Luke 24:1-8 1. On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3. but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6. He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7. 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " 8. Then they remembered his words.
Romans 6:1-4 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Name above all names You are Worthy of all praise
I praise Your Name, Lord! Thank You for the new life You have given me.
The sacrifice that Christ made for my sins is unimaginable to me in it's horror. I am not deserving of His mercy and goodness, but even if I was the only person God ever put on this earth, Christ still would have died on the cross for just me.
His love for me knows no bounds. I am humbled every time I think about His mercy. I do not deserve the love and forgiveness that He bestows on me, but He offers it to me anyway!
Salvation is not something that I can earn. It is a gift. The only thing I can do is choose to accept the gift, and choose to live a life that honors the Gift-Giver.
Corinthians 6:19-20 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
"Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all."-Issac Watts
You did it all for me After You counted the cost You took my shame, my blame On my cross
I am humbled by Your love for me, Lord.
If you would like to learn more about salvation through Jesus Christ, Pastor Paul Sheppard has a sermon called The Miracle of Salvation. Let his words about God and His love for you sink deep into your heart. God loves you!
This week I read about Mary, the mother of Jesus in my devotional. Here is what happened when God sent the angel Gabriel to speak to Mary. Luke 1:26-38 The Birth of Jesus Foretold 26.In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27.to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28.The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." 29.Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30.But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31.You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32.He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33.and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." 34."How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" 35.The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36.Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37.For nothing is impossible with God." 38."I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
Gabriel told Mary that she was highly favored by God.
I looked up in the dictionary the meaning for the word favored. favored: treated or thought of with great kindness or partiality; preferred above all others and treated with partiality
I looked up the meaning of the word "highly" in the dictionary also. highly: in or to a high degree; extremely; with high appreciation or praise; admiringly, more than adequately; generously
Imagine with me for a minute, how you would feel if God had Gabriel say those same words to you. Imagine hearing God say, "You are so special to me that I give My One and Only Son to you. Love Him, care for Him, until He comes back home to be with Me."
Think of your own children. Who in your life would you honestly, without hesitation be able to say those same words to? As a parent, I am very choosy who I let take care of my children. I can't even imagine having to decide who would raise them for me in my absence.
Yet,God trusted in Mary so much that He let her not only give birth to His precious Son, but He trusted her to love Him and to raise Him for the time He spent on the earth.
It's so humbling to me.
I wonder if Mary felt up to the task right away, or was she scared? Obviously God knew she was up for the challenge. I think so often times in life, God trusts us so much more than we trust Him. He believes in us even when we don't believe in ourselves.
Mary was definitely a woman blessed by God. Her walk with God could not have been easy. From the time the words left Gabriel's mouth, Mary was faced with challenges. Challenges that would cause most people to crumble from the pressure. At the end of His short life, she had to watch the son she gave birth to and loved be ridiculed, scorned, and crucified. I cannot even begin to comprehend the pain she must have felt deep inside her heart.
Imagine the Son of God calling you "Mother". Even as He was hanging on the cross in unimaginable pain, He was still concerned for His mother.
John 19:25-27 25.Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26.When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," 27.and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
She was His Momma.She was so dear to Him. He wanted her to be taken care of by someone He loved and trusted in His absence, just like His Father had done for Him.
The devotional book ends the section on Mary with with this prayer.
"My soul is full of you, my God, and I cannot hold back my gladness. Everyone who sees me will call me blessed because you have noticed me. You saw my lowliness and my need and filled my emptiness with your presence. Form your likeness in me so that, like Mary, I can bring you into a world that desperately needs your love."
Ask God to make you a woman like Mary. Give your life over to God. Let people see Jesus through your life. Pray for the grace to be like Mary who said, "I am the Lord's servant,may it be to me as you have said."
Luke 1:28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
