Written (ADVENT-URE 15: Zacharias' Writing Tablet)

Jesus has come to establish a new covenant, a new relationship with God, a new mode of operation, through which fallen humanity can come before our Heavenly Father, because Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, removed the barriers through His death and resurrection.  In Jeremiah 31, we read:
31 "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah--
32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord.
33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

At Christmas, we can reflect on what is written on our hearts.  Jesus has come so that we might know Him and be brought back into fellowship with God, and He calls us to grow in that relationship.  If we allow the idle philosophies of this world to govern our hearts and minds, then we do not experience the fullness of the Christian life that He intends.  But, if we allow the Word to take preeminence in our consciousness, then we can know God better, hear from Him, and walk in obedience.

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The father of John the Baptist learned an important lesson about not believing a word sent from God. You see, according to the 1st chapter of Luke, the angel Gabriel appeared to a man named Zacharias. The message included a number of points; among them: his wife would give birth to a son, he was to be named John, many would rejoice at his birth, he would be filled with the Holy Spirit, turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, and go in the "spirit and power of Elijah."

You would think that this local priest would be thrilled at such an announcement.  Actually, the response was seemingly less-than-appreciative...picking up in verse 18:
18 And Zacharias said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years."
19 And the angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings.
20 But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time."

Uh-oh. And, it appears that Zacharias faced this affliction for some time, for a few months, until the child was born, and he remembered what the angel had said to him.
59 So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias.
60 His mother answered and said, "No; he shall be called John."
61 But they said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name."
62 So they made signs to his father--what he would have him called.
63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, "His name is John." So they all marveled.
64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God.

The words he then spoke were very powerful, proclaiming the salvation that was to come through Jesus.

The moral of the story: when God sends you a message, believe it.  That sounds very simple, but we have to recognize that the Lord has spoken and continues to speak to His people.  We can choose to follow our own whims and desires, which will get us into trouble, or we can affirm what He has said and apply His truth to our lives.  Zacharias took his tablet and put himself in alignment with what Gabriel had said; and this can challenge us to embrace Jesus, the Word Who became flesh, the way, the truth, and the life.

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There is new research out of Canada that shows that the degree to which a church congregation believes the Word of God can determine how it grows numerically.  According to a piece on the website, Faithwire.com:

A new five-year study of Canadian churches has found a deep tie between theological conservatism and congregational growth — research that is sure to capture quite a bit of attention, considering the ongoing debate over Bible interpretation.

David Haskell, a professor at Wilfrid Laurier University and the lead researcher, told The Guardian, 
“If we are talking solely about what belief system is more likely to lead to numerical growth among Protestant churches, the evidence suggests conservative Protestant theology is the clear winner,” adding, “(Growing churches) held more firmly to the traditional beliefs of Christianity and were more diligent in things like prayer and Bible reading.”

The Guardian also reported: “Ninety-three percent of clergy and 83 percent of worshippers from growing churches agreed with the statement ‘Jesus rose from the dead with a real flesh-and-blood body leaving behind an empty tomb,'” adding, “This compared with 67 percent of worshippers and 56 percent of clergy from declining churches.”

Regarding reading the Bible, 71 percent of preachers from growing churches said that they read it daily, but only 19 percent from declining churches did.   In the congregations of growing churches, 46 percent read the Bible weekly, with just 26 percent of those at declining churches doing the same.

This is interesting material which can cause us to think about the importance of spiritual growth.  It also flies in the face of those who would embrace a philosophy that would say you need to compromise the message in order to attract people.  I believe that truth wins, and people can be won to embrace Biblical truth as the result of the selfless proclamation of it.

We can also examine what is written on the tablets of our hearts.  Do we dwell more on the ideas and ideals of the world, or are our thoughts controlled by and conforming to principles of the Scriptures?  Zacharias doubted the message sent by God and faced the consequences - those consequences were reversed when he wrote what the angel had said.  We must make sure that we are in line with God's truth.  And, don't miss that disobedience yielded trouble; obedience yielded deliverance.  If we are facing difficulties in our own lives, one reason, not the only reason, might be that we are walking outside of God's will.  We can ask the Holy Spirit to search our hearts and illuminate what is inside and to instruct us where we have missed the mark, so we can repent and get back on track.