Posting a comment

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My mom made me aware that it is a bit confusing to post a comment on the blog. Here is how you can do it if you don’t have a blogger/google account:

Click on the comment link at the end of a particular post. Then, after writing your comment, click on the anonymous button. Your comment should then show up.

PLEASE feel free to leave me a comment. I love you feedback and would be honored to hear what God has shown you through your devotional reading.

Thank you for your time reading my blog.
Happy New Year!

Read thru the Bible

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Ok, everyone has New Year’s resolutions. I look at mine as a New Year, New Habit. I feel like I been slacking on reading and studying the Bible as a whole. So, this year, I will follow a reading plan to read through the whole Bible. I found a great plan on the Rick Warren website that has easy outlines. Click here to check it out. So, my plan is to record on my blog what I have read everyday. This is more for my own accountablility than anything else. Maybe you will be inspired to do the same. I will list the chapters that I have read and write a little bit about what stood out to me. Leave me a comment on this post if you would like to join me in this endevour.

I am also going to keep up with my quick devotional writing that I have always posted.

Today:
Genesis 4-6
This passage was about Noah. We all know the story, but have you ever focused in on this verse:
Gen. 6:8″ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.” What in the world could Noah have done to gain God’s favor and be exempt from the flood. The Bible doesn’t say much in this regard, but we do know that the earth was not a pretty place at that time. Chapter Seven does say that Noah was a righteous, blameless man who walked with God. It sounds like Noah stood out from the pact and did not succomb to the temptations of the earthly desolation going on around him.

LIVE IT OUT application:
What I take away from that is that I want to daily find favor in the eyes of the LORD. I want to walk with Him daily through reading His word, prayer and worship. I want to be different than the world around me. Do you? Do you want to stand out from the crowd? What do you need to do differently today to find favor in the eyes of God? (Please don’t misunderstand me in this phrase. I fully believe that we can not earn our salvation. That is by accepting Christ as Lord and Savior. But, we can act in a way that pleases and glorifys God)

You are Chosen

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I would love for you to click on this video and listen while you read this post:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wz8HR8Fh0Y

Mary, the mother of Jesus. Chosen by God to give birth to our Savior. What kind of women is chosen for this job? Based on this scripture, we get an idea of what Mary’s heart looked like to the Lord. Please read this passage, it is often refered to the Magnificat. I thought the version from The Message was quite interesting.

Luke 1:46-55 (The Message)

46-55And Mary said,

I’m bursting with God-news;
I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.
God took one good look at me, and look what happened—
I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!
What God has done for me will never be forgotten,
the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.
His mercy flows in wave after wave
on those who are in awe before him.
He bared his arm and showed his strength,
scattered the bluffing braggarts.
He knocked tyrants off their high horses,
pulled victims out of the mud.
The starving poor sat down to a banquet;
the callous rich were left out in the cold.
He embraced his chosen child, Israel;
he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.
It’s exactly what he promised,
beginning with Abraham and right up to now.

I just love how this says, “I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.” This is why Mary was chosen; she praised God with all her heart even in a strange situation. Think about it… an Angel vistited her and told her she (a virgin no less) would give birth to the LORD most high. And what was Mary’s response? Praise you LORD!!!

Mary is the only woman to EVER carry out this MOST important job. She was chosen because of her character. But, you know what? We are chosen, too!

Chosen for what?

You and I are chosen to live our life to glorify God. We are chosen to lift Him up and make Him known to those around us. We are chosen to live in God’s plan for us and to desire His presence in everything we do.

The Message also says in Ephesians 1:3-6
How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.

Does it blow your mind that God had YOU in mind as He created the vast universe around us? The next time you feel insignificant or ineffective remember this very fact and celebrate it like Mary did. God loves it when we celebrate Him!

So the final question is: What exactly am I chosen to do? I can’t answer that for you because that is between you and God. I do know that, when you place all of your focus on celebrating God and loving Christ, He will guide you where He wants you to go. Its so exciting when you really know deep down in your heart that God has chosen you for something awesome. Embrace it, be grateful to God and praise Him always.

Merry Christmas!