Encouragement

I did a small personal study on encouragement about a month ago. I just thought I'd share it in case it is uplifting to someone. :) 

 

1 Thess. 5:11 – “Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

 

Encouragement is used to build each other up as believers. It is used to comfort the grieving. Used to lead others to Christ and to remind believers of His promises.

 

Deut. 3:28 – “But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.”

 

Encouragement is needed for those like Joshua who are commissioned and chosen by God to lead people to inherit their promised land.

 

Judges 7:11 – “and listen to what they are saying. Afterwards you will be encouraged to attack the camp.”

 

This scripture is referring to Gideon. Here we see that God will strategically instruct us and lead us to places just in time to hear an encouraging word that will help us to regain confidence in God’s promise and experience victory. Encouragement can cause us to worship God.

 

Judges 20:22 – “But the Israelites encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day.”

 

Encouragement gives us the strength to keep going and to get back up even after we fail or when things don’t go as planned.

 

2 Chronicles 32:6-7 – “He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate and encouraged them with these words: ‘Bestrong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is greater power with us than with him.’”

 

Encouragement is used to remind others of their strength. It is used to help others find courage. It is used to remind us how great and powerful our God is.

 

2 Chronicles 35:2, “He appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them in the service of the Lord’s temple.”

 

Encouragement is given to those who serve in the house of the Lord.

 

Psalm 10:17, “You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry.”

 

Encouragement is given by God to let us know that He listens and is near.

 

Acts 9:31 shows us that - Encouragement comes from the Holy Spirit.

 

Acts 15:32 shows us that - Encouragement is spoken by prophets.

 

Acts 16:40 shows us that - Encouragement comes simply by being in the presence of believers.

 

Acts 28:15 shows us that - Encouragement causes people to give thanks to God. It refreshes others.

 

1 Samuel 23:16 – “And Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David at Horesh, and encouraged him in God.”

 

Encouragement is given by best friends and brings a friendship closer. Encouragement believes the best in others and drives people to their God given purpose.

 

As an overall summary we see that - Encouragement is across the old and new testament. It lifts peoples spirits, wins battles, changes lives, gives hope, saves lives, given by God, influenced by the Holy Spirit, boosts confidence, prepares the hearts of men before battle, motivates, counteracts fear, builds us up inside, brings courage, helps us find our strength, is a gift, is powerful, is free.

Give Honor Where Honor is Due

Give honor where honor is due. Do not take the credit for something that you didn't do, just to make yourself look good. It is best to give credit to the person who deserves it. Honor their efforts. This will keep you humble. Humility is a way of saying yes to the spirit and no to the flesh that selfishly seeks attention. 

Love others with humility and honor.

“The reward of humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, honor and life.”

Proverbs 22:4 NASB 

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

John 13:35 NIV

I have learned that just because I want something does not mean that I am ready for it. I might not be mature enough to handle what I am praying for. I also might be asking for something that I don't really want after all. 

But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:13 NASB)

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 NASB)

God is not limited by money

I heard this the other day and I hoped that it would bless someone. As humans when we need something, we go to a specific store and we buy whatever it is that we need because we operate by using money. However God is not limited to money. He can meet our need no matter how much money we have or don't have.  He is also rich in areas that money can't buy. He is rich in love, mercy, forgiveness, and truth. He "is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21 NASB)

Excited for the future

My friend and I were talking yesterday about what we wanted in life and what we are excited about for the future. :) 

We talked about making vision boards that capture our goals and dreams. It's important to put a vision board where it's always in my vision. Somewhere that I'm always going to see it and be reminded of my dreams and be encouraged to achieve them. 

My friend went on to encourage me that instead of waiting for something to happen that I should start preparing like it's going to happen. Amen! What a great idea! 

I'm going to start preparing in faith for something specific and I know God will work things out beautifully as He always does. 

More notes from Christine Caine sermon

As promised, here are some more of my notes from the sermon that Christine Caine gave when she came to visit my church. 

This sermon is based on the book of Joshua from chapters 5-6 when the Israelites were preparing to take possession of Canaan. These chapters also talk about their conquest of Jericho. 

Her sermon is about how to get to our "promised land" and lists a few examples of what might be holding us back. I added my own thoughts in parentheses.  

There is a process to possessing the next phase of what God wants us to do:

We have to pay our own price of our own promised land. (It requires our participation, faith, and perseverance.)

Sometimes a sense of entitlement creeps up on us and we expect to be given the inheritance that was given to those that lived before us. 

It is possible to be delivered in the wilderness but not free in the promised land. (How?) Sometimes a weight can be holding us back from our destiny. An example of a weight can be a bad relationship, unforgiveness, etc. These weights keep us from moving into our next phase. 

If the person that you are getting all your advice/wisdom from is going a different direction in life than you, and they are leading you away from where God is leading you, then they aren't leading you to the promised land. 

"Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in." (Joshua 6:1 NKJV)

The Israelites paid the price, they let go of the past, moved on, and moved in to their promised land. 

So what do I do when I walk into my promised land and there is a big, impenetrable wall? (Like the wall of Jericho.) 

I recognize that He is God and I am not. 

In the book of Joshua, the Israelites faced a giant wall in Jericho, in their promised land. Then God gave them a unique and unheard of battle strategy: they were to walk around the wall of Jericho seven times. 

(It pays to be willing to do what God is asking us to do to get to the promised land. Even if it's a little out of the ordinary. He will come through with all He promises. Sometimes we have a part to play and we have to make that brave effort to follow His leading because He will lead us to victory.) 

If your words don't line up with the promises of God then don't say anything until you can say what God says. (Keep your faith alive.) 

So keep moving forward to your own promised land, march around 7 times (obey God in what he asks you to do and don't give up). And shout with praise because the wall is coming down. :) 

Encouraging myself

Get rid of the voice of doubt. Praise Him in good times and in the middle of disappointment. Get rid of fear and it's lies. Get rid of people pleasing. Get quiet on purpose. Listen to the still small voice and dare to follow it. Believe that He will lead you. Believe the Word of God over your own thoughts. Let the Word of God become your truth instead of what the world says is true. Let God, your creator, define you, not the people who put you down. Let the Word of God be more influential to you than the negative and discouraging words of others. Don't give up and don't stop believing. Don't look at what the world says is impossible but look at what God says IS possible. Follow God even when it doesn't make sense to the world. You are not here to please the world but you have a much greater purpose in Him. 

Don't listen to the fears of "what if?" because they hold you back and distract you from what is. The fear of "what if?" tries to rob you from what is rightfully yours - what God wants to give you. Believe even when you don't see and you will see what at first you didn't believe. 

Giving God 10%

In Malachi 3:10, it says, "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it." (Malachi 3:10 NKJV)

When we give God 10% of our income (our tithe), He blesses the rest of our 90%. Everything good we have comes from Him and it's the least we could do to give Him what He asks. God loved us so much that He gave us His one and only son. (John 3:16) Jesus gave all He had and held nothing back - He gave His life so that we could have life. 

I recently heard a story on the radio that showed me a different perspective about how God blesses our 10% even when it looks like we can't afford to give it. 

The story on the radio told about a guy that had a 10% chance to live because he needed surgery to remove a brain tumor. He trusted God and reached out to people for prayer before going in to surgery. He not only survived the surgery but he came out healthy and had no complications or disabilities afterwards like they thought he would. He gave God his 10% chance of living and that was all that he had to give. He trusted God with his 10% and God came through and miraculously blessed the other 90%. 

This same guy had to go into surgery a second time, related to the same brain tumor,  and again he only had a 10% chance to live. He not only survived but he is doing very well and has no complications or disabilities after the surgery. 

At times it may seem like we can't afford to give that 10% because of hard financial situations we are facing or bills that need to be paid but God sees your heart and knows your situation. His word does not come back void. He says in Malachi 3:10 to test Him as you give Him your whole tithe and watch Him give you so much blessing in return that you won't have room enough to contain it. 

I encourage you to give what God has spoken to your heart to give. We often say at my church, that it's not about equal giving, it's about equal sacrifice. 

It's ok, if I am not able to give as great a quantity as the person sitting next to me. What matters is that I'm giving to God what is His and that I'm obedient in giving the amount I know that God has asked me to give. 

New Testament

This entry is short and sweet :)

I'm so in love with The Word of God. I just finished the book of Galatians and I am currently reading 1 Corinthians. (I'm skipping around a bit.) 

Praising God

Here are some great words that my friend shared with me last week. It encouraged me in my faith and brought me joy. 

"We will pray about that when the time comes but in the mean time, we will praise God for this good news!"

She was responding to a praise report I shared with her but I also told her about a few disappointments that I had faced that day too. I started getting concerned about the disappointments and started planning for how I was going to handle them. I started getting my plan of action in place (months in advance I might add) and then I read her words...

"We will pray about that when the time comes but in the mean time, we will praise God for this good news!"

I was losing focus and was not fully seeing the great thing that God had done for me. God deserved to be praised but I immediately started to think about how I was going to solve my problems instead of how I was going to praise Him for all He had done.

God definitely used my friend to bring me that timely message that turned my heavy heart into a hopeful heart. I believe God wanted me to hear those words. It really helped me to get my mind off of what I thought was disappointing news and praise God for the good news! It really spoke to my spirit and instantly helped me to have a grateful heart.

Since then I have maintained focus on the good news and made an intentional choice to praise God even when I'm facing disappointment. I can tell it has strengthened my faith. It has also helped my mind to focus on what's healthy. Why should I dwell on the negative when I have something to be thankful for? 

The disappointing news is still there but my determination to praise God for the good news has helped me to trust Him more and be joyful about how He always takes care of me. 

"I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth." Psalms 34:1 NASB

A loving God

I heard this on the radio today: "God uses imperfect people to share His perfect love." 

Be strong & courageous!

I am reading Joshua chapter 1. In the short space between verse 6 and verse 9, The Lord is speaking to Joshua and tells him three times to be strong and courageous. 

"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:6-7, 9 NIV)

The Lord is still with us today. If you know that God has spoken to you and asked you to do something for Him, be strong and courageous as you walk in obedience. 

Christine Caine

This past Sunday, Christine Caine spoke at my church. She's an amazingly gifted speaker that brings the word of God straight to your heart and spirit. The truth that she speaks is spiritually awakening and really captures your attention. It was a powerful message. This was the main topic that she spoke about:

"We can be delivered in the wilderness but not free in the promised land."

Her sermon was from the book of Joshua. 

I'm still editing the notes I took from her sermon this past Sunday, but would like to post more soon.

A Week of Transparency

My church just finished a seven day fast that focused on transparency. It helped me so much and I really enjoyed it. Whoever chose to participate in the fast, decided what kind of fast they would do: whether to fast from food completely, to fast only certain foods, or to fast other things such as social media.

I wanted to share the topics we focused on each day and the scriptures that go along with it in case anyone reading was also interested in a seven day fast or the topic of transparency. 

Day 1: transparency with God. Psalms 139:1–18

How can I be more transparent with God?

Day 2: transparency with brothers. 1Sam 17:1–29

How can I demonstrate clarity in my motives?

Day 3: transparency with leadership. 1Sam 17:32–40

Who are you emulating?

Day 4: transparency to enemies. 1Sam 17:41–54

What do your actions show the enemies of your life?

Day 5: transparency with friends. 1Sam 20

Your friends are the ones to whom you reveal your true self.

Day 6: transparency in the church. 2Sam 12:1–13

I must ask God for forgiveness before I can be restored.

Day 7: transparency to yourself. 2Sam 9

What does your character reveal?

Fasting brings Clarity

I believe and have seen and experienced that fasting brings clarity. 

There were a few things that I felt unsure on and experienced doubt about, but fasting has brought about a clearer "channel", if you will, between God and I. I can hear Him clearer and feel like I have clarity where there was once confusion. I feel like I now have a solid truth that I can stand on that will help continue to guide me in the future. 

Hello

Just a note of transparency and honesty:

I'm behind on my Bible reading! :/ I'm trying to read the Bible in one year. 

Life gets so busy sometimes and the things I like doing the most get pushed aside when in fact they should be a priority.

It's not too late to read the Bible in one year. So I won't give up but I'll get back in there and keep trying my best. 

Be Still

Our church is just starting a fast and we are focusing on certain passages of scripture to study each day for the duration of the fast. Today's passage is, Psalm 139:1-18.

This passage really touched my heart and there was one part that made me want to study it more - Psalm 139:18.

"Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you." (Psalm 139:18 NIV)

The last few words of this scripture made me wonder what David (the writer) meant by the words, "I am still with you". I thought to myself, Does that mean that when he wakes up that David is still with God because God never left his side? Or does that mean that David is still, at peace, trusting God to take care of him, not worrying, and not striving because He knows what a powerful God he serves? 

After studying it a little more I think he meant that The Lord never left him. Psalm 139:18 was cross referenced to a similar scripture Psalm 3:5, "I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me."

I also realized that both qualities are true about God: 1) He asks us to be still and trust Him and know that He is God. 2) He will also never leave us.

See supporting scripture below.

"He says, 'Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.'" (Psalm 46:10 NIV)

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV)

Fear Snowball

Dave Ramsey is a well known author, financial expert, speaker, radio personality, and more. I have taken his financial peace class and have learned a lot. In the class, I learned about the "debt snowball". This means that you list your debt in order and start paying off the lowest amount of debt that you owe first. Once you pay that off, then you move to the next amount of debt (lowest to highest) until you've reached the top and are able to pay off the highest amount of debt you owe. When you pay off your debt this way, you earn confidence as you are able to witness your own progress.

I was thinking the other day, this could be a way to approach personal fears. (And of course face them with God too.) 

The Bible tells us not to fear and that fear is not from God. If we are scared of many things then we can start with our smallest and most silly fear we can think of. 

Think of that tiny, silly fear that almost makes you laugh and remind yourself of the truth. 

Find a scripture that helps you focus on the truth instead of what you are afraid of. A lot of times we scare ourselves unnecessarily and are afraid of things that "might happen" but never do. Sometimes fear clouds our thoughts and hinders us from seeing the truth. 

Meditating on scripture (truth) and applying it to life really helps to improve mental health and leads to peace of mind. 

Many times we are afraid of what we don't know or don't understand. Try reading a book about your fear and learn more about it. Seek the truth by learning and seek the truth in the Bible. 

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." (II Timothy 1:7 NKJV)

"But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul." (Deuteronomy 4:29 NIV)

Unconventionally Wrapped

I heard this on the radio recently and I wanted to share: Sometimes, the things that we are praying for and the things that we are believing God for don't always come in the packages that we expect them to. Don't dismiss the gifts that you might already have in front of you because you are looking for them to be presented to you in a different way. 

God is so good and He loves you SO much that He doesn't want to give you what you want - He wants to give you something even better. :) 

The Ability to Grow

One of the things I love about life is that we always have the chance to learn and to grow in wisdom and increase knowledge. Especially these days when information is readily at our fingertips via technogy. 

The Bible, and spending time with God, have been the best sources for me to grow in wisdom and maturity. 

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV)

"A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction." (Proverbs 1:5, 7 NASB)

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." (James 1:22 NIV)

Doing good

A couple days ago I posted a poem called, "Be Kind Anyway". I wanted to re-post the following lines in the poem and just talk about it a little more...

"The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway."

People may forget the good we do, that's true, but God sees your heart and all the good that you do and He won't forget. :) When you get discouraged, remember that He sees all the hard work you do even when no one else does. 

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:9 NIV)

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." (Colossians 3:23-24 NIV)

Distractions

Do you ever feel distracted at the worst times? For example, being distracted while somebody is trying to talk to you? Or being distracted during worship at church? 

Sometimes I have so much going on that I need to remember or sometimes I have been so worried about something that it keeps coming to mind and I have to really fight to keep my mind focused on God. I'm just being completely honest and real. 

This used to happen to me so much. I couldn't stop thinking about something that upset me or I couldn't stop worrying about something that I thought that might happen. Therefore I couldn't fully press in to Him. I was consumed by several concerns and worries. 

This is not the freedom that Christ died to give us. We don't have to be slaves to anything because we are free! We don't have to be slaves to worry because God asks us to give all our concerns to Him. We don't have to be a slave to people pleasing because we are not a slave of man, we are a servant of Christ. We don't have to be a slave to the fear of man because we have the fear of God. 

I realized all these distractions are keeping me from fully experiencing Him and the more I hold onto them the less I focus on God. But the more I freely release them to Him, the more free I am. When I let go of distractions I can hear Him clearer and really connect during worship for a moving and miraculous experience. 

I know now that nobody else deserves more of my attention than My Creator. Nobody and nothing else is worthy of all of my attention and concentration than The King of Kings! 

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1 NIV)

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NIV)

"Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Galatians 1:10 NIV)

"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7 NIV)

"Be Kind Anyway"

The following poem is said to be written by Mother Teresa:

"People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. 

If you are kind, people may accuse you of alterior motives. Be kind anyway. 

If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. 

If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. 

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. 

Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. 

For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."

I love the meaning behind this poem. I believe this is how God wants us to live. To give our best for Him regardless of the outcome and then ... keep giving our best even if things don't turn out the way we expected. 

God loves the animals

As an animal lover I find it very encouraging that God chose to create animals from the very beginning and that He also chose to save the animals from the flood. He could have just saved Noah and his family from the flood but He chose to save the animals as well. He cared enough to bring male and female pairs of all animals so they could multiply and continue to live on earth. That makes my heart so happy that God is loving to every living thing He created.

"You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive." (Genesis 6:19-20 NIV)

A Time Before Rain

I always thought it was so interesting that there was a time before rain existed! Can you imagine? Although I really do enjoy thunder storms and wearing my rain boots. :) And would no rain mean no more bad hair days!?! This is how God used to water the ground...

"Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground." (Genesis 2:5-6 NIV)

Something I learned in a sermon a couple years ago is that God asked Noah to build the Ark before rain even existed. Noah had not seen rain before but he was preparing and believing for the things unseen because God instructed him to. What incredible faith of Noah. I believe that the following scripture describes his faith exactly:

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1 KJV)

Noah's great faith is specifically noted in the book of Hebrews:

"By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith." (Hebrews 11:7 NIV)

As we continue with the story of Noah, God said,

"Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.” (Genesis 7:4 NIV)

Noah believed God and built the Ark to save his family from the flood. He believed what God said even though he hadn't seen rain yet. He believed and had faith to do what he was asked to do. He saw The Lord's instruction as more important than what people would think. Even though he didn't understand or know what rain was he didn't let the unknown stop him.

"And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him." (Genesis 7:5 NIV)

I imagine that Noah and his family faced some form of mockery and that people questioned what he was doing. Noah however kept His eyes on God and did what was asked of him. 

I pray to have that kind of faith and to deepen my faith and trust God more. To do what He's asking me to do even if I haven't witnessed what God has asked me to do. Even if it's different. Even if I get made fun of. Even if people don't understand. 

I've decided that The Lord is more important than what people think of me. I have learned from some of my dear Pastors that sometimes being obedient to God will offend others. 

I close with a scripture that always helps me with the struggle of people pleasing:

"Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Galatians 1:10 NIV)

*All bold emphasis mine. 

The Birth of Jesus

This blog entry starts off with a few scriptures that tell the story leading up to the birth of Jesus and a little bit after His birth. Then following the scriptures are a few of my thoughts and what I learned.  

"The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 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; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" 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 Child shall be called the Son of God. 

And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her." (Luke 1:30-35, 38 NASB)

"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 1:18 NASB)

"Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

"BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US." (Matthew 1:22-23 NASB)

(This scripture also found in Isaiah 7:14.)

So as we see Mary was first visited by the angel that told her that she would give birth to Jesus. It makes it clear in each of these scriptures that Mary was a virgin and even she asked how this could be? However, she consented and chose for God's will to be done and the angel departed from her. 

I know there is significance in everything that God does. As I re-read and studied this story (especially over Christmas) I wanted to learn more about the holy significance in God choosing a young virgin to give birth to His Son. 

I came across more scripture (from the Old and New Testament) that helped to answer this question:

"Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me.'" (Exodus 13:1-2 NASB)

"And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "EVERY firstborn MALE THAT OPENS THE WOMB SHALL BE CALLED HOLY TO THE LORD "),..." (Luke 2:22-23 NASB)

God chose a virgin because it was a fulfillment of the prophesy spoken by The Lord through the prophet and God always comes through with His word. As we see in the previous scriptures God also chose a virgin because God declares that every first born male from man that opens the womb belongs to Him. Jesus was that first born male and first in Mary's womb. Jesus was to be called Holy. God wanted to make it known to all that Jesus was His son. He gave Jesus identity and named Him even before His birth.

And that's how God gives you significance as well. He calls you by name. He knew your name before you were even conceived. He gave you an identity and He calls you His. You are loved. 

Finding rest, Finding faith

As I continue with the one year Bible plan, I come across the familiar story of God and creation.

Genesis 2:2-3 says, "By the seventh day God completed His work which he had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made."

This scripture made me pause and think about a few things: God and His word is a great example to us. In both of these scriptures it notes that God rested and I believe that there is significance in repetition in the Bible. I believe that God also wants us to know when to rest. There are times in life, in our busy schedules, that our work never feels completed or if we do complete it then we are too quick to go to the next task on the list instead of pausing like God did. He rested when His work was complete. 

Matthew 11:28 says, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."

I think that we can learn from God's example of rest and His invitation to rest. 

We were not meant to live stressed out, anxious, worried lives. There are times that we will be stressed and anxious yes, but we don't have to live like that all the time. It makes sense that God tells us time and time again in the Bible, not to worry, fear not, etc. Worry brings us away from faith but rest gives us time with Him. Rest helps us to pause from the busy day and enter in to His presence, give Him our concerns, and rest.

Matthew 11:29, "...YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS." (These words are also found in Jeremiah 6:16).

God has never let me down and He always proves Himself faithful. Over the past few years I have learned to worry less and trust Him much more. I'm done doing things my own way and I choose for Him to have the lead in my life. His will be done in my life because that's the best way, most exciting way, most fruitful way, most meaningful way, most joyful way for me to live my life. 

 

Happy New Year!

This is the beginning of a wonderful and beautiful year! I am starting a one year Bible plan and I hope to finish reading the Bible by the end of this year.

I read the Bible often and it's a big part of my life, however, to be completely honest, I've never read the Bible in its entirety. Gasp! 

So I'm here (once again) ready to pick up this beautiful word of God and read those passages that my eyes have never seen and that my heart longs to meditate on. I'm very excited and I am looking forward to sharing what I've learned and what I have found fascinating. I'll be posting these things right here in my blog.