, you may think you have been forgotten, and as the giver of the gift, you want to "spill the beans." Knowing that Steve, my twin sister Theresa, and the Dream Team kept the secret from me adds to my gratefulness for this gift. So thankful!

Did you know Jesus was a SURPRISE? This Christmas, reflect on the beauty of SUPRISE GIFTS as you celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Before Jesus was born, there had been four hundred years of silence. That's a long time! For most of us, we can't imagine four days of silence. Four generations had passed without a hint that the gift of the Messiah was on the horizon. No scripture was recorded during this time, and the hope of a Messiah grew distant for the Jewish people. The silence was deafening.

Finally, after four hundred years of silence, John the Baptist was born - a SURPRISE! John was born to a woman who was old and barren. Elizabeth and her husband, Zechariah, had given up on having children. Seemingly out of nowhere, Zechariah was visited by an angel and given surprising news. Read these verses in the book of Luke, chapter one.

“While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. But the angel said, "Don't be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly."

Zachariah was so surprised that he was speechless, literally. Because he questioned the surprise, due to his physical circumstances, he couldn't speak a word until his promised son was born. He regained his speech after the birth, right before the name John was given to his newborn son. Typically, your first son would be named after his father, but God has other plans for this boy, and his name was to be John. Read Luke 1: 59-64

When the baby was eight days old, they all came for the circumcision ceremony. They wanted to name him Zechariah, after his father. But Elizabeth said, "No! His name is John!" "What?" they exclaimed. "There is no one in all your family by that name." So, they used gestures to ask the baby's father what he wanted to name him. He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone's surprise, he wrote, "His name is John." Instantly, Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, was also unexpectedly surprised by an angel's visit, who told her she would also give birth to a baby. While Mary was certainly old enough to have a baby, there was one problem: she wasn't married or sexually active. Let's read this together in Luke 1:26-38.

In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, "Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!"

Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. "Don't be afraid, Mary," the angel told her, "for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!"

Mary asked the angel, "But how can this happen? I am a virgin."

The angel replied, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So, the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What's more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. for the word of God will never fail."

Mary responded, "I am the Lord's servant. May everything you have said about me come true." And then the angel left her.

Mary gave birth to Jesus, our Savior, just as the angel said would happen. There was one more SUPRISE for some shepherds who were out in a field tending their sheep. Read this in Luke 2: 8-12

“That night, there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terrified (SURPRISED), but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger."

They found the gift of Jesus, just as the angel of the Lord had told them they would. What a SURPRISE! Jesus was and is the best surprise at Christmas. If you don't know Him, my prayer is the gift of Jesus is your favorite surprise. If you know Jesus, I pray your eyes are open to see what new SURPRISES He has coming your way.

I have loved serving you!

Liz