Don't Be Afraid - You Have Favor With God!

And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then 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 bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:28-33 NKJV)

I've often wondered what was going through Mary's mind after Gabriel left her that day. Was she bombarded with thoughts of "what are they going to think of me?" Or "What is Joseph going to say."  I can't even imagine how nervous she was when she went to tell Joseph that she was expecting a child that wasn't his. 

Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:19-21 NLT)

Joseph had every right to leave Mary.  In their culture an engagement could only be broken by a divorce, it was legally binding.  What we don't realize is that not only could Joseph have divorced Mary but adultery, and such was punishable with the penalty of death by stoning. Joseph must have loved Mary dearly and completely trusted her to even consider breaking their engagement quietly.

Ultimately God had an amazing plan. He sent Gabriel to prepare Mary for what was to come. When he said “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God", I think he was telling her to not be afraid of what was to come.  Mary, don't be afraid of being pregnant. Don't be afraid to tell Joseph. Don't be afraid of what people will think. Don't be afraid of what they will say or do. Mary, don't be afraid because you have favor with God!

Favor is defined as approval, support, or popularity. Favor is also a special privilege or right.

God doesn't care what the world thinks of you, neither should you! His opinion of you is the only one that matters. 

Like Mary, you are highly favored! 

YOU have been fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalms 139:14)

YOU are a child of God. 

YOU are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. (2 Cor. 5:21)

YOU are chosen, holy, and blameless and you have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. (Eph 1:3,4) 

YOU are His treasured possession. (Deut. 7:6)

Mary didn't concern herself with what could have been.  She did as Gabriel told her to do, Mary Rejoiced!  See Mary's Song: Luke 1:46

Mary realized that God's plan for her life was for much more that just herself. She knew that she had a part in bringing salvation to the world. 

We need to remind ourselves who we are daily. We can't dwell on the "what if's" or what people might think about us. Or what the enemy is saying about us. Our part might not be birthing a precious little baby, who is King Jesus, but God has things that he wants to do through us too.  Each and everyone of us has a part, we each have a role to play in this life and it is significant! 

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus let’s rejoice in who He is!  The King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Prince of Peace.

⁹ Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, ¹⁰ but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. ¹¹ The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! ¹² And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in highest heaven,

    and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” (Luke 2:9-14)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

~Calla Cuff

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Outrunning The Bees

Many years ago I must have used some type of hair product that attracted bees. One day I was walking down a street and I am not sure how many bees dove into my hair but, it seemed like a lot. I started running, but the funny thing was, I couldn't outrun the bees because they were all in my hair and I have thick hair.The buzzing was so loud near my ears I thought there must have been at least 10 bees. So I stopped and started shaking my head and eventually they all left. I am not normally afraid of bees but when so many come at you at once and get tangled in your hair, it is not fun. I could not out run the bees they were in my hair- so I had to stop and do something about it.  

Thoughts are sometimes like these bees - you have to do something about them- they are in your head. In Phil. 4:8, God's word tells us to think on what is "pure, holy, honest, just, of good report; if there be any praise, if there be any virtue, think on these things."  

Sometimes when things are going well this seems easier to do than when your facing challenges on every side or are hard pressed . Romans 8:6 says, "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."  

Death in the Bible refers to separation from God, carnal minded thinking can actually separate us from God's best, His thoughts for our life.  But being spiritually minded or thinking how He thinks will bring life and peace. 

We cannot outrun thoughts they come to everyone, but you can decide what you will think about- and what you will have.  Sometimes thoughts are like those bees buzzing that you need to shake off by speaking what you know to be true in His word.  Thank God that that if you are in Christ you can renew your mind with His word, everyday choosing to bring down any thought that would try to exalt itself against the knowledge of His word, and in doing so live what Jesus came to give us, life and peace.  

One of the greatest areas that we can present ourselves a living sacrifice is in the area of our thoughts, choosing continually to not conform your thoughts to think like the world, with no faith or grace involved, but to be transformed to think His thoughts and walk out His will everyday. 

~Alexandra Fleege

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Shake Off The Buzz

The word of God tells us in 1 John 5:13-15  These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.  This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.…

Is He hearing you? Actually hearing your voice?

There are so many things in this life that fight for our attention.  As a Mom, I hear my name called no less than 30 times a day. I have work demands and deadlines, social media keeping me aware of every unimportant detail of everyones life, news headlines, and the list goes on. This constant buzz can lull us into a spiritual slumber. 

White noise or a buzz will make me sleepy. When I get sleepy, I get quiet. My husband would say this never happens...getting quiet that is. But I do.  I’ll even stop paying attention to what’s going on around me. He almost never wants to let me drive on long trips, for good reason.

It was early in the morning, around 5AM and the sun was just starting to rise. The sky was a soft shade of persimmon and rose. It was my shift on the long drive home from Oklahoma to Ohio. My friend had drifted off to sleep in the passenger seat and I was listening to the buzz of the tires turning on the road beneath.  We had just graduated from bible school and lots of changes where taking place in my life. I felt as though I was walking closer to the Lord than ever before. As I worshipped quietly along with the music playing on my stereo, I began to fall asleep. Never would I have thought or planned on falling asleep, but I did because I didn’t take into account the buzz that was playing like a lullaby in me ear. I was lulled to sleep. As the car began to head off the road down a steep hill, I heard the name “Jesus” and I woke up. I had just enough time to jerk the steering wheel hard, sending the car into a tailspin across the four lane highway towards the cement median. I yelled out “Jesus!” and the car stopped. As I looked around I saw that all four lanes of traffic had stopped far back as if at a stop light. Jesus woke me up and saved my life.

There are events, lives and even plans of God waiting,  maybe even headed over a deadly cliff, needing someone to wake up and speak the word of God over them. 

I encourage you and myself. Let’s not let the buzz of life lull us to sleep. 

Ephesians 5:13-15 …But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, “ Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”  Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,…

James 5:16 tells us, The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in it's working]. 

Listen to the leading of the Spirit of God inside. He is speaking.  Lift up your voice with confidence and be active in bringing the will and plans of heaven to the earth. God is listening. Let’s shake off the buzz and wake up! There is much to be done.

Hugs,Tamera Ford

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