PRAYER PRACTICE
Breath Prayer – Take 2-3 minutes today to pray a simple breath
prayer. Get somewhere quiet and relaxing. Breathe in deeply, and then breathe
out fully. As you breathe in, ask God to fill you with His presence, grace,
love, peace, etc. Consider using the list of spiritual fruit in Galatians
5:22-23. As you breathe out, offer to God the things you need Him to take from
you – sin, doubt, shame, anxiety, fear, etc. Pray this way for just a few
minutes, trusting God to work, and then begin reading today’s Scripture.
DAILY READING
REFLECTION
Out of Order but Lined Up Perfectly
by Judy Webb
It might seem strange
and out of order to be reading about the births of John the Baptist and
Jesus, but if you think about it, there is perfect sense to this. Too often we
rush from the Christmas season to Lent and then Easter, not truly considering
all that took place in those few short weeks. We need to always have Easter in
mind when we celebrate Christmas and we also must keep Christmas and Christ’s
birth uppermost in our hearts when we approach Lent and finally Easter.
There would not have
been a Resurrection if there had not been a birth and a death.
The daily reading for
today is a story of two mothers, two babies, two miracles and two blessings.
Two Mothers: Elizabeth and Mary were aunt and niece,
respectively. The story begins with Mary entering Elizabeth’s home and greeting
her. The angel who had told Mary about her miraculous pregnancy informed
her that Elizabeth was also expecting and soon would deliver. Mary came to
help.
Two Babies: As soon as Mary announced her arrival to Elizabeth,
the child Elizabeth was carrying, leaped in her
womb. The unborn infant, John, a successor to the OT
prophets, recognized Jesus, Son of the Most High and messianic Deliverer. The
world was about to change.
Two Miracles: The
fact that Elizabeth, in her senior years, was about the give birth to a son,
was a wondrous miracle. God heard her prayers and fulfilled his promise to her.
She was finally going to be a mother. Parallel this long-awaited pregnancy, to one
so very unexpected. Mary had just been told by an angel of the Lord, that she
too would give birth – to the Messiah.
Two Blessings: Elizabeth extended her greeting to Mary with a double blessing. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you
among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! (verse
42) She continued
with the second blessing. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill
his promises to her!” (verse 45)
"Blessed is she who believed that the Lord
would fulfill his promises to her."
Consider: Elizabeth was the first to proclaim Jesus as Messiah.
Also Consider: What would have happened had Mary not believed Gabriel’s words?
Thankfully she did believe, and she did obey God. Her obedience set the stage for the Lord’s blessing, he used her to accomplish His prophecy to our lost and dying world.
"Blessed is she who believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her."
1 comment:
Good afternoon, Judy. Many thanks for breaking down the key components of this" explosion of joy" between two women hand picked by God to bring Good News to our lost and suffering world. What a great story! If my wife, age 76, were to get pregnant, you couldn't wipe the grin off my face.Every day when I would see her it would make me smile broader than I could imagine-- actually crack me up. I would ponder the awesome power of God, His never ending intervention into our world and the future of what is to come.
Your comment that Elizabeth was the first to "proclaim" the Messiah made me think. Since the baby in her (John) "leapt" for joy then he would, like his mother, be the first to "recognize" Jesus as Messiah even though he couldn't proclaim it. What a blessed family they had-- mother and son both filled with the Holy Spirit. Don't you love the nuances of Scripture as the Holy Spirit reveals them to us. I learn something new so ofter when reading a verse for the umpteenth time.
Have a blessed day.
Robin Lorms
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