Luke 1:46-55 is called the Magnificat and is Mary’s confession of praise to God.  Think of this young girl,  chosen to be the mother of Jesus, and her amazing faith in God.  She knew who God was and what He can do.  She knew the character of God and trusted it completely.

⁴⁶ And Mary said:

The angel Gabriel told Mary in Luke 1:36 that her cousin Elizabeth was pregnant in her old age- an impossible miracle of God.  A few days after hearing what God had planned for her future, Mary went to see Elizabeth.  ^“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!   But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?   As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.   Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”  Luke 1:41-45

Elizabeth greets Mary with a sense of wonder and awe that she was blessed to be chosen of God to bear the Messiah.  She proclaims her faith in God and revels in the expectation of what God will do within Mary.    Her expectation is affirmed by her own baby leaping within her.

When was the last time you were filled with expectation for God?  Do you pray expecting God to answer?  Do you anticipate with joy the things God will do?  Hebrews 11:1 tells us “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”   Elizabeth was sure that God could and would accomplish His purpose and that Mary would be blessed for her obedience.  Seek to capture some of Elizabeth’s joy and conviction in your life today.  Know that God’s will will be accomplished in your life and that He cares for you.  Cling to Jeremiah 29:11  For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.   God has good things, a purpose and plan for you just as He did for Mary and Elizabeth.  With faith, Trust Him in expectation today.

Seeking to walk with expectation and hope,

Linda

I wanted to take another look at Mary’s Obedience today.  We saw from scripture yesterday that Mary’s response to Gabriel’s message was one of wonder, submission and obedience, however, scripture also teaches that God’s response to obedience is blessing.  How was Mary blessed?   Gabriel spoke to Mary and elaborated on her mission.   Luke 1:30-33 “And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,  and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”     She was to be the mother of the long awaited Messiah, the Son of God,  whose kingdom will be forever.  After Mary asked her question as to how this was possible, Gabriel graciously gave her more information to reassure her.  “And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born  will be called holy—the Son of God.   And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.   For nothing will be impossible with God.”  And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (verses 35-38)   She was to be visited by the Holy Spirit,  her child would be the Son of God and her cousin Elizabeth was going to bear a child a child in her old age.  All of these things are impossible for man but possible with God.  

Mary was open to God’s will in her life and willing to trust God with her future.  Her willingness to follow where God was leading caused her to be mightily blessed.  She is revered as the Mother of our Lord and Savior, had the joy of raising Jesus and teaching him in their family, watching him grow and develop into a man of purpose and direction fully obedient to God.    Jesus spoke to his disciples about love and obedience in John 15: 10-11 “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.  These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.  Obedience or doing as God directs  brings fullness of joy into our lives and brings joy to the Lord.  Mary experienced this love and joy in her life because she was obedient to God. 

Can you remember a time when obedience brought blessing into your life?  God wants to shower us with blessing and the fullness of His joy.  It is a promised result of obedience to Him.  Seek God and ask Him what He would have you do, then move forward with an obedient heart.  Watch out!  You will be showered with blessings and great joy!

Striving to walk in obedience to Him,

Linda 

Mary’s lesson to us for today is to choose obedience when confronted with confusion, worry or fear not doubt.  Mary faced the crossroad where doubt and faith meet. The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary about 5 months after appearing to Zechariah. She was a young virgin engaged to marry Joseph.

The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”   Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.  You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,  and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”  Luke 1:29-33  After receiving this troubling message, here is her response, verse 38,  “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” 

Mary could have responded to this troubling news, a reputation killer, with anger, disbelief, worry, criticism of the Lord’s plan or doubt in God’s ability to bring this about.  Zechariah questioned God’s ability in Luke 1:18  “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”  He doubted God and wanted assurance.   Look at Mary’s question to Gabriel in verse 34,  “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”   She knew God was able and just wanted to know how this miracle would be accomplished.  Her answer shows faith in God that seeks to understand God’s way.

Mary shows us how we can question God in faith.  Having doubts or fears is not a problem for God and He will reveal to us His truth.  We may have trouble understanding it with our finite human minds but He will tenderly explain when we show faith and obedience.  Gabriel did explain the situation and God’s power personally to Mary after her question in verses 35-37.  And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born^[d] will be called holy—the Son of God.  And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.  For nothing will be impossible with God.” Mary showed her love and obedience for God in her response to Gabriel’s explanation.  Let us seek to be obedient and accepting of God’s work in our lives- embrace it, love it and walk trusting Him for the results.

Seeking to live like I believe in Him,

Linda 

Our story of Elizabeth and Zechariah continues in Luke 1:11-25.  Zechariah was serving in the temple and the angel Gabriel appeared to him and told him about his coming son, John.  But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.  He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,  for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.  He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.  And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Zechariah’s reaction to the angel had been fear but to his message – it was doubt.  Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”   Gabriel was not pleased and sentenced Zechariah to silence as he awaited the birth of his son because of his unbelief.  The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.  And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”   Zechariah reacted in unbelief instead of remembering the miracles God has performed in the past with godly women like Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel, and  Sarah, the mother of Isaac.

Let’s look at Elizabeth’s reaction to the news.   “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.” Luke 1:25   Elizabeth responds with grace and thanksgiving to the favor God showed her.

What about you?  Do you respond with unbelief when God works a miracle in your life like Zechariah?  Or do you respond with grace by giving thanks and praise to God like Elizabeth?  We know from this story that God desires faith not doubt.  James 1:6 “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”   Zechariah’s disbelief left him literally speechless for months.  God desires that we be strong, grounded in Him and filled with faith,  not wavering in unbelief.  Jesus tells us in Matthew 19:25 how it really is, “ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”    Will you step out in faith this Christmas and respond to Him with grace and thanksgiving in your heart for what He has done in sending Jesus or will you doubt?  The choice is yours and it has eternal results.  Unbelief  will result in eternal separation from God, not just 9 months of silence.  Turn to Him in faith today and be like Elizabeth responding in praise with thanksgiving and grace.  God wants to bless us through our faith- be open and responsive to Him today this first Sunday of Advent.

Linda

This year I want to focus on the characters, people, in the Advent story.  God chose them to show us characteristics of our own character that He wishes to develop in our lives.  Prior to Jesus’ birth, his earthly cousin’s birth was foretold.  He was the man who came to be known as John the Baptist.  His parents were elderly and were of the priestly line.   “When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron.”  Luke 1:5  They had no children as Elizabeth was barren.  Luke 1:6 describes them, “ Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations.”    God chose godly righteous people to be John’s parents.  God wanted John to have training in the Law of Moses and grow with respect and love for Him.  Zachariah and Elizabeth carefully obeyed God’s laws and sought to please Him in all they did.  God knew they would train young John in the same way.   Being righteous means to be in right standing with God, virtuous.

What about you? Would God choose you for a special project because he needed someone who was righteous?  How do we become righteous?  Jesus told the crowds in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”   Jesus told us to seek His righteousness first.  Romans 3:22 tells us “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”  Through faith in Jesus is how we obtain right standing (righteousness) before God.  The method of righteousness that Zachariah and Elizabeth used to attain righteousness was by keeping the Law.  That way no longer applies to us as Christ provided a better way thought faith in His death and resurrection.  Philippians 3:9 “and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—”   Do you have righteousness that comes through faith in Christ?  God wanted to use righteous Zachariah and Elizabeth.  We must have saving faith the brings God’s righteousness to us, then God will use us for His purposes and our good.  Know Jesus today- it is a good way to start the season, wearing His righteousness.   Show others the righteousness of Christ in all you do.  That is the project He has for each one of us.

Linda

Today is the official beginning of the Advent season.  Is this day special to you?  I have several reasons for loving this day.  First, my daughter arrived from Korea on this day many years ago.  I instantly became a mother and sought to bond with this child I had so desperately wanted.  I had loved her before I met her, loved the idea of her, but having her with me in the flesh was amazing and so fulfilling while scary and fun all at the same time. Second, as I opened my self to writing for the Lord this day launches me into thinking daily about Jesus’ arrival, his sacrifice, the beauty, majesty and miracle of His arrival and how His arrival has changed the world.  Advent is so much more to me now and I count the days until Christmas with greater expectation.  I pray these blogs will help draw you closer to Him this season.

Jesus was speaking to a crowd and saw the weariness in their hearts.  He wanted to encourage and reassure them that He could satisfy their needs and give them rest for their souls.  Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (NLT)    Jesus is calling us today to come to Him, find strength, comfort, inspiration, direction, purpose and a pathway to righteousness.  He wants to teach us through His Word and walk beside us to lighten our burdens.  Will you join me in drawing nearer to the Lord Jesus this Advent Season and seek to see that He is calling us to that place of rest too?  He bids us COME to Him.    He desires us to Come to Him this season.  Are you willing? 

Linda