Rights? Or Trust?

Thistlebend Quiet eMoment

by Laurie Aker

Focus Scripture: Luke 1:26-38 ESV

26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent

from God to a city in Galilee, called Nazareth,

27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph,

 of the descendants of David;

and the virgin’s name was Mary.

 28 And coming in, he said to her, “Hail, favored one!

 The Lord is with you.”

29 But she was greatly troubled at this statement,

 and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be.

 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary;

 for you have found favor with God.

 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb,

 and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.

32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High;

 and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;

33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever;

and His kingdom will have no end.”

34 And Mary said to the angel,

 “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

35 And the angel answered and said to her,

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,

 and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;

and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God.

36 And behold, even your relative Elizabeth

 has also conceived a son in her old age;

 and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.

37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”

38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bond slave of the Lord;

be it done to me according to your word.”

And the angel departed from her.

_______________________________

 

Be willing to give up your rights.

What are your rights?

What do you think you deserve?

This young woman isn’t thinking of her rights.

 She is not thinking of “self.”

Her eyes are fixed upon her Lord and she trusts Him.

Greater still, she loves Him and desires only to serve Him

 in absolute, voluntary obedience.

She has bound herself to Him as His.

 

TAKING GOD’S WORD TO HEART

Will you think about what God’s Word says?

 Will you think of it as coming from His heart of love?

 Mary’s heart bowed in such reverence and love for the Lord

her only thought was to serve Him and Him alone.

 Because I know that she trusted Him.

 She trusted His heart.

 She trusted His ways.

She trusted His wisdom.

She trusted His power to protect and provide for her

no matter what anyone would think of her.

She trusted His love for her.

She trusted in Him as God.

God Almighty.

Maker of Heaven and Earth.

Ruler of All. Perfect in all ways.

Perfect in love and perfect in character.

Lover of her soul.

She could believe that He is God

and that He lives up to every aspect of His character.

Every day, all day.

Yesterday, today, and forever.

She believed that He loved her

and created her for a purpose.

His purpose was her purpose.

Read Psalm 139:13-16 today

and contemplate God’s purposes for your life.

Psalm 139:13-16

13 For you formed my inward parts;

you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.

14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your book were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them.

 Affirm God’s love in your heart.

His deep, everlasting, abiding love for you.

Choose to believe it is true.

Choose to believe His Word about you —

not what anyone else has to say.

Affirm that His plans for you are wonderful,

loving, and purposeful…

to prosper you and to give you a future and a hope.

 

MEDITATE or MEMORIZE

Write out the following passage from Luke 1 and recite it 3 times.

Take it with you throughout the day.

 

37 “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bond slave of the Lord;

be it done to me according to your word.”

And the angel departed from her.

 

PRAYER

Gracious God, help me to see how much you love me

 in Jesus Christ. Help me to live in that love

and serve you with my whole heart.

_______________________________

In His hands for His glory,

Laurie

/by

Fearless Women of God

By Dottie Ryan

See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand. (Deuteronomy 32:39)

We know from last week that Jesus sent out his disciples – He made them go – He, as Laurie suggested, compelled them to go, seemingly alone, in the midst of “The Wind and The Waves”.  Being among the storm where the wind was against them, where they were being beaten by the waves – appearing to be getting nowhere – fear arose.  Yet our Lord was there, right in the midst of their fears to rescue them when they had taken their eyes off Him and looked, instead, at their circumstances.  He immediately reached out His hand to save them – and the wind ceased. Peace and calmness fell upon the circumstances when Jesus came upon the scene.  His very presence commanded obedience from the storm.   As disciples, we can surely relate as we have likely come to the realization that we, too, are sent out just as they were. Yet He is right here for us in our storm when it seems that there is no way out.  And isn’t that a sweet confidence to have? To know that He is always faithful to save? Or do we not know that yet?

This week’s study brings us to the question: “Lord, are You in the storm”?  We have been led to study the Sovereignty of God.  Through that, we have been shown that nothing can happen that He hasn’t allowed.  And for some of us, we might find comfort in that – to know that the Lord is in control and nothing can thwart His plans. We rest in that Truth.  For others of us, we may be challenged to see that as a good thing, especially if we find ourselves in the midst of some very dark and troubling times.  In looking at the scriptures of the Old Testament, we might even begin to question how that can be comforting, particularly as we read Lamentations 3 concerning God’s wrath.  I wrestled for a bit with that.  So for me, some of the ways I have been able to find hope in these verses are:

·        To confess my fear to God.  Then to ask for faith to believe that no matter what our circumstance may look like – or our mind may be thinking or what the enemy might be whispering, that GOD IS GOOD. Period.

·        To remember His continued Kindness to Jerusalem in the midst of their rebellion. Reflect on what the study points us to concerning what Jeremiah was showing us: that all hope seemed to have been lost for them. Yet God provided salvation if the people would cry out to Him and seek Him in true repentance and faith. Faith – not fear. Hope in God.

I want to draw a parallel between Jerusalem (in Lamentations) and the disciples in the boat (in Matthew).  They were, in both case, in the midst of a critical time – a time of crisis. They needed to know this – they also needed to cry out to the Lord.  You will find that all through the Bible . . . when we see our need, cry out to the only One who is able to save . . . He is faithful to save.  Grace. Mercy.

In order to grow in our faith and move away from a fear that causes us to run away from God instead of into His arms, we must choose to believe that in all things He causes good for those who love Him and are called [Romans 8:28]. In all things! Trust and believe in the Truth of His Word and His Faithfulness to His promises. In Day 4 “Walk on Truth” we are pointed to Acts 4:29-31 and what happened “when they prayed.” We were encouraged to make it our prayer that “no matter the outcome and no matter how frightened we feel, no matter how things appear, we will walk forward in the Spirit by faith, fearlessly…”

As New Testament Christians, we have the perspective of being on this side of the cross.  As believers we need not fear His wrath because it was poured out upon Christ at the Cross. Let’s keep our focus on the Finished Work of the Cross (His death, burial, and resurrection) giving thanks and praise to Him for what He has already accomplished on our behalf.  And as we “be still to know that He is God”, I pray that we begin to hear Him speak “peace” to our souls – and that more and more of the Fear that has prevented us from moving forward will begin to melt away and that an increased Faith would begin to arise.

Have you entrusted everything to Him? Do you believe in His transforming power? Will you take a step away from fear and move towards faith in Him this week?

Praying for transformed lives as we submit to His Word in Faith not Fear!

/by

Standing in Awe

Quiet eMoment

by Laurie Aker  

Focus Scripture: Luke 1:57-66 ESV

57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth,

and she bore a son.

58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown

great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child.

And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 

60 but his mother answered, “No;  he shall be called John.” 

61 And they said to her,

“None of your relatives is called by this name.” 

62 And they made signs to his father,

inquiring what he wanted him to be called.

63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, 

“His name is John.” And they all wondered.

64  And immediately his mouth was opened

and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.

65 And fear came on all their neighbors.

And all these things were talked about

through all the hill country of Judea, 

66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts,

saying, “What then will this child be?”

For the hand of the Lord was with him.

_______________________________  

 

What was God doing?

 This fear mentioned by Luke came from

a feeling of reverence for God’s power.

It impacted their minds, their emotions,

their sensibilities, their bodies.

When God works miracles He is not doing them to amuse Himself.

He is not looking to entertain us.

 

“In working miracles God isn’t seeking

to supply us with a pastime, but arouses our senses,

which he sees to be stupified and asleep” (John Calvin).

 

We are often momentarily awed.

We momentarily stand in fear of our holy God.

We get a high from a worship event,

a conference, a book, or someone’s testimony

but then we allow the lust of the flesh,

the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life

diminish the glory of the Lord.

 

The senses of men today have been desensitized

by the culture of extreme and endless entertainment.

Effervescent electronics captivate our attention.

No moment is without stimuli.

We are live in a world with so many bells and whistles

we are awed and amazed, constantly…

we have an electronic “buzz”

and we really never get “sober” “quiet” or “still” long enough.

We live in a culture “high” on media.

 

God, please separate us.

Please have mercy upon us.

Please grant us grace to be able to be truly awed by You.

And may that awe produce a life lived in awe…

 

Help us be still…and know that You are God and that there is no other.

You alone are worthy of our worship and our praise.

Even when it is obvious that God’s hand is in something

it is sometimes easy for us to disregard it.

“For the hand of the Lord was with him” (Luke 1:66).

The hand of God was clearly upon John,

the Spirit in him and with him

and working through him. No man could have denied this.

And yet, many, many, disregarded him.

O Lord, have mercy upon those who disregard

a messenger sent from God.

O Lord, have mercy.

 

 

TAKING GOD’S WORD TO HEART

O Lord, have mercy on us when

we don’t respect those whom You have sent.

Please have mercy on us.

Please have mercy on me.

 Open my eyes…open my ears…open my heart.

God will do a great and awesome things one day

and we will think to ourselves…”Oh, how He loves me.”

And then a day or so later He will allow a test or a trial

and we then think to ourselves…”Oh, He doesn’t love me.”

Like a little schoolgirl…

“He loves me. He loves me not. He loves me. He loves me not…”

Oh, that we would know that He loves us.

Oh, that we would be awed by that love each an every day.

Oh, that we would know that He alone is worthy

of our worship and our praise!

Our one true and great reward.

MEDITATE or MEMORIZE

Write out the following passage from Luke 1 and recite it 3 times.

Take it with you throughout the day.

63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, 

“His name is John.” And they all wondered. 

64  And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue 

loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.

65 And  fear came on all their neighbors.

And all these things were talked

about through all the hill country of Judea, 

66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying,

“What then will this child be?”

For the hand of the Lord was with him.

PRAYER

 Lord God,

May we be continually in awe of you.
May we never loose sight of the wonderful things
you have done for us in Christ Jesus.
In His hands for His glory,
Laurie
/by