"The Joy of the
Lord is my strength". (Neh 8:10c)
Hey Gang:
Joy is such a little word but when combined under the power and anointing
of the Holy Spirit, brings strength, freedom and vitality to the
receiver. The opposite of joy is sadness, which brings darkness into our
lives. In the Christmas narrative we find Mary radiated this joy
when she cried out, "My soul exults in the Lord and my spirit has
rejoiced in God my Savior."(Luke 1:47-48). As we approach the
celebration of the coming of our Lord, does your soul exult greatly in the
Lord?
Can you imagine how
Mary must have felt when the angel declared she would be with child from the
Holy Spirit and bring forth the Messiah? Wow! Keep in mind that is the
dream and prayer of every Jewish momma in Israel - that through their body
would come the long awaited Messiah -. a dream that persists today in the
Orthodox community. Notice that the first words from the angel to Mary, "Do
not be afraid", are the same ones that Jesus used throughout His
ministry, each time he saw the heart of his sheep in anxiety and fear,
This passage sets the
stage for giving us confidence that something good will happen in our
lives today and every day - but we must separate the wheat from the chaff.
Mary's words of
exultation and anticipation are for the humble of heart. In other words
Mary was nothing special, except she had a pure heart and was highly esteemed
in the eyes of God. But there was a profound difference between Mary and the
average young maiden on the street, she was willing! Being used as a
servant of God requires a willing heart.
Yes, she was nothing
special, just an ordinary teenager, betrothed to a fine Jewish man; she
probably spent much of her waking hours planning for the home that she would
share with her Joseph. But this we do know, God would only choose
one who was pure in every way to carry the Son of God in her body for nine
months and then bring Him forth into the world. She was a virgin,
untouched by man and "Highly Favored" by Abba Father.
As I thought of this I
wondered if it is possible to be highly favored today. I do not find the
phrase "Highly Favored" pertaining to any person besides Mary
in the Bible. But I wonder if John the Baptist, Elijah, and Enoch and
others were not "Highly esteemed” in the eyes of God. Daniel
found favor with the Lord, David was a man after God's own heart and Noah found
favor in the eyes of the Lord.
Can you or I be
"highly esteemed" in the sight of Lord? I think
yes! Is that not what the coming of the Lord is all about, that God
so loved each of us that He sent Jesus, Yeshua Hamashiah, His only begotten
Son, who would take all of those sins that are laid are His feet with contrite
hearts that we might be freed from the bondage of sin. Does that not mean
I am highly favored when I am obedient to the calling of God and lay down my
life as my gift to Him? But no more "highly favored" than
any other who falls on their knees in confession, repentance and becoming
obedient to our Heavenly Father.
Soooo, young lads and
lassies, I think need to ponder this question "can we be highly favored'?
so I will close this and retreat to my
closet and perhaps finish it in the next morning thought.
Blessings,
Gramps
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