Christmastime is my favorite time of year. I’m sure it is for may be for many of you as well. Even though the days and nights are filled with business, there seems to be so much excitement and love in the air that it makes the chaos tolerable and even enjoyable.
In Luke chapter 13: 10-13, we read about a woman who had been bent over by a spirit for 18 years. As I was reading, I was trying to imagine this woman’s circumstance…having only the ground and the dirt as her view. How horrible her walk through life must have been. Then I realized that this has been me so many times in my life. I have allowed satan to have free reign over my mind causing me to drop my head in shame or from a sense of unworthiness. Believing the lies of satan and coming into agreement with him, will only give us a hopeless view of ourselves and our lives. Why do we believe his lies? Why do we choose to give him so much power over us?
In light of current events and the culture in which we are living, it just isn’t the time to sit in our comfortable pews and think we are doing all we can. YES, scripture is clear that in the last days we will see a moral decay BUT it is also clear that we are to stay diligent in His service and work!
Silence….it is a wonderful thing when we are sleeping, reading or thinking…but when we are in the midst of a trial, silence from God isn’t what we want at all! We want to hear Him loudly and we want to hear Him quickly! Sometimes, most times, that just isn’t the way God operates. When we are going through a test it may be because God desires to have an encounter with us! It won’t be until we completely surrender to Him with our faith and obedience that the silence will be lifted and His voice will be heard.
“I have nothing to wear!” are always my words when I have someplace to go. My clothes are stuffed in my closet, mind you, but I have not one thing to put on! Feel me? You’ve been there too and probably uttered these very words this morning!
There is so much we can learn from Mary, the Mother of Jesus. She is often in the background but when we see her in scripture, she makes bold impacts! For example, when you think of the first miracle of Jesus do you think of Mary? Probably not…but her role was vital! It was her faith and trust in Jesus that lead to the miracle! She gave Him the opportunity to step in and fix a problem and we can do the same thing in our lives, leading to miraculous results!
The story of Joshua, the walls of Jericho, the spies and the unshakable Rahab is one of my favorites in scripture. I have heard it told and read it a million times. If you are not familiar with it, please take time to read it (Joshua 6: 1-27).
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.
John 20:1 NIV
While reading this very familiar scripture during my quiet time, the words, “While it was still dark” jumped out at me. I have always seen this as a reference to the time. Well, not today… because you know God, He reveals His word in new ways all the time! From now on, these words have a new meaning for me altogether. These words do not simply represent the time of day but also the time in Mary’s life.