Bible League: Living His Word “For with God nothing will be impossible.”— Luke 1:37 NKJV The angel spoke to Mary concerning her being the chosen mother of the Son of God. We do not know exactly Mary’s age when the announcement came to her from Gabriel. Many believe she was a young teenage girl. I have contemplated the message she received from the angel, Gabriel. It must have been a struggle for a young Jewish girl to receive this message from Gabriel. She was called “highly favored one” to begin with by Gabriel, in verse twenty-eight of Luke 1. This tells us that Mary was very faithful to God at her young age. For God to choose her to be the one out of all the women available to carry in her womb the Son of God, it is quite clear she loved God and served him at her young age. She did question the things the angel Gabriel said to her. The angel assured Mary in verse thirty of Luke 1 to not be afraid, and he assured Mary that she had “found favor with God.” The next statement by Gabriel had to be a struggle for Mary. Being told you will conceive a child is surprise enough; but Gabriel, the angel, told Mary the conception will occur miraculously by the Holy Spirit. The Biblical account does not give a detailed account of all that Mary felt and all emotions she had at this point. But undoubtedly, she had to wonder how to tell her parents and her future husband, Joseph. The reassurance from Gabriel to Mary is a promise from God we also need in our lives. Luke 1:37 says, “For with God nothing will be impossible.” At this time in our lives, we may be facing what seems impossible. It may be health related, financial, or a family relationship of some kind that is difficult—we must never forget this promise. God knows, and certainly nothing is impossible for Him. It may be difficult to find the solution to your problem, but God is at work in your situation if you know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior and accepted Him by faith and faith alone. I have seen God through the Holy Spirit allow my wife and I to have four boys after losing our first birth son. He’s healed one of our sons from spinal meningitis at three weeks of age, and another son through an accident where it seems he should have not made it through. He brought me through my brain surgery in 1995, the four cancer surgeries my wife has had—one of them was an eight-hour surgery, the Whipple procedure, and many never live but just a short time after that surgery. That surgery was in 2017. I have discovered verse thirty-seven of Luke 1 is true: “For with God nothing will be impossible.” Mary immediately accepted by faith this message Gabriel gave her. In Luke 1:38, we see Mary was called the “maidservant of the Lord.” Mary accepted as a young lady her calling from God by faith. Have we accepted our calling? We need to answer this question as Isaiah did in Isaiah 6:8, “Here am I! Send me.” There is something often overlooked by many in this narrative concerning Mary and the angel Gabriel. In Luke 1:35, the angel told Mary “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the son of God.” The virgin conception of Christ guarantees the perfect union of two natures in one person. He is Jesus, the God-Man. Worship Christ the King! By Jim Prock, Bible League International staff, Illinois U.S. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingLeviticus 1, 2, 3 Leviticus 1 -- Burnt Offerings NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Leviticus 2 -- Grain Offerings NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Leviticus 3 -- Peace Offerings NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Matthew 24:23-51 Matthew 24 -- Christ Foretells the Destruction of the Temple and His Glorious Return NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion But the LORD is in his holy Temple;the LORD still rules from heaven. He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth. Insight When the foundations are shaking and you wish you could hide, remember that God is still in control. His power is not diminished by any turn of events. Nothing happens without his knowledge and permission. Challenge When you feel like running away—run to God. He will restore justice and goodness on the earth in his good time. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Micah 2:10 Arise, and depart.The hour is approaching when the message will come to us, as it comes to all--"Arise, and go forth from the home in which thou hast dwelt, from the city in which thou hast done thy business, from thy family, from thy friends. Arise, and take thy last journey." And what know we of the journey? And what know we of the country to which we are bound? A little we have read thereof, and somewhat has been revealed to us by the Spirit; but how little do we know of the realms of the future! We know that there is a black and stormy river called "Death." God bids us cross it, promising to be with us. And, after death, what cometh? What wonder-world will open upon our astonished sight? What scene of glory will be unfolded to our view? No traveller has ever returned to tell. But we know enough of the heavenly land to make us welcome our summons thither with joy and gladness. The journey of death may be dark, but we may go forth on it fearlessly, knowing that God is with us as we walk through the gloomy valley, and therefore we need fear no evil. We shall be departing from all we have known and loved here, but we shall be going to our Father's house--to our Father's home, where Jesus is--to that royal "city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." This shall be our last removal, to dwell forever with him we love, in the midst of his people, in the presence of God. Christian, meditate much on heaven, it will help thee to press on, and to forget the toil of the way. This vale of tears is but the pathway to the better country: this world of woe is but the stepping-stone to a world of bliss. "Prepare us, Lord, by grace divine, For thy bright courts on high; Then bid our spirits rise, and join The chorus of the sky." Daily Light on the Daily Path Deuteronomy 8:10 "When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.Deuteronomy 8:11 "Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; Luke 17:15-18 Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, • and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. • Then Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine-- where are they? • "Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?" 1 Timothy 4:4,5 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; • for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer. Romans 14:6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. Proverbs 10:22 It is the blessing of the LORD that makes rich, And He adds no sorrow to it. Psalm 103:1-4 A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name. • Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; • Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; • Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; 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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