“His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.” Luke 1:50-55
Yesterday I wrote about Mary’s praise for God’s preserving character, but today I want to focus on her praise for God’s mercy. She knew God to be merciful, why? She had seen Him show mercy on those who love and worship Him. She had seen God’s mercy in her people’s history and in her own.
What does it mean that God is merciful? God in His mercy does not give us what our sins deserve. He limits the extent of pain. He restrains evil and holds back sin. He makes His gospel known in places where people have turned their backs on Him. God seeks those who are lost, alone, hurting and in need. He forgives and restores those who repent and turn to Him in faith.
Mary knew that due to their sins in the past- worshiping other gods, idolatry, the people of Israel should have been abandoned by God in the desert, in Babylon, to their enemies, BUT God in His mercy saved them. She knew that because of their rejection of Him- they should have been overpowered, taken captives and scattered throughout the world, BUT God in His mercy brought them back, kept them as one people returning them from Egypt and Babylon. Mary knew that God is merciful to the individuals who love and revere Him- David as he fled from King Saul’s persecution, Daniel who survived the Lion’s Den, Joseph who survived being taken captive, imprisoned, wrongfully treated and then elevated to a high position so he could save his brothers, and herself. She knew God was merciful to her by allowing her to be the mother of the coming Messiah, for choosing her, protecting and keeping her safe in a culture that would have rejected and mistreated her. Her love for God and her thankfulness for His unending mercies shouts to us today.
How have you experienced God’s mercy? Has He found you when you were lost spiritually, been with you when you were alone, or come to you when you were hurting from worldly circumstances? Definitely if you know Jesus as your Savior, you have experienced the mercy of forgiveness and restoration, salvation and the hope it brings. What mercy can you thank God for this Christmas season? One of my favorite promises is Lamentations 3:21-23 “Yet this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” I know and trust that God in His mercy will renew me each morning and give me a fresh new day. God is merciful, loving and faithful to me. Mary knew this, do you?
Thankful for God’s mercies to me,
Linda
Here is a quote I found that really spoke to me. This truth gives me great reason to Praise Him along with Mary for His great Mercy.
How have you seen this to be true this season of thanksgiving? Is your mindset towards thanks contagious? “How we thank God for you! Because of you we have great joy as we enter God’s presence.” 1 Thessalonians 1:9 Paul felt that the thanks he had for his fellow believers, for their faith and love for God, caused him to rejoice. He saw God working in their lives and this brought joy and thankfulness to his own worship. I would call that contagious thanks. Have you ever been thankful for someone or something and it caused you to give thanks to God? As we live our lives, we need to look for those things that God gives us that create ‘contagious thanks’ within our hearts. As we give thanks to Him in these situations, God will faithfully create in us a thanks that will be contagious and will result in our being in a constant state of thankfulness and joy. Paul left the Thessalonians with these words in 5:16-18 “
Develop that attitude of gratitude and watch it grow in your own life and then watch it rub off into the lives of those around you.
I was thinking this morning about the designation ‘Black Friday’. It seems that since the 1950’s the day after Thanksgiving has been called ‘Black Friday’. It began as a term to describe the crowds, like the street was black with pedestrians. It then became a day to retailers signifying when they began to turn a profit and moved from the ‘red’ into the ‘black’ as the volume of their sales increased. In the Bible the blackest Friday would be the day of the crucifixion. It was the day when the skies turned black and darkness covered the land. “
sin and death. An angel spoke to them when they got there,
in communion with Him and have our sin’s forgiven. We are free to live a life in Christ that is pleasing to God and that is free from the penalty of death brought on by sin. That Black Friday was the best one in history for you and me.
Who is God to you? To King David He was a personal God, one who saved, loved, protected, helped, restored,cared for and directed him throughout his life. In Psalm 118:28-29 David desires to give thanks to his God.
Make God personal today and move into a relationship with Him. 1 John 1:9 tells us how to know Jesus- “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Make this your first Thanksgiving with Him- ask for His forgiveness for the sins you’ve committed. You know the words you’ve used to hurt others, your selfishness, your unkind actions… the list for all of us goes on and on as this is the sin nature we were born with. Put a stop to this circle of sinning and invite Jesus into your life. Like David, you will have a personal relationship with God. That relationship is worthy of all our thanks and praise to Jesus who made it possible. Knowing Jesus will change your life! Praise and thank Him this Thanksgiving for this new life. If you know Jesus, thank Him today for His marvelous grace and forgiveness.
the den of lions.
What about you? What stops you from praying daily? Our obstacles could not be any bigger than death by lions, but we let them rob us of our prayer time and take away our opportunities to give thanks and praise Almighty God. Will you mediate on this today and ask God to reveal to you what is taking preeminence in your life that keeps you from regular prayer? Confess it to Him and start praying regularly with praise and thanksgiving.
at the last day.” Jesus’ reply to her is life changing. “
This I AM statement by Jesus gives the believer hope in the future as we know our eternity will be with Jesus. It also gives assurance that belief in Jesus and His resurrection power will one day bring us to Him. Do you believe, like Martha, that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world, the Son of God? That belief was life changing for Mary, Martha and Lazarus and is for us too. Today, ponder the hope you have in the resurrected Christ and the assurance you have of eternity with Him. Be encouraged.
As we ponder the significance of 9/11 today, what comes to your mind? This is the 19th year anniversary of that tragic attack on the twin towers in NY and the Pentagon. Many of those alive today have no memory of that horrific day and those terrifying events. The same could be said for December 7th and the attack on Pearl Harbor. Both bring extreme sadness at the unnecessary loss of innocent lives, the aftermath of the events and their impact on families, the nation and our way of life. A great sense of invasion and insecurity looms in my mind.
Many translations use the word gate instead of door, but the sheep pen used by shepherds was a rock enclosure with only 1 gate or door into the pen. They would sleep at the door preventing anyone or thing from entering and harming their sheep. This is a wonderful picture of Jesus as our protector or guardian of our safety. One we are in his ‘pen’ no one or nothing can ever take us away from Him.
from our sin-filled state of being, Romans 5:8-9 “
God refers to himself as Creator
eloquently, “
