Thursday, March 25, 2010

Here Am I


LENT--DAY 32

SCRIPTURE

Annunciation of Our Lord
Luke 1:26-38 (NRSV)

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God." Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.


DEVOTION

Today I pay tribute to the courage, strength, and radical obedience of Mary, Mother of Jesus.

When the angel came to her and announced that she would become a pregnant virgin, she could have freaked out! She could have made excuses regarding why she was not the right choice. She could have flat out refused!

Instead she said, "
"Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."

WOW! What radical obedience!

Today, I feel truly repentant about all the times God has asked for my partnership in doing the work of Love and I have refused, made excuses, or only carried out the plan partway.

How many times has God instructed us to share the good news about Jesus and we have remained silent? How many times has God moved our hearts to give liberally to someone in need and we have turned away? How many times has God called us to prayer and Bible study and we have been "too tired."

I could go on and on telling on myself (and you), but I won't (giggles)!

Let's suffice it to say that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." There is none righteous, no not one!

I am so grateful for the Endless Love and Amazing Grace of God that looks beyond our faults and sees our needs!

I am happy-glad about Jesus who gave his life on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life.

And I shout for JOY that Jesus did not stay dead, but was resurrected on the third day, just as he promised securing our eternal victory over sin, death and the grave!

GLORY TO GOD!

All of this was set in motion when Mary believed that "nothing shall be impossible for God" and responded with a resounding YES to God, in the form of the words, "
"Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."

May we all find the courage and obedience to tell God YES today!


Let us pray:

Holy God, thank you so much for your love and care toward me. Thank you that you love me so much that you give me the blessed opportunity to partner with you in your Kingdom building work. Thank you that I am invited to be your HANDS and SMILE in the world, blessing those with need. Please forgive me for the many times I have said NO to you and please fill me with the Holy Spirit so that you can count on my YES every day. I love you and I want others to love you too. I pray this in Jesus' Name, Amen.



INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaL


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