Blessed Mary

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, you that are highly favored, the Lord is with you: blessed are you among women. (Luke 1.28)

Why was Mary blessed among women?  We assume the reason to be that she was the mother of our Lord. However, the scriptures indicate another specific reason.  She believed.  She believed the words spoken to her.

Open the scriptures.  Look at the words spoken to you.  Do you believe? 

TV~
And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.  [Luke 1:45]

God's Will in All Circumstances

Sometimes we talk about discerning God's will in a particular situation.   The scriptures give us a basic recipe for God's will:  Rejoice always,  pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  (I Thessalonians 5:16-18)

What if things aren't going our way?  What if we are being mistreated?  Rejoice always,  pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

TV~
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? [Romans 8:31]

Turning Fear into Fear

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  (Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 9:10)

Three times this is stated in the scriptures!   When life's monsters loom in front of us, it is easy to become afraid.  Let us turn the scared type of fear into the scriptural type of fear: respect for the Lord. As we do this, our inner human fears can be replaced with godly fear:  confidence in the One who is stronger than the monsters.

TV~
The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? [Psalm 118:6]

The Angel of His Presence

In all their distress he too was distressed,and the angel of his presence saved them. (Isaiah 63:9)

There are times when we feel distressed.  How comforting to know that God, in his love, is distressed with us.  He sends us the angel of His presence.  I know not whether it is a heavenly angel that emanates the presence of the Lord, or whether it is the Lord himself who's presence is angelic.  Either way, how beautiful to know that we have the angel of His presence.

TV~
Surely, he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.  [Isaiah 53:4]