What did Mary Ponder

Luke 1:28 “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”

Luke 2:19 “But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.”

This is the time for us to go back and read Luke 2. Start at the annunciation in Luke 1:28. I have always wondered what did Mary ponder. When you read, you can see that she trusted God’s word. She was favored, but for us we look at favor as all good things working for us. No, All things work together for the good   For those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose. 

Mary was called, she accepted and trusted God’s word, she submitted to God’s will, and she believed that with God nothing is impossible. And there in Bethlehem, the house of bread, she gave birth to the bread of life.there in Bethlehem, the place where the sacrificial lambs were cared for- for the temple sacrifices, the ultimate sacrificial lamb was born. She gazed into the face of her precious baby and herSavior. All because she trusted, submitted, believed. And we must followed that- to trust God, submit to his will, Believe that with him birthing is impossible. Merry Christmas! 

Surely

Isaiah 53:4-6 NiV

“Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, 

smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; 

the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, 

and by his wounds we are healed.”

Go back and reread this. See the power between the affirmation and the end. Surely is an adverb which modifies verbs. Infirmities - our pain. Sorrows - our suffering. He took up our pain and carried our suffering. 

He was wounded for our transgressions - violations of law, command, sins. He was crushed for our iniquities - gross injustices or wickedness, violations of a right or duty, sins. 

In the “Lion, Witch, Wardrobe,” the white witch (the personification of Satan) demanded hardheaded Edward’s life, the one she had enticed to follow her. Aslan the lion (personification of Jesus) said, “No, I will go.” He volunteered to take the Edward’s place in dying. That was all the white witch wanted, as she was forever trying to set Aslan up, and she had finally succeeded (or so she thought). Edward was no longer important to her. 

Aslan allowed himself to be bound, sacrificed, and placed on the altar to die. Ahhh but . . . love. 

The very thing that allowed Aslan to be sacrificed was the thing that kept him. The one thing the white witch could not understand was love. And so the ropes that had bound Aslan were broken. Love, the one thing that Satan just cannot understand. Love. 

Hear the verbs in Isaiah, Carried, smitten, afflicted, pierced, crushed. Jesus did that for our nouns, our sins. They are all past tense, it’s already done. We are already released from things that bind us because of God’s love for us. 

We have hope today because of the verbs between the affirmation and the end

Surely . . . We are healed. And we celebrate his birth because of God’s love for us. enough for now

Hope

Matthew 3:3 NRSV

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” 

We are to prepare the way of the Lord. It is a call for repentance. That word ‘prepare’ is an aorist active imperative in Greek. It’s a command to the hearer, the reader “You prepare and keep on preparing.”  At that time they prepared for royalty by fixing the roads, so the original hearer would have understood this. This is more than just receiving Jesus. We repair the broken places in our hearts to receive him. We repair and keep on repairing. We remove the clutter of negativity, we keep it out through our constant communication. 

The path is made straight because of our vertical connection. When everything is coming at us (and it will) we call out to him and hold on. There are times that even when we can’t hold on-we know that he has us. 

This is the first Sunday of Advent- we have hope in him. He is who we look to. Enjoy this day in him. more later.

Know Your Name

Daniel 1:3-7

King Nebuchadnezzar tried unsuccessfully to assimilate the four Hebrew young men. He offered delectable food, taught them the history, the culture, and hanged their name. That’s the one. You must know your name, who you are,l and you won’t answer to anything else. Society has tried to change your name but you have held strong by knowing who you are. Continue that. Go back and read Daniel 1:1-17. Know who you are, and watch what God does. enough for now

No Doubt

Matthew 28:16–17 (NRSV)

“Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.”

Spend some time with this today. The disciples had walked with Jesus, witnessed miracles, yet some doubted- not just one. So when the disciples worshipped Jesus what were the others doing? We’re they “fake worshipping” so as not to be found out? Doubt blocks worship, doubt hinders us from receiving what God has for us.

The thing about it is we can change now. Let us examine ourselves to see where there is any dark of doubt. Look back at what God has already done in your life, look at how he has kept you, see now how he is keeping you, know that he will keep you. I’m so grateful that even if he doesn’t do another thing, he’s already done enough, and I trust him with my life. I trust him with my being. 

And when little pockets of doubt pop up. You know the kind that cause you to try to figure it yourself instead of checking with God- just pause and remember - he has you. He has you, in spite of your misgivings. Listen, Jesus commissioned all the disciples- the worshippers and the doubters. We have work to do. enough for now

Be It

1 Cor. 13:4-8 NRSV

“Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 

Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.”

This week has been a week of endings and a week of growth. A week of celebrations in both. Funerals and birthdays. Closings and going on with a birthday. Yesterday after a large funeral I eulogized some of my members that usually keep stuff going said that “we have got to do better.” We meaning our church. She said, “Rev. Life is too short.” I smiled and thought about something that My mentor always says “I thought you knew.” 

I am so thankful that we know just how important love is. It holds on when nothing is left. Let’s continue to celebrate the life God has given us as family. Let us love and allow ourselves to be loved. We first loveGod and allow ourselves to be loved by him. That set us up right there. Then we love one another as his love fills us and overflows. Let us continue not just saying it, but being it. Being the love that God has poured in. enough for now.

Pray

Ephesians 6:18 NRSV

“Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.”

The key word is pray. Prayer is the most powerful tool in our chest of spiritual weaponry. There are so many more types of prayers that we have. 

Different situations call for different prayers. There are prayers that aid in our spiritual transformation.

If we need to grow inwardly, seeking the transformation we need for self. We can with:

Simple Prayer, the Prayers of the Forsaken, of Examen, of Tears, of Relinquishment. With Formation Prayer, and Covenant Prayer?

If we need to be strengthened upwardly, seeking the intimacy we need with God. We can with:

The Prayers of Adoration, of Rest, of the Heart. Through Sacramental Prayer, Unceasing Prayer, Meditative Prayer, Contemplative Prayer.

Since we are not in this world alone, we need to grow more outwardly, seeking the ministry we need. And we can by:

Praying the Ordinary. With Prayers of Petition, Intercession, Healing, Suffering, Authoritative Prayer, and Radical Prayer

We have them all at our disposal. We can use them all. And even with that we can always call “Jesus”. The point is to pray. Stay alert as the enemy seeks to distract us at all levels. And then always watch what God is doing. more later.