Reflections on Mary, the Mother of Jesus
“My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For He hath regarded the low estate of His handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is His name. And His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with His arm; He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich He hath sent empty away. He hath helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy; As He spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to His seed for ever” (Luke 1:46-55).
No wonder God loved Mary and chose her to be the mother of Jesus. Her quickness to testify of His goodness and to recognize this blessing as His mercy instead of her own Godliness must have been the perfect assurance that she truly was the best person to raise this sinless boy. Although at first she was startled and disbelieving, she quickly hit a point of surrender. “Be it unto me according to your word,” she said (Luke 1:38). Then she began to prepare herself to give birth to the Messiah.
I can’t imagine the thrill and fear that must have taken place simultaneously but she went on to fulfill God’s purposes and God gave her the grace she needed even when it came to watching her son die. If I could choose a lady to be like, Mary would probably be at the top of that list. What grace and unwavering faith. What an example to the rest of us!
The Blessing of a Hug
One thing I’ve discovered is that you can’t receive a hug without giving one in return. Well, I suppose you COULD but generally the tendency is to give one back in love and gratitude. A hug doesn’t cost a thing except a second or two of your time and yet it can be a source of tremendous encouragement to the recipient. It’s amazing how much comfort a hug can provide too. I wonder if that’s why God designed arms. With them, we can be stingy, selfish individuals, grasping for every worldly thing our eyes see, or we can be constantly reaching out to others and sharing with them the love God has for them.
Today would be a good day to hug someone as you pass by. Maybe tell them you love them in the process. You may not think much of it but it could be the thing that makes their day and puts a spring in their step. Maybe it will inspire the recipient of the hug to hug someone they pass and on and on it goes. Let’s not be stingy with our hugs. Giving a hug is one way we can be the arms of Jesus on this earth. I hope I don’t miss one opportunity to be just that.
Do You Pray For Others?
When you tell someone you’ll pray for them, do you really take the time to do so? I’m very selective who I ask to pray for me because often I don’t think people take prayer requests seriously. Maybe we get so used to hearing them that they go in one ear and out the other or maybe, since it’s not our trial, we don’t take it to heart as we would were we the ones going through that situation.
“Bear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). How many of us can truly say that we bear the burdens of others? I’ve seen even pastors not want to be burdened with the needs of others but I would put that in the category of “he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1 John 4:20).
Are you a person people can trust not to talk about them to anyone but God and yet to faithfully talk to Him about them? I encourage you today to think about those who have asked you to pray for them and take some time to do just that.
The All-Seeing God
The snow hasn’t quite melted but it was nice to be able to get out and walk again. I tend to go into hibernation for the winter but I look forward to the daffodils poking through the ground reminding me that spring is almost here.
The air was quite foggy as I walked down the lane but the presence of God was still there. “Where shall I go from Your Spirit?” asks the Psalmist. “Or where shall I flee from Your presence? If I ascend up into Heaven, you are there: if I make my bed in Hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall Your hand lead me and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.’ Yea, the darkness hides not from you; but the night shines as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to You” (Psalm 139:7-12).
No matter where you are, God sees you. He loves you. He wants to dwell with you. He’s not limited as humans are. He is God. I was so thankful today that, even though I could barely see the sky, God saw me. What an awesome God we serve!
CD Review: When You Look at Me (The Kingdom Heirs)
I saw The Kingdom Heirs sing “He Locked the Gates” back in September and I knew right away that I had to have the CD containing that song. Well, this is it. Dianne Wilkinson wrote or co-wrote all but three songs on this recording, with one song written by Rodney Griffin, one by Joseph Habedank and Matthew Holt, and one by Daryl Petersheim. With a lineup like that and great arrangements performed by a great sounding group, you won’t be disappointed.
“On the Gloryland Way” gets it started as a fairly typical quartet song. Then they sing “Biblically Correct.” When I saw that title, I was very curious but Dianne did a great job telling how the Bible is accurate from beginning to end. Then comes “He Locked the Gates,” still my favorite on this project. It makes me want to shout every time I hear it.
“Help Me, Lord” is a mid-tempo song featuring Jeff Chapman with the quartet backing him up. “Fire Away” reminds pastors and those who have a platform to not “water it down … don’t modern it up. Let it say what it has to say” talking about the Bible. Other favorites include: “When the Story of My Life is Told,” “When You Look at Me,” and “The Empty Tomb Says it All.”
When I started this review, I’d planned to give it about 4 or 4 1/2 stars but as I listened from beginning to end, I decided it needed 5 stars due to the strong lyrical content. If you have unsaved loved ones who like Gospel music, this would be a good project to give them. And, while you’re at it, get a copy for yourself. I’m sure you will be encouraged as I’ve been.
Walking the Walk
Within minutes of posting my last reflection, I received word that my friend who has cancer is not doing well. She seems to be having side effects following a treatment and is pretty miserable. These are the times when I’m glad that I know God (and I’m sure she’s thinking the same thing). It’s also the time when I’m reminded that the words I write are not just words. They are words to live by. Sometimes I think I write as much for myself as I do for you all but God is so good to teach me how to walk before I hit the point where I need to put it into practice.
I find that, often, when I say something, I will be tested on that very point. Jesus wasn’t kidding when He said, “To whom much is given, of him shall be much required.” (Luke 12: 48) If you know God, you can’t get away with the things the world does. You can’t entertain doubt for long periods of time. You may not understand God’s ways but if you are truly a Believer, you won’t doubt that He is in control and that He knows what He’s doing.
We serve a faithful God who loves us beyond anything we could imagine. He deserves all the praise we have to give … and more. Let’s not just tell others how to live. Let’s make sure we’re walking it in public and behind closed doors. We must have “clean hands and a pure heart” (Psalm 24:4) to be pleasing to Him and that’s my desire today. I pray it’s yours as well.
Accepting Good Along With the Bad
“What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and not receive evil?” (Job 2:10)
I find it interesting that, when things are going well, people want to pat themselves on the back. “Look what I’ve accomplished,” they say. Yet when tragedy strikes, the one who gets the blame is often God. Rarely does someone admit that the shape they find themselves in is either their own doing or something that God wants to use to produce a greater Godliness in them.
Think of everything Jesus went through. His cross was much heavier than ours; yet He went through it humbly out of obedience to the Father and He received a greater reward because of it.
Maybe the greatest struggle is remembering that God’s plans for us are good but not evil. Yet “good” is exactly God’s heart toward us. He died for us while we were yet sinners and now He lives to ever intercede for us. (Hebrews 7:25) If that’s not love, I don’t know what is. Let’s be faithful to praise Him in all things and allow Him to continue the work that He’s begun in our lives. If not for the “bad,” we would not be the people we are today.
Your Greatest Inspiration
Last week I wrote about a friend of mine who has cancer and has been an inspiration to me. Is there anyone in your life (past or present) who has been a great blessing and inspiration to you and who may even be responsible for you becoming who you currently are in Christ? It may be a parent or a pastor or a spiritual mentor or just a good friend. Maybe it’s someone whom you only met once or someone you’ve only heard about. So many people touch our lives and so often, they never realize it. I probably go overboard when people bless me in telling them over and over how much I appreciate them but I guess I’d rather make sure they know how much I love and appreciate them instead of them never knowing what they mean to me.
It may take a few minutes but I’d love to hear about a special person in your life and how their life has touched you.
The Need for Boldness
“And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the Gospel. For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Ephesians 6:19-20).
As I look around, it seems that boldness is severely lacking in the Body of Christ today. People of other religions (and those with no religion) have no problem letting people know what they believe but I rarely meet a Christian who is actively talking about the Lord and what He’s done for them. It seems like the Church is too concerned about fitting in that we have become ineffective instead of being the Lights that Jesus told us to be.
“Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14). No one wants to be peculiar but that is one of our commissions on this earth. We are to be set apart, a group of people who doesn’t go with the crowd but who stands apart and declares, “I’ve found a better way. Follow me and I’ll take you there.”
As each day bring us nearer to Christ’s return, it seems like now more than ever we need to declare with Joshua, “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). You may live to see the day when you are persecuted for that declaration but I know that you will not regret it. Let’s resolve together to be the light of the world, the city that is set on a hill which cannot be hid (Matthew 5:14). Then stand back and watch God draw people to Himself.
Kingdom Heirs Video Being Rated in the TellyAwards
I must confess I’d never heard of the TellyAwards but apparently they have been rating videos, films and commercials to let people know what they feel are the best. This year, for the first time, they have opened it up to the public to rate select videos with a thumbs up or thumbs down.
Among a variety of commercials, short films, TV program segments, etc. is The Kingdom Heirs’ “Live at Dollywood” DVD. I did not take the time to watch all the videos available but in looking at the images I didn’t see any other Gospel groups in the list. I don’t know totally how the awards work but I think it’d be neat if we let them know that these are the kind of videos worth watching. To participate, click this link and then click on the thumb. Rating ends on Saturday.