Day # 15 of advent....only 10 days till Christmas! I've been reading in the book of Daniel this week. One of my favorite verses is Daniel 3:28. "Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve ...nor worship any god, except their own God."
This is a verse I pray over my children and grandchildren. It is my prayer that they will yield their bodies to the Lord Jesus Christ alone and not do the opposite--worship or serve any god except their own God.
Tonight our little Mary and Joseph will start across the living room toward Bethlehem in our moving nativity here at the house. As I think about Mary I think first of her response to the news that she had been chosen to bear the Messiah--"Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word." It sounds to me like she had a body yielded to the Lord before He let her know she would be the mother of Christ.
She was chosen of God and His choice for her involved a lot of uncomfortable moments. People were going to say terrible things about her that were not true. There were going to be miserable physical times during the 70 mile trip to Bethlehem, the time of delivery was going to be much less than ideal, finances were going to be very slim (look at their offering in the temple!), a flight to Egypt was in her future to save her baby's life, and later she would watch her beloved son die a terrible death so that she, a sinner, too, could receive salvation through Christ Jesus, the Messiah.
There were going to be many times in Mary's life she would have to ponder in her heart and try to figure out how what was going on was going to fit in the big plan that the Lord had for her. But she had only one God she was serving--not the gods of wood and stone, gold and silver that others found so tantalizing.
During a busy season that has many little gods reaching out to us I think it's very important that I give the Lord my body anew each morning and yield it to Him as the only God I serve. That way He can do the work in me, for me and through me that He desires to do this Christmas season. What a gift!
This is a verse I pray over my children and grandchildren. It is my prayer that they will yield their bodies to the Lord Jesus Christ alone and not do the opposite--worship or serve any god except their own God.
Tonight our little Mary and Joseph will start across the living room toward Bethlehem in our moving nativity here at the house. As I think about Mary I think first of her response to the news that she had been chosen to bear the Messiah--"Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word." It sounds to me like she had a body yielded to the Lord before He let her know she would be the mother of Christ.
She was chosen of God and His choice for her involved a lot of uncomfortable moments. People were going to say terrible things about her that were not true. There were going to be miserable physical times during the 70 mile trip to Bethlehem, the time of delivery was going to be much less than ideal, finances were going to be very slim (look at their offering in the temple!), a flight to Egypt was in her future to save her baby's life, and later she would watch her beloved son die a terrible death so that she, a sinner, too, could receive salvation through Christ Jesus, the Messiah.
There were going to be many times in Mary's life she would have to ponder in her heart and try to figure out how what was going on was going to fit in the big plan that the Lord had for her. But she had only one God she was serving--not the gods of wood and stone, gold and silver that others found so tantalizing.
During a busy season that has many little gods reaching out to us I think it's very important that I give the Lord my body anew each morning and yield it to Him as the only God I serve. That way He can do the work in me, for me and through me that He desires to do this Christmas season. What a gift!
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