BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

God’s Plan Is Action Over the years, we’ve heard many messages preached from Luke, Chapter 2 about Jesus’ miraculous birth. But through that introduction, the Holy Spirit showed me there’s more to Jesus’ birth than we realize. It’s not only about what happened over 2,000 years ago; it’s also about what’s still happening today. God set events in motion back then, and He’s still doing it. In Luke 2, we see God’s plan of Redemption in action. Redemption was set in motion the moment Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden. Jesus’ birth was one of the most important parts of that plan. Psalm 139:16, "New Living Translation," says, “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” Jesus’ birth came at the perfect time in history. God’s timing is everything. But here’s the crux: God’s timing wasn’t just perfect for Joseph and Mary. His timing is perfect for you and me, and everyone else. Jesus had a destiny—a destiny to get God’s people back, to restore and recover what the devil had stolen. But He wasn’t the only person with a destiny. You have a destiny. I have a destiny. Every person on this planet has a destiny, and we’re in the midst of walking that destiny out. God’s Plan Maneuvers Luke 2:1-4 says, “In those days it occurred that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole Roman empire should be registered. This was the first enrollment, and it was made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all the people were going to be registered, each to his own city or town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the town of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David” ("Amplified Bible, Classic Edition"). Notice how the Spirit of God maneuvered Joseph and Mary so that Jesus’ birth could fulfill prophecy. He maneuvered them to be in the right place at the right time. The same is true for us. God gets us where we need to be—where He needs for us to be—to fulfill His plan for our lives. Terri and I experienced this in our courtship. It took the maneuvering of God for a southerner like Terri to marry a northerner like me. I’m four years older than Terri. I was already in college when she was still in high school. We didn’t know each other. Then, she was only a prayer: “LORD, a wife. A wife.” But The LORD maneuvered us to be in the right place at the right time for us to meet, and eventually marry. I’d attended art school for two years, and then left for two years. That’s when The LORD put it in my heart to go to Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla., where Terri and I met. He waited for Terri to graduate from high school and come to Tulsa, and for me to leave the East Coast to go there. It’s amazing how The LORD works—how He maneuvers. God’s Plan Is Purposeful Nothing in God’s plan of Redemption was by accident. God used a tax system to get Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem. Back then, the process required every man to go back to their point of origin, so that’s what Joseph did. He was of the house of David, so they had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem, a trip of about 67 miles. They arrived right on time for Jesus to be born in the place where it was prophesied He would be born. In the same way, you and I are always in the places we need to be. Each of us is traveling on our journey together, and we show up at the right times, at the right places, doing the right things. The Holy Spirit leads us just as He was leading Joseph. 24 : BVOV

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