It has been a looonnngggg time since I've taken the time to sit and write down my thoughts in this blog. Oh, it's not that I haven't thought about it often, it's just that actually finding the time to sit down at this computer is nearly impossible. This morning, though, I was gently guided by His loving hand to a truth in Scripture that I just HAD to record.
If you know me at all, you know that I love Christmas-time...which for me starts in late November and doesn't end until the middle of January. I love everything about it, especially since the Lord is teaching me how not to get caught up in the commercialism of it all and enjoy it for what it is. Which has also led me to love Advent. Truly taking part in Advent has been a game-changer for my family and I. It takes a wild and stressed-out heart and directs it to the side of Zechariah and Sarah as they receive the amazing news that they are going to have a baby in their old age, and that this boy will herald the coming of the long awaited Messiah to the Israelites who have been not-so-patiently waiting for the past 400 years. It brings me to Mary as she receives the heart stopping news that she will house God-Made-Flesh for 9 months and makes me marvel at the faith that says, "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said." I travel each grueling mile with Mary and Joseph on their way to the City of David and watch each person shake their head and turn away the young couple about to birth the most precious of all babies into the world. And I sing with the angels, "Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests!" I feel the anticipation of Simeon and Anna as they watch every day for the Messiah to walk through the gates of the temple; and watch and watch, and watch, until one day the Lord rewards their patient diligence and Mary and Joseph walk into the courts holding God With Us in their arms to dedicate Him to the Lord.
I was reading today in Luke 1:39-45 where Mary gets the news that she will be with child and also learns that Elizabeth, her old, wrinkly, in-love-with-God cousin, is also expecting a child. She picked up her skirts and "hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea" to spend almost 3 months with the only person who could understand what was happening to her. Here's the part that God whispered into my heart this morning, "I want this to be you, dear one." Here's how Elizabeth described Mary in verses 44 & 45:
"if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
"I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh."
"The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."
These and hundreds of other promises are made by the One who only says what He means and means what He says. My job is only to believe Him for what He says. Just like Mary. Just like Elizabeth. Just like my friend Kelly. Just like Abraham who "believed the LORD and it was credited to him as righteousness." And Jesus speaks over me and over all of us,
"Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"
~Jen
If you know me at all, you know that I love Christmas-time...which for me starts in late November and doesn't end until the middle of January. I love everything about it, especially since the Lord is teaching me how not to get caught up in the commercialism of it all and enjoy it for what it is. Which has also led me to love Advent. Truly taking part in Advent has been a game-changer for my family and I. It takes a wild and stressed-out heart and directs it to the side of Zechariah and Sarah as they receive the amazing news that they are going to have a baby in their old age, and that this boy will herald the coming of the long awaited Messiah to the Israelites who have been not-so-patiently waiting for the past 400 years. It brings me to Mary as she receives the heart stopping news that she will house God-Made-Flesh for 9 months and makes me marvel at the faith that says, "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said." I travel each grueling mile with Mary and Joseph on their way to the City of David and watch each person shake their head and turn away the young couple about to birth the most precious of all babies into the world. And I sing with the angels, "Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests!" I feel the anticipation of Simeon and Anna as they watch every day for the Messiah to walk through the gates of the temple; and watch and watch, and watch, until one day the Lord rewards their patient diligence and Mary and Joseph walk into the courts holding God With Us in their arms to dedicate Him to the Lord.
I was reading today in Luke 1:39-45 where Mary gets the news that she will be with child and also learns that Elizabeth, her old, wrinkly, in-love-with-God cousin, is also expecting a child. She picked up her skirts and "hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea" to spend almost 3 months with the only person who could understand what was happening to her. Here's the part that God whispered into my heart this morning, "I want this to be you, dear one." Here's how Elizabeth described Mary in verses 44 & 45:
"As soon s the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"
As soon as I read it I knew: I want to be a woman who believes that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished. Sometimes I feel stuck in my sin. Will I ever learn to be gentle with my words? Will I ever learn how to respond in His Spirit rather than react in my ugly flesh? Will I ever, for the love of the land, stop being so selfish? My feelings swirl like a tornado and I am left believing the lies of the evil one and forgetting the truth of Scripture. That "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
"I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh."
"The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."
These and hundreds of other promises are made by the One who only says what He means and means what He says. My job is only to believe Him for what He says. Just like Mary. Just like Elizabeth. Just like my friend Kelly. Just like Abraham who "believed the LORD and it was credited to him as righteousness." And Jesus speaks over me and over all of us,
"Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"
~Jen
