ANNA ' S CHRISTMAS
December 2016
ANNA ' S CHRISTMAS
JerishaMelbin, Missionary, BYM
“ Christmas time is here. Can ' t you feel it in the air?” The very thought of Christmas brings to life many characters from the Bible. However, there are a few characters who are forgotten and one such character is Anna.
We read about her in Luke ' s gospel 2:36-38. Just three verses! But, she has a lot to tell us!
Let ' s look at the background. She lived during the so called“ Years of Silence”, when Yehovah hardly communicated to His chosen people- Israel. Besides, it was a time of political unrest. They were under the Roman rule. Their precious possession, the Ark of the Covenant, was gone. Even her own family life did not make much sense. She had lived with her husband for only seven years. We do not know whether she had any children. The climate was so bleak and would have seemed fit to ask,“ Was there a God in Israel?”
Yet, in such a dreary situation she was a prophetess! She was fasting and praying and worshipping day and night! Her only aim was to witness the redemption of Jerusalem. We do not know for how long she waited. I believe she would have spent at least 50 years in widowhood. Adversity made her better, not bitter. She waited. Probably with a group of like-minded intercessors, whom she had encouraged to keep their lights shining. God saw her heart and granted her heart ' s desire- she saw the redemption of Jerusalem- Jesus Christ as an eight days old baby. She praised God and proclaimed the Good News to all those who were awaiting it.
father ' s name, Phanuel meant face of God) and shared the ' happiness ' to others( meaning of Asher, her tribe).
Indeed Anna has seen and shown the King of kings and the Bread of life. It was the first Christmas for Anna and it was really a blessing to herself and others.
How about us? Is our situation in life so grave as hers? We do have our own personal and family burdens. There is so much of chaos in the world we live in. What is our role? As we gear up to celebrate the First Coming of Christ what have we done to pave the way for the Second? Prophets are partly revivalists. They analyse the current situation, tell the people how God views the situation and initiate change. BYM envisions revival. If we have not received the spark of Revival during these past 11 months, shall we plead unto Him for an outpour in this last month of ' The Year of Holy Spirit Revival '? Shall we make this Christmas, a season of blessing to everyone? Have a Blessed Christmas!
Anna,( which means ' grace ') saw the ' face of God '( her
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