As I was reading the story of Jesus’ birth in\u00a0Luke, I was struck by\u00a0what an amazing moment it\u00a0was when the angel Gabriel announces God’s plan to Mary.<\/p>\n
In the\u00a0sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in\u00a0Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a\u00a0descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to\u00a0her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is\u00a0with you.”Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what\u00a0kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be\u00a0afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child\u00a0and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He\u00a0will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord\u00a0God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign\u00a0over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Keep in mind, Mary was probably a young teenager and a virgin. As far\u00a0as we know she had never seen or spoken to an angel previously.\u00a0Suddenly, one of God’s chief messengers appears to this young girl and\u00a0tells her she will become pregnant by the Holy Spirit of God and bear\u00a0His son and His kingdom will have no end. What thoughts must have raced through her mind? Is this really true?<\/p>\n
Did this really happen? What will Joseph do? What will my family and\u00a0all the people say?<\/p>\n
I would imagine a mix of panic and almost uncontainable joy raced\u00a0through her being simultaneously.<\/p>\n
Is this not in a way akin to our own salvation experience. When I was\u00a0saved I realized the awesome fact that God was speaking to me by His\u00a0love through conviction. I too questioned whether this was real or\u00a0just my emotions. I thought about others and what they would say and\u00a0do if I allowed this re-birth to transpire. Would I agree to His Son\u00a0living in me?<\/p>\n
Mary’s ultimate response to God was, “be it done to me according to\u00a0your word.” In receiving Christ through the salvation experience we\u00a0too are saying, “Thy will be done.”<\/p>\n
My point in proposing the similarity of these experiences is not to\u00a0draw some particular parallel between the Virgin Mary and ourselves,\u00a0but rather to ask the question, has God spoken to us so profoundly and\u00a0specifically recently?<\/p>\n
All through scripture God speaks to people, often in amazing ways.\u00a0God spoke to Adam and Eve in the garden. God spoke to Abram and gave\u00a0him instructions where to live and later in His old age spoke the\u00a0promise of a child and an inheritance. God told Noah to build a boat.\u00a0He spoke to Moses in a burning bush. Isaiah overheard God speaking\u00a0and as a result asked to be sent. Many heard God say, “Thou are my\u00a0son…” when Jesus was baptized by John. Peter, James and John heard\u00a0God on the mount of transfiguration. Saul heard God on the road to\u00a0Damascus. On and on we could go. Down through centuries and up to\u00a0today many testify of hearing God’s voice.<\/p>\n
If you’re like me sometimes you wish you could have one of those\u00a0burning bush conversations so you could be absolutely sure, due to the\u00a0supernatural circumstances, that it must be God.<\/p>\n
Do you need for God to speak to you now? I do.<\/p>\n
January 1st will mark forty years of ministry for me. To quote from\u00a0one of my songs:<\/p>\n
It’s been a lot of years
\nBeen a lot of tears
\nEvery now and then
\nThere’s\u00a0been some pain<\/p>\nForty years is a significant number in God’s economy. Moses was\u00a0trained for forty years in the desert, tending sheep before he was\u00a0ready for God’s main objective, to lead His “people” out of Egypt in\u00a0to the Promised Land.<\/p>\n
I too have a sense that all that has thus transpired is only\u00a0preparation for that which lies ahead. And I have something much
\nbetter than a burning bush…so do you!<\/p>\nWe have God’s complete revealed Word. Everything God wants us to\u00a0know, historically, doctrinally and specifically in regards to all\u00a0aspects of our lives, past, present and future are addressed in that\u00a0book, the Bible.<\/p>\n
We have an advocate; Him who sits at the right hand of the Father,\u00a0always making intercession on our behalf; the risen Christ to whom has\u00a0been given all authority in Heaven and on earth.<\/p>\n
And we have an intercessor, the Holy Spirit who searches our innermost\u00a0being and prays at levels we couldn’t articulate.<\/p>\n
How we often wish we could have the experiences of some of those\u00a0previously mentioned. But don’t you see how they longed for and by\u00a0faith waited for that which was to them yet ahead in the future though\u00a0now possessed by us through Christ?<\/p>\n
In days gone by only certain priests at certain times could even\u00a0approach God but now He invites us all to come even boldly into His\u00a0presence and make all our requests known.<\/p>\n
Perhaps God speaks to us in direct proportion to how much we speak to\u00a0Him. I’m going to speak more to God and listen with a more sensitive\u00a0ear. I will pray for you as I know you too need to hear Him in regard\u00a0to the next season of your life. Please pray for Linda and me as we\u00a0seek God for His plans and purposes for our lives and ministry in this\u00a0coming year. To complete a portion of the song I referenced earlier:<\/p>\n
Though sometimes I’ve failed
\nWhen the storms prevailed
\nHe has always stayed the same<\/p>\nI still love Jesus
\nHe’s my dearest friend
\nFaithful till the end
\nI still love Jesus
\nAnd He still loves me<\/p>\n(I Still Love Jesus)
\nDallas Holm<\/p><\/blockquote>\nGod will always be found faithful. If we hear and obey His voice, we\u00a0will have a testimony of faithfulness as well; Lord speak!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
All through scripture God speaks to people, often in amazing ways. God spoke to Adam and Eve in the garden. God spoke to Abram and gave him instructions where to live and later in His old age spoke the promise of a child and an inheritance. God told Noah to build a boat. He spoke to Moses in a burning bush. Isaiah overheard God speaking and as a result asked to be sent. Many heard God say, “Thou are my son…” when Jesus was baptized by John. Peter, James and John heard God on the mount of transfiguration. Saul heard God on the road to Damascus. On and on we could go. Down through centuries and up to today many testify of hearing God’s voice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":333,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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