12/22/12. Luke 1:26-38. THE ANNUNCIATION-devotional devotional

Key Verse: 1:37                                                                                 Kevin Jesmer  NIU  UBF

“³⁷ For no word from God will ever fail.”

Dear Lord God, thank you for lifting us up out of the mundane and the petty. Thank you for helping us to see beyond the confines of this world and this life, to actually see and view the beauty and the glory of God in Jesus. Lord, I pray that you may bless our worship of you tomorrow. Help us to draw near to you and see your glory and love in the baby in a manger. Fill my heart with your word. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Part 1: You Have Found Favor With God (26-29).

     Verses 26-29, “In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, 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.”

The angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she had been chosen for a special mission from God to give birth to the Messiah. God’s high favor is to be with us and to choose us to be included in his redemptive work and history. This sounds really great and it is great. Mary was a poor, 16 year old country girl. She could have married, lived and died and not born much fruit in her life. She would not have changed the course of world history. She was a blessed woman because she could accept the will of God up on her life.

Jesus once said, “I am the vine, you are the branches, if a man remains in me and I in him he will bear much fruit. Apart from me he can do nothing.” (Jn  ) Mary could do nothing on her own, but when she remained in God, she would bear so much good fruit in her life. Like wise on my own I could do nothing. I could survive. I could pay the bills. I could maintain my home. But the end result of it all would be few memories and tokens forgotten after my kids pass on.  But by the grace of God, I can bear fruit that will last. I can apply myself to Christian writing and missionary strategy work. I can apply myself as a Bible teacher. I can pass faith onto my friends and my kids. I can pray for may atomic family. When it is time for me to go home to God, I know that as I remained in Jesus, my life would be made fruitful because of God. The things that God leads me into are deeply satisfying because they are of God and they are bearing fruit. Thank you Lord!

But we can see that the news that Mary heard caused her to be troubled. For Mary, it meant giving up her own dream or plan of a dreamy marriage with Joseph. She knew that it would definitely disrupt her life plan. There were to be some changes to be had.

I  know that the will of God may trouble my heart. The will of God will interfere with my life in some way. I need to accept this. The will of God thus far is very nice to me. I can write. I can publish on my web site. I can attend a church that I really like. I can have all kinds of Christian friends. I can have friends who study the Bible with me. I can have an intact family living in a comfortable small town. There will be some inconveniences. I have lots of journeys to do related to the work of God. I do pray to become more involved in the outreach to the First Nations People in Northwestern Ontario. If I ever moved out there then my life would be really disrupted. I guess my take home point is that I need to be ready to accept all that God has sent my way. I have to be ready to accept God’s path even when my heart is troubled.

Part 2:  Who is Mary’s Child? (30-33).

Verses 30-33, “But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him 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 Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

What was Mary told of her child? He would be called Jesus, the great Son of the Most High, King over David’s throne and Israel forever, born of a virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit, and the holy Son of God (35). He is the fulfillment of all God’s promises and the greatest hope of human souls.

Wow! What a great blessing! How wonderful is this Jesus that Mary will give birth to. If I could sum it up simply, this great and wonderful Savior will reign over us. I thank God for ruling over my life and Julie’s and our family’s life. I thank God for ruling over this nation and world. This world may seem that crazy and spinning out of control, but when Jesus is ruling I can have peace in my heart and be optimistic about the future. I could have strength to carry on and not just live in despair. Praise the Lord for this.

I can also entrust my life to Jesus. He is reigning. He has never done me wrong. He has never led me along the wrong path. He has continually blessed my life and my family. He has rescued me again and again from my own folly. How wonderful it is have Jesus ruling. I want to further submit my heart and life to my King and Savior, Jesus Christ. I pray for the young people of America to put all of their faith, hope and love in their King Jesus.

Part 3:  No Word From God Will Ever Fail (34-38).

Verses 34-38, “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” ³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on 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 unable to conceive is in her sixth month. ³⁷ For no word from God will ever fail.” ³⁸ “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.”

This was Gabriel’s final message when Mary wondered how she, a virgin, could give birth to Jesus. Whatever God promises or declares is not difficult for God to do. Even Elizabeth would bear John the Baptist. Mary believed Gabriel’s words to her.

What is God’s word to me? God wants me to be a shepherd of the people. He wants me to be a 1:1 Bible teacher. He wants me to help co-ordinate the sending of missionaries to  NW Ontario.

What about my calling to be a UBF shepherd. I guess that will come if there are a team of people who want to come and join our family on the mission field here at NIU. I would also like to grow as a Christian writer. I would like to get a Master’s Degree in some Christian ministry. These are God’s word to me. God will work to fulfill it. I need to trust God that he will grow me spiritually and fulfill his will in my life.

Ultimately it will require my acceptance of the will of God on my life. Mary also accepted the mission from God very humbly: “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled” (38). She was the right woman for God’s mission. When we are confronted with the will of God, it will cause us to struggle but God will grant us the grace to accept the will of God on our life. Right now I like the will of God on my life. There is not much of a struggle to accept the will of God. I can not see me doing anything else. But even if the will of God was hard, I needed to accept it.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for bringing Jesus into the world through a virgin girl, Mary, as the Son of God and King. Great is your will, purpose, and favor.

One Word: God’s word will never fail