“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” [Luke 1:30-33 (NLT)]
A poor teenage girl, a virgin, found herself pregnant. When she first felt life in her womb, did she know that she’d give birth in a stable, that her child’s life would be in danger, or that they’d have to flee to Egypt? When she held Him to her breast, did she know that her infant son was the long awaited Messiah and what that would mean? As she taught Him to walk, wiped his nose, and bandaged his cuts, did she know that, rather than residing on an earthly throne, He’d sit at the right hand of God? As she proudly heard Him recite the Torah, did she know that He’d turn water into wine or raise the dead? When He triumphantly entered Jerusalem, did she know that soon she’d stand and watch as He suffered a criminal’s death upon a cross? As she sobbed in John’s arms, did she know her baby boy would rise again in three days? Could she have known that 2,000 years later nearly a third of the world’s population (2.3 billion people) would be His followers? Mary, did you have any idea of what the future would bring?
Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?
This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.
Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand?
Did you know that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?
Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your Baby Boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb?
The sleeping Child you’re holding is the Great, I Am.
[Mary Did You Know? (Mark Lowry)]
I woke to yet another cold dreary winter day. Troubled by a variety of concerns and hoping to improve my glum mood, I turned to Psalms. Unfortunately, I made a bad choice in Psalm 88. Written by Heman the Ezrahite, I saw that originally it was to be sung to the tune “The Suffering of Affliction” (which should have been my clue to read no further).
My arms were filled with precariously piled packages as I trudged through the mall parking lot. Thinking it was the perfect time to test the easy tailgate feature on our new SUV, I kicked my foot forward under the car’s rear bumper expecting it to magically open. Perhaps it was the trailer hitch or that my legs are too short, but the sensor didn’t work and the trunk lid remained closed. After trying several more times, it became clear that, in spite of the car’s promise, I was not going to open the tailgate while holding armloads of anything! It was when I tried to find the keys in my purse that my pile of holiday gifts tumbled every which way. On the plus side, my arms were finally free to lift the tailgate!
Yesterday, our nation celebrated Thanksgiving, a holiday that revolves around food and unites our nation across lines of culture, race, religion, and politics in a way little else can. Regardless of what football team they support, where they live or from where they came, whether liberal, conservative or somewhere in between, my Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Christian, and unbelieving friends all celebrated around tables heavy laden with food. The menu and traditions varied—some had naan and others enjoyed cornbread or Parker House rolls. Some plates had ham alongside the turkey while others tofurkey and lentils or some of Grandma’s lasagna. Some cooks put pork sausage in their dressing and others kept kosher. There may have been glazed sweet potatoes and green beans at one house and mashed whites with gravy and corn casserole at another but, whatever was served, no one went away hungry and there were plenty of leftovers. Unfortunately, not everyone’s plate was piled with food and not everyone complained of feeling stuffed.
Our fight is not against people on earth. We are fighting against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness. We are fighting against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly places. [Ephesians 6:12 (ERV)]
My husband and I joke that our marriage survived because we agreed that whoever filed for divorce had to take sole custody of the children! Knowing that it took two of us to deal with the three of them, we stayed married. Now that the children are grown, we remain together because whoever files must relinquish all grandparenting rights. Since neither one of us is willing to forfeit time with the delightful grands, we continue to remain together. All joking aside, we’ll soon be commemorating a half century of marriage.
Devotions of the Heart 