SPEAK-UP FOR JESUS!
Anna spoke of the
way found in Jesus,
talking “…of [Jesus]”
we learn in Luke 2:28
“…to all who were
looking for…
redemption
(deliverance)…”
(Luke 2:28)
from the blinding,
sandy, lostness of
life.
• Sure – Anna was married at one time,
and perhaps a mother (Luke 2:38).
• Sure – Anna was full of spunk, even
though she was 84 years old (Luke 2:36).
• But Anna’s main identity, as
headlined in Luke 2:36, was
prophetess (Luke 2:36) or prophet, which
means literally “to speak out” or in
Hebrew “to bubble forth, as from a
fountain.”
One-fifth of all American adults, 46
million, have no religious affiliation.
Let Jesus ‘Show-Up’ On
Ordinary Days
Anna never stopped seeing and
acknowledging Jesus. Why Luke
2:37 notes that Anna
“…worshipped [the Lord] night
and day…” (Luke 2:37) -- apparently
every day -- even on ordinary
days.
Err Toward Grace, Not
Pettiness
For as Hannah
praises God in 1
Samuel 2:6,
Hannah praises
a generous God:
“The
Lord…makes
alive…and raises
up…” (1 Samuel 2:6)
And as Anna
praises God in
Luke 2:38 – Anna
praises a
redeeming God
(Luke 2:38), best
reflected in Jesus,
described in Luke
2:40 as “…strong
… filled with
wisdom and…
grace…” (Luke 2:40)
And so for the most part “…be merciful” Jesus
notes in Luke 6:36 – be sympathetic, tender,
responsive, and compassionate, even as your
Father is [all these].” (Luke 6:36, The Amplified Bible)
Celebrate: We Are Family in
Jesus
I mean right
before Anna’s
story, Mary
and Joseph
and Jesus
appear in the temple encountering
the godly Simeon (Luke 2:21-35)
Right after Anna’s story, Mary
and Joseph and Jesus appear
in the temple encountering the
Hebrew teachers.
But right at the
end of Anna’s
story, Mary and
Joseph and
Jesus, encounter
Anna (Luke 2:38).
And so a sense of
family, of family in
Jesus, literally
surrounds Anna,
in a powerful,
profound way.
“For...it was not
with perishable
things…that you
were
redeemed…but
with the precious
blood of
Christ…Now that
you have been
purified….love one
another deeply
from the heart…”
(2 Peter 1:18; 19; 22-22).
• Jesus is relevant on laundry day –
• Jesus is full of grace –
• Jesus gives family, even when we
have no family.
“...it was not with
perishable
things…that [we]
were redeemed
…but with the
precious blood of
Christ…[Thus] now
that [we] have
been purified ….[let
us ]love one
another deeply
from the heart…”
(2 Peter 1:18; 19; 22-22).