Bible League: Living His Word Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.Mary the mother of Jesus was a remarkable woman of faith. There was one angel, two birth announcements, two people, and two different responses. When Zacharias was told by the angel Gabriel that he and his wife Elizabeth would have John he did not believe the words of the angel. When Mary, on the other hand, was told by Gabriel that she would have Jesus she believed the words of the angel. The priest did not believe, but the simple peasant woman believed. For Zacharias, being told he and Elizabeth would have a child should have been great news, because they were childless. Zacharias, however, questioned the angel. All he could think of was that they were too old to have children. For Mary, on the other hand, being told that she would have a child must have been troubling news. After all, it meant that everyone in her village might think she had slept around, it meant that Joseph might divorce her, and it meant that Jesus might grow up being regarded as illegitimate. Mary, however, accepted the words of the angel in faith. Mary was willing to accept the consequences of the angel's words because she regarded herself as a maidservant of the Lord. What counted for Mary, in other words, was not her own wants and desires, but the will of the Lord. Under such circumstances as hers, most women would resist and question the words of the angel. Mary, in contrast, humbly accepted them in faith and submitted to the will of the Lord. Maybe her faith was the reason why the Lord chose her in the first place. Gabriel may not have flown down from heaven with a message of God for you, but God is still in the business of sending messages to His people. He still reveals His plans and purposes for us. He still shows us what we will do and where we will go. Sometimes, the things He reveals are difficult things. Sometimes, we would rather not do them. When those messages come, take inspiration from Mary. Let us say what she said, "Let it be to me according to your word." Bible in a Year Old Testament Reading1 Chronicles 3, 4, 5 1 Chronicles 3 -- Family of David and Kings of Judah NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 1 Chronicles 4 -- Descendants of Judah and of Simeon NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 1 Chronicles 5 -- Descendants of Reuben, Gad, Half-Tribe of Manasseh NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading John 8:1-20 John 8 -- The Woman Caught in Adultery; Jesus the Light of the World; The truth will set you free NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion “Don't point your finger at someone elseand try to pass the blame! My complaint, you priests, is with you.” Insight We often blame others if we fear punishment for wrongdoing. Hosea warned the priests not to blame anyone else; the nation's sins were largely their fault. Israel's priests pointed out the people's sins, but God would not allow them to overlook their own irresponsible actions. Instead of instructing the nation in religion and morality, they had led the way toward idolatry and immorality. Their failure to lead the people in God's ways placed most of the blame for Israel's destruction on them. Challenge Knowing that God will not allow us to blame others for our sinfulness should cause us to admit our own sins. We are responsible for our own sinful actions. Beware of the tendency to blame others because it can keep you from feeling the need to repent. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Genesis 42:2 There is corn in Egypt.Famine pinched all the nations, and it seemed inevitable that Jacob and his family should suffer great want; but the God of providence, who never forgets the objects of electing love, had stored a granary for his people by giving the Egyptians warning of the scarcity, and leading them to treasure up the grain of the years of plenty. Little did Jacob expect deliverance from Egypt, but there was the corn in store for him. Believer, though all things are apparently against thee, rest assured that God has made a reservation on thy behalf; in the roll of thy griefs there is a saving clause. Somehow he will deliver thee, and somewhere he will provide for thee. The quarter from which thy rescue shall arise may be a very unexpected one, but help will assuredly come in thine extremity, and thou shalt magnify the name of the Lord. If men do not feed thee, ravens shall; and if earth yield not wheat, heaven shall drop with manna. Therefore be of good courage, and rest quietly in the Lord. God can make the sun rise in the west if he pleases, and make the source of distress the channel of delight. The corn in Egypt was all in the hands of the beloved Joseph; he opened or closed the granaries at will. And so the riches of providence are all in the absolute power of our Lord Jesus, who will dispense them liberally to his people. Joseph was abundantly ready to succor his own family; and Jesus is unceasing in his faithful care for his brethren. Our business is to go after the help which is provided for us: we must not sit still in despondency, but bestir ourselves. Prayer will bear us soon into the presence of our royal Brother: once before his throne we have only to ask and have: his stores are not exhausted; there is corn still: his heart is not hard, he will give the corn to us. Lord, forgive our unbelief, and this evening constrain us to draw largely from thy fulness and receive grace for grace. Daily Light on the Daily Path 1 Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.Matthew 1:21 "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." Philippians 2:8-10 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. • For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, • so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, John 4:25 The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us." Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; 1 Corinthians 15:45,47 So also it is written, "The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. • The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. John 20:28 Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" John 13:13-15 "You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. • "If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. • "For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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