Street Level Devotions, God Honors Those Who Wait

Luke 3: 25-35
At this time a man named Simeon was living in Jerusalem. Simeon was a good man. He loved God and was waiting for God to save the people of Israel. God's Spirit came to him and told him that he would not die until he had seen Christ the Lord.

When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple to do what the Law of Moses says should be done for a new baby, the Spirit told Simeon to go into the temple. Simeon took the baby Jesus in his arms and praised God,

"Lord, I am your servant, and now I can die in peace, because you have kept your promise to me.

With my own eyes I have seen what you have done to save your people, and foreign nations will also see this.

Your mighty power is a light for all nations, and it will bring honor to your people Israel."

Jesus' parents were surprised at what Simeon had said. Then he blessed them and told Mary, "This child of yours will cause many people in Israel to fall and others to stand. The child will be like a warning sign. Many people will reject him, and you, Mary, will suffer as though you had been stabbed by a dagger. But all this will show what people are really thinking."

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story of Simeon. Here is this old man who had wanted to see God’s son, the Savior of the world, called the Messiah to come to earth for many years. I can’t help but think of how easy it would be for him to think he would never see God’s son. While he had faith in God and the promise God made to him, he had to wait for a long time to see that promise come into being.

We don’t rally have any proof that Simeon was anything other than a regular guy, who worshiped God and wanted to see the savior of the world whom had been taught about in many of the ancient religious books and religious meetings of the time. He was always there though, always at the steps of the teaching places that were much like early churches.

Can you imagine waiting all of those years for something special? I know many can because some have waited for a husband, a wife, a child, a good job, better pay, or the list can go on and on. Yet, here was Simeon waiting for a person he knew was going to provide salvation for the world. Did he expect a king? Was he waiting for a grown man? How would he know who the messiah was if he ever did see him?

Simeon had a faith and a relationship with God that is worth observing. He simply knew that God would make things clear to him if he ever did get to see Jesus. He had a great relationship with God, had prayed, and heard from God that he would eventually see Jesus. This tells us something about this mans relationship with God. We will never know about the things God has promised us if we don’t read the Bible and talk to him. Of course, a part of talking to God is learning to listen to God.

Simeon believed that God would do what he said. So many times we read what is in the Bible, see what God has promised but then go on and act like he doesn’t mean what he said. While we may sometimes take things wrong, it should encourage us to read study and try to understand what God promises. If what we are thinking doesn’t work the way we think it should, it is likely we are thinking the wrong thing; we have to be willing to change our opinions at times. God will keep his word for us, just like he did Simeon.

God honored his promise to Simeon; he will honor his promises to us. In those promises, we have to accept the good with the bad. We should be willing to express our gratitude not just for the big things we see God do, but also the little things. Of course God gave Simeon a big thing, and he was patient for many years. Hopefully we will be patient to experience the good things God has for us.

Thought for the day: God will give us his promises when it is best for us to receive them. Thankfully He is in control and knows not only what I need, but when I need it.

The following video talks about God's Time. It is a video featuring the Robbie Seay Band and the song is Eternal God. Just click on the video, if the video don't appear, click on the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqRg-rZnwVA


Click Here to Go to The Virtual Pew Daily Verse and Read The Bible in a Year Passages

Click here for booking information to have Pastor Mike come speak or perform, from speaking to music or magic, something for all groups.

Click to visit with Pastor Mike regarding any of your needs. He will respond to each request personally, and if need be refer you to one of our other pastors.

Click to visit and join the new group The Virtual Pew, at MySpace. Become a part of a different kind of Christian group, check out the page for more information,all welcome, including those who are not followers of Jesus.

Click to visit the Virtual Pew Website and become a part of that ministry.

Click to subscribe to my blog

Click to visit and join our sister group at MySpace Hollywood Jesus.

Now for those that do not know, make sure you check out the numerous articles and blogs by checking out the archives. If visiting The Virtual Pew or MySpace they are archived on the left hand side of the page. Scroll down to where you see newer or older listed under archives and then click there. There are hundreds of postings so make sure to check out the archives. You can also contact me for a free e-book pre edit version of The Keystone Kid at mike@thevirtualpew.comYou can visit http://www.thevirtualpew.com/ and on the front page down on the left side you sill see our store. Your purchase provides needed funds to The Virtual Pew. If you do not see something to purchase you can click on the search engine, (do not put anything in the search box at this time). You will be taken to Amazon where you can search for anything you desire. Hopefully you will consider a gift to The Virtual Pew.

Now I get asked this quite often, Can we repost your blogs or articles? The short answer to that is, what an honor that you would ask, and by all means, spread the word.Here is our contact information

The Virtual Pew
P.O. Box 17731
Wichita, KS 67217

Click on the following links to learn more about The Virtual Pew

Donations to The Virtual Pew

http://www.furches.org/donations/index.html

The Virtual Pew

The Virtual Pew Blog

Personal Furches Web Site

Mike Furches MySpace Page

Mike Furches MySpace Blog

Hollywood Jesus

Reviews With Mike

The Virtual Pew Sermons

The Virtual Pew News

MySpace Hollywood Jesus Group

MySpace The Virtual Pew Group

The Virtual Pew Live Radio Web Page

To Subscribe to The Virtual Pew Live Feed

Phone Number to Call During The Virtual Pew Live Show, (Please never call prior to the start of the show) - (646) 716-8587

Phone Number to Call During The HJ Live Show, (Please never call prior to the start of the show) - (646) 716-8853

To Subscribe to The Virtual Pew Live Feed -http://www.blogtalkradio.com/feeds/thevirtualpew

To Subscribe to HJ Live Live Feed –http://www.blogtalkradio.com/feeds/hollywoodjesus