Buy Back the Baby!

Luke 2: 23 (As it is written in the law of the Lord , Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) 24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

According to the Bible, we are to buy back our baby boys, which are first born, from the Lord.  And the way that this was done in BC times was the parents took their child to the temple with a gift, and the gift was established according to the parents
ability to pay.  For Mary and Joseph they took two turtle doves, or two pigeons.

Just as an aside do you remember the song "The Twelve days of Christmas?"  One of the gifts is two turtle doves.

This first picture is of my son Samuel at about two days old, and now in our time, AD, we now participate in Baby Dedication.   This is our way as parents to promise our Savior that we will rear our child in the ways of the Lord.  And the congregation of the church is to also help to do this.

This picture is of little Levi on the day of his dedication, right at the moment that these pictures were being taken, he wasn't the happiest of campers, he wanted some private time with his mommy.  This little child is in the process of being raised in the admonition of the Lord.  It is our job as parents to do this. 

This is what we are told by the Bible to do.  Is your life difficult at the moment?  Well perhaps you need to be walking more closely with the Lord.  I have found over the years that when I have strayed from the path that I know I should be on, my life in general seems to go down hill and sometimes it has been at an accelerated pace.  Not fun!  But when I came back to the Lord and walk in the direction that He wants me to go and I abide by His rules, rather than by my rules....ah life get's so much better.  Hm...I just got a little message..."Thank you Kirsten!" Yes I do believe that my Father in heaven speaks to me...remember this is my red letter version.  Now I do believe that God has told me Thank You for reinforcing this information to all of you. 

Our God is so good, and the way that we can see this is by living as He would have us to live.  When we live according to the ways that the Lord would have us to live our life can be so sweet.

This is some of my grandchildren, blowing out the candle as we celebrated Jesus' birthday.  I think they look happy and as thought they are enjoying themselves.  Don't you think so?



These children's parents sometimes comment on how their children don't listen,  I don't know, they always listen to their Pap and me whenever they are at our house...Do you or have you ever considered why this is that children frequently listen better to others rather than to their parents?  I will tell you in all honestly that there have been times I would like to say. let us handle this, and you all just sit back and enjoy your brothers and sisters in law and Pap and I will deal with the children.  Haven't done this yet, I am not 100% sure how this would go over...Have to think upon this...

And while I do.  Try to find someone to bless today,  I am going to not only try, but I am going to do!







These verses are often overlooked in the Christmas story, but they say so much about Mary, Joseph and Jesus. Mary and Joseph were followers of the Law, the teaching found in Genesis through Deuteronomy, so they brought their newborn son to the temple. Jesus was about six weeks old, and it was time for him to be consecrated to the Lord. Every firstborn male, according to Jewish law, belonged to God. A baby was consecrated at the temple, an act of dedication to God. The parents would then offer their sacrifice to "buy the baby back."
Scripture says that Jesus was "bought" with a pair of doves or two young pigeons. The price was based on a family's ability to pay-so we know that Mary and Joseph were considered poor, otherwise the price would have been a larger animal.
We no longer live under the requirements of the Old Testament Law. But we should consider this moment in the New Testament Christmas story. Jesus would be raised by parents who were obedient to God. Mary and Joseph took their most valuable possession, their newborn son, and dedicated him to God.
A lot of time is spent each Christmas in choosing, buying and wrapping gifts to give others. What gift will you dedicate to God this Christmas, in honor of his Son? You can follow Mary and Joseph's example. As they consecrated their son to God, you can promise to raise your children with godly priorities.
What gifts would God ask you to bring to his temple this year? Is there a sacrificial gift that he would lead you to give? Pray, consecrate yourself to the Lord and, in obedience to his call, offer him your gifts, "for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7).