The Sword of the LORD

"And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.  And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured , the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women ."  (Luke 1:26-28) "And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.  And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS ."  (Luke 1:30, 31) "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you ."   (Galatians 4:19)  In the first chapter of St. Luke we find the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Mary that she would bear the Son of God.  From the start, the angel hailed her as "highly favoured" and "blessed among women," and so she was!  Never in human history had a virgin co

“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us .” (2 Corinthians 4:6, 7). There seems to be a contradiction between the two ideas expressed in the verses above.  On the one hand, we find that God has shined His glorious light into every believer’s heart and opened their minds to the glory of God that is found in Christ Jesus our Lord.  This is a picture of power, hope, and great strength.  On the other hand, we have been made to bear this unfathomable treasure in what is described as fragile, earthen vessels – clay pots, if you will.  This is a picture of frailty and vulnerability.  We are constantly encouraged by the Word of God (with all of the precious promises that it offers us) to rise up with boldness and confidence in Christ; but then we turn

The Jewish patriarch, Isaac, had two sons who were twins.  Esau was the firstborn and Jacob was literally born on Esau’s heels because scripture tells us that he took hold of Esau’s heel as he was being birthed and was delivered immediately after.  “And when her [Isaac’s wife Rebekah’s] days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.  And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.  And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob : and Isaac was threescore years old when she [Rebekah] bare them.” (Genesis 25:24-26). The two boys couldn’t have been any different from one another.  It was not just their appearance, but their personalities and inclinations were also quite different.  Scripture says, “…Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.” (v. 27).  Esau was that guy that many men aspire to be.  He