“Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” –Luke 1:45
Mary was the chosen vessel to nurture the Messiah.
Elizabeth was told of the place her son (John the Baptist, *see
Luke 1:5-25, 57-80) would hold in the divine economy.
Each accepted her role and that of her son with humble obedience. Though different in
age and in season of life, Mary and Elizabeth were the same in their commitment, which prompted each to offer herself to
the Savior.
It’s important to note the scripture here. Mary went to the
house of Zacharias to greet Elizabeth. As soon as the voice of Mary was heard,
John leaped for joy in the womb of
his mother, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit (v.40-41 & 44).
We see Mary respond with a hymn of praise, known as the Magnificat. It spoke of the deliverance
of Israel, both spiritual and physical; but it also told of the illumination
that would come to the Gentiles.
Her song in Luke (chapter 1, verses 46-55) was made up of
bits and pieces of a bunch of different Psalms. Some suggest that the literary
masterpiece could not come from a young peasant girl. However, such conjecture
dismisses divine inspiration, which by definition surpasses human ability and
giftedness. Divine inspiration is able to place a heavenly message in an
earthly vessel. I believe it’s safe to say, Mary knew her bible… in the very
least. The angel, Gabriel, called her highly
favored one (v. 28). Let us read Mary’s song:
“And Mary said:
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in
God my Savior.
For He has regarded the lowly
state of His
maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all
generations will
call me
blessed.
For He who is mighty has done
great things for
me,
And holy is His
name.
And His mercy is
on those who
fear Him.
From generation to generation
He has shown strength with His
arm;
He has scattered the proud
in the imagination
of their
hearts.
He has put down the mighty
from their
thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
He has filled the
hungry with
good things,
And the rich He
has sent away
empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His
mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed
forever.’
Mary actually described herself as the maidservant (Greek word is doules, “female servant”) of the Lord. There is no hint of an
oppressive bondage imposed by another but rather a self-determined submission
to the will of God.
Pastor John’s words from today’s sermon:
“The angel shows up and says to Mary, ‘Hey, God loves you and favors you and wants to do something amazing in
your life.’ But it’s troubling, challenging, costly and potentially painful
for Mary. So, she engages with God. One
commentary explains it like this…Mary did not submit to the will of God, rather
Mary surrendered to the totality of her
being, engaging the will of God… She
says a well-considered “yes” to what God is doing.”
{Yes, God is always doing.
Never resting. Omnipresent. God does not force or impose, but He stirs and
invites. He wants to do something amazing in your life! I wish I could grab
each of you by the hand and look into your eyes and tell you personally,
because it’s YOU who He loves and favors. Maybe someday I can. Someday, like
Mary and Elizabeth, maybe our paths will cross.}
This Christmas is one I shall always remember.
How could I forget God’s lovingkindness?
This season is why we can live free. The birth of Jesus
Christ, His death and resurrection-it's what's saved humanity for all eternity.
But we have a choice to accept or reject the invitation.
Jesus has saved my life forever!
…He calls me out beyond the shore into the waves. And it’s
His love- wave after wave- that crashes all over me! I have been washed by the water! A couple posts back I wrote about
Faith and where the journey with God takes us. Since then, He has yet again,
revealed more and more to my spirit. I use the words in Mary’s song for
personal shouts of praise to my Heavenly Father.
Saying “yes” whole-heartedly
to God started near the beginning of this year for me. As I have mentioned in a
previous post, it took God’s wisdom to acknowledge the idols I had placed
before Him in my life and His strength to deny myself and my selfish desires. This
is my testimony:
February 21st is when He spoke through one of my
good friends. “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know
after this.” (John 13:7) His word couldn’t have been any more true to me at
that moment. No, Lord. I do not know what
You are doing. I don’t understand it. Why am I having to walk away from
something that makes me “happy”? Although immature, I was still responding
to the will of God, progressing in
my spritual maturity and walk with the Lord. I decided to remove the idol,
which happened to be the gym (for me at the time), from my life until God made
me whole in that area.
A little over a month later, I remember God speaking to me
again through His word concerning the same matter because I still didn’t
understand His purpose. I had been running and exercising outside, doing things
in nature. On this day, April 1st, God gave me comfort through
Isaiah 43:19-20: “Behold, I will do a
new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a
road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The beast of the field
will honor Me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink
to My people, My chosen.” I had just gotten done with a run at Stone
Mountain and packed a bag for afterwards to study out in the warm, sunny spring
day. I parked my toosh on a rock facing a lake with the mountain behind it. The
scenery couldn’t have been any more true to the analogy that God was about to
speak to my spirit. “…now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it?” Actually, God, I do not know it, no. But I know that it is good and I trust that you are, in
fact, doing a new thing! That day brought me hope for what He had already begun.
Like Mary, I too was surrendering to the totality of my being. It was the
acknowledgment of my idols and sin that was leading me to repentance and a life
completely dependent on the fullness of God’s love. I didn’t walk away from
those things because I thought it would make God love me more. No. He loved me
first. That’s the whole message of the gospel. That’s the reason for the
season… for Christmas!
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the
world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:16-17)
“If we think God’s love is simply a barrage of mandates
reigning down from On High, then we don’t know God the way Mary knows God”
–Pastor John
AMEN!
“…the world through Him might
be saved.” We have a choice. The invitation to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord
and Savior is not exclusive to Christians, but to all of His creation. You and
me, sinners. You and me, male and female, You and me, differing in race. But
it’s you and me, who are loved equally by God who calls us to be set-apart
Christians. Devoted Christians. Not half-way in the water, but fully immersed and
sanctified by the truth that God is love. We just have to choose! Choose to
dive in!
Change is difficult and challenging; it can be costly and
painful, and it can be lonely. I can only imagine being in Mary’s shoes perhaps
feeling burdensome or fearful of such great news. In her day, a woman who was
pregnant, or had sex out of wedlock was stoned (see Deut. 22). However, we don’t know for
certain how often and how regularly that happened. So with that in mind, and
the fact that she was a virgin, How could
this be true? (she asked the angel, v.34). We may ask the same question
regarding Mary’s story and even our own, but great faith defies all logic.
Satan whispered lies to try and real me back in. He works
through the world, you know. Through commercial ads, through pop-culture music,
through media…telling us that we are not good enough, tempting us back into our
old ways so we can feel accepted by the rest of society. All of that is garbage
and a tool used by the enemy. We are not called to “fit in.” We are not to conform to this world (Romans
12:2). He called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9) Jesus
says it best: “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but
that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as
I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As you
sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their
sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.” (John
17:15-18)
The months proceeding were difficult to say the least. I was
being stripped of my old self and my old ways to follow the Lord, in order to
put on a new self. I felt barren and naked. I felt exposed, wounded and broken.
Maybe not to others in it’s entirety, but to myself and that alone, was enough.
God revealed to me during those months much of my brokenness, and none of it
felt good. I knew that I had to remain faithful. I had to endure and trust that
He would never leave me nor forsake me. I had to believe that His strength
would continue to bring me through;
it would pull me out of the pit that I was headed for. He knew that I had to
learn. He knew that I had to see what it was that He was healing. Otherwise,
how could I bring Him praise? If I am His hands and feet, what story would I
have to offer, personally, to the testimony of Jesus Christ had I not walked
through the fire? Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Because I was working out all the implications from all that
I had said “yes” to, I did feel isolated, in a way, from the rest of “mankind”.
I had to busy myself in Jesus plus
nothing. I am thankful for the friends and family who have stuck with me
and have allowed me this time. To the ones who love me enough to accept this
season of my life, when you could have easily walked out, I thank you for
sticking through and being my praying warriors. You the real MVPs ;)
This is not to bring myself any credit. No. “I am a nobody,
just trying to tell everybody about somebody who can save anybody.” God has
brought everything that is good into my life. But it does take effort. It takes
work. Seeking the Lord is a choice we must willingly make. Becoming His
whole-hearted servant and not just a toes-in-the-water-type-of-Christian.
So I devoted time. TIME!!!! Allotted TIME. I had to MAKE
SPACE in my “oh-so-busy-schedule” to engage with God. Not rushed prayer in
between breakfast and brushing my teeth, but I made it a point to get into His
word daily and wait for His voice. I have to be in tune to the Holy Spirit’s guidance
throughout the day, so I feel there is no other way than to start the day with the Lord."We must exchange whispers with God before shouts with the world."-Lysa Terkeurst
I made it a point to find inspiration and encouragement in bible studies and spiritual readings. I bought prayer journals to write and reflect in. Prayer journals help me so much! I can look back today and marvel at the good work He has done in me! I don’t take His mighty power in you and I lightly! It’s so amazing to bare witness to the love of Jesus Christ.
I made it a point to find inspiration and encouragement in bible studies and spiritual readings. I bought prayer journals to write and reflect in. Prayer journals help me so much! I can look back today and marvel at the good work He has done in me! I don’t take His mighty power in you and I lightly! It’s so amazing to bare witness to the love of Jesus Christ.
The destination to my journey is far far away in the future,
far many years from now, God-willing. I am always evolving and growing. This is
the biggest transformation in my life, as I can see it. I have a true testimony!!
I remember meeting with a lady, whose name shall go
unmentioned. I was sixteen at the time and my mom was looking for a home church
for her, my brother, and me. Every thing about meeting with this lady felt
strange, odd, and uncomfortable. Though she was the youth leader (at the church we were currently visiting), it still felt
random that she wanted to meet with me, but I complied. We met at a mutual
Starbucks. She wanted to hear “my story”. All I had to offer her was how I had
just went through a serious eating disorder. “That’s your testimony?” (she snickered). I felt shamed and wrong
for uttering a deep personal issue with this stranger. I felt that mustering up
enough courage to just even speak, was being spit back into my face. Everything
felt wicked and dark and unloving. At the time I didn’t know the deeper
spiritual battle warring around me. My flesh did not like this woman. I did not
want to give her the power, so I waited to cry until we were no longer face to
face. And if that wasn’t enough for me the bury myself and zip my mouth shut
for the rest of my life, the devil put the icing on the cake when she and I
were departing. I had my very first job interview later that week and I asked her if she would pray for me. She looked at me and said “ok,”
but her body language read “ok, rightttttt.” and she did actually snicker aloud. Though she smiled, my perception
read that she was laughing at me. Maybe I
didn’t have a true testimony then, but I was on my way and the enemy saw it
too. He tried but you already know who won!!!
Just recently, everything has seemed to come together,
that’s why its now that I am sharing!
December 9th, God lead me to Hosea 2:14 & 19-20 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will
bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her. …I will betroth
you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me. In righteousness and justice,
in lovingkindess and mercy; I will
betroth you to me in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord.” So, THAT’S what You were doing, Lord!!? I
did not understand it then, but now I do! You have paved the narrow road in the wilderness, and you have been my
living water. You bring me NEW
LIFE!!! And my heart is content with
Your plan for me. You know the thoughts that you think towards me, thoughts of
peace not of evil. That scripture from Hosea was from a devotional I
receive via email and I decided to check it that day. The very next day, God
once again used Hosea to confirm His purpose/plan and this time He spoke
through my Proverbs 31 online bible study “Unglued” by Lysa Terkeurst. It was
Hosea 10:12 “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy, break up your
fallow ground, for it is time to seek
the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness on you.”
“…break up your fallow ground.”
He was tearing down all the unsteady walls I had built
against Him. I am no carpenter and I was building on a weak foundation. God saw
that and stepped inside the door of my heart and began a day of demolition, so
He could lay a new, strong foundation. Amen, amen, amen!!!
I never worked on my “underbelly.” I stored my mess in the
closets of my heart and swept them under the rugs. I bandaged them with worldly
things. I tried to portray a life of togetherness to the world, but inside I
was crying. Behind closed doors, I was breaking.
“Doing all the tough work on the underbelly will pay off
down the road when I know all the pretty décor is not covering up anything but
rather enhancing the architecture. And this is exactly what the underbelly of
my life looks like. Isn’t this what we do in our personal development and
spiritual lives? We are in such a hurry to look good that we put on the pretty
décor to appear as if we’re all together, but so often we don’t take care of
the underbelly. And, man, this is hard work. Some days it doesn’t seem like
I’ve gotten much done…I still get offended when someone asks a question in a
way that makes me feel like I’ve failed. I still want to retaliate when someone
hurts me. I still get insecure when I don’t feel comfortable. I still get
jealous when someone else accomplishes the thing I dream of doing, The
underbelly takes tough work that isn’t always immediately visible, but it’s the
foundation to our health- emotionally and spiritually. (1)” –Jenny Catron
After He had already used more than just a few verses in
Hosea, I felt God leading me to read the book of Hosea in its entirety. Had I
not, I would have missed “…’But Me she
forgot,’ says the Lord.” (2:13) and “I
knew you in the wilderness, in the land of great drought. When they had pasture, they were filled;
they were filled and their heart was exalted; therefore they forgot me.”
I forgot You, Lord. I
forgot You. Oh, the sadness my soul did feel reading over that truth. Oh
the tears I wept for forgiveness. When I had “pasture,” (i.e. worldly
acceptance and validation) I was “filled.” This idea of fullness conveys the
sense of complacency, leading to a false sense of self-reliance so that my
heart was exalted. Therefore, I forgot Him. I
am so sorry, Lord. I was the promiscuous Gomer. I was a selfish harlot in
my own way. But God shows compassionate and unconditional love for His people
and His anger at our disobedience. Gomer’s life also illustrates the depth of
God’s forgiveness and restoration. The Lord told the prophet, Hosea, to marry
Gomer- the wife of harlotry and adulteress- and redeem her as a picture of His
relationship with His people. How amazing!
I do pray that God will use His story and work in me to help
you have faith to say “yes”, or to help you trust your “yes”, or to give you
hope in the blessings of His promises because of your decision to say “yes.”
Like Mary and Elizabeth, we can rejoice in His goodness and
lovingkindess, in His blessings and the miraculous power of His love. We can
have peace because the ultimate sacrifice has saved our souls, “that if you
confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has
raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
“For with God, nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37)
“The Lord is good
to those who wait for Him, to the soul who
seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the
salvation of the Lord. It is good for
a man to bear the yoke in his youth.” (Lamentations 3:25-27)
I encourage you to lay the foundation in your singleness and
while you are young (also see Proverbs 3). I so strongly want God to break the
curse of divorce that runs in my family. Being a child of divorced parents, God
has made me passionate about the way He views love and marriage and has changed
my misconceptions my former self had me believing. Thank God He came through.
I’ll save that for another blog post, perhaps. Anyway, my brokenness from that,
was revealed over a decade later, because that’s when I finally decided to allow
God in and mend me.
I could seriously go on and on. But I'll have time, if God allows
me to share more and more. And quite honestly, It’s too late to have a fifth cup
of coffee… that’s a lie, a third. Just two today, y’all!
Until next time,
I pray “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;
that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all
the saints what is the width and
depth and height- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you
may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
MUCH LOVE and Merry Christmas!! It’s not too late to say “yes”
to God and experience Jesus in a fresh way this season!
“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; and
the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah
9:6)
xoxoxox
Notes:
(1) From Jenny Catron’s blog “Leading in Shades of Grey.”
This post titled “The Underbelly”
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