( READ RUTH Ch 1-4)

Point No 2: Your Reputation Goes Before You

As we saw in Point No 1, Ruth gave up everything for Naomi: Her family, her country, her god and her hopes of a future family and children.

Naomi and Ruth return to Naomi’s birthplace in Bethlehem of Judea. Naomi has lost everything, all she has left is her house. They are now poor people. One day, Ruth goes out to the fields to pick some corn to make bread.

The law of the day stated that: When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God. (Lev 19:9,10. NKJV)

As Ruth is picking some corn, the owner of the field, a man called Boaz is visiting his workers to see how they are getting along. He sees Ruth and asks who she is. They reply that she is the Ruth the Moabite who has recently returned to Bethlehem with Naomi (Ru 2:6)

Boaz calls Ruth over and commands her not to go to another field to pick up corn but to stay in his field and work behind his workers as they reap the harvest  and pick up any sheaves that they leave behind . Also he invites her to share their meal, and privately commands his workers to drop some of the sheaves on purpose for Ruth to pick up. (Ruth 2:16)

Ruth asks Boaz why he is showing her such favour. Boaz replies, “It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.  (Ruth 2:11,12. NKJV)

Can you see how Ruth’s reputation had gone ahead of her and given her favour with Boaz.

This was just the beginning. Boaz eventually married Ruth, and they had a child called Obed. Obed’s grand son was David who became king of Israel. David opened up the kingly line through which came Jesus Christ, and through Him came the Church.

Ruth’s reputation continued to work for her long after she died and is still working today.

Like it was with Ruth, where ever we give of ourselves, our reputation will go ahead of us, giving us favour with man and will open many opportunities for us.

Favour means that the wind is in our back not our face, it means the breaks will go for us not against us.

Meditation Point: Where ever I give, I am storing up favour for myself in future days.

RUTH — (READ RUTH Ch’s1-4)

 Ruth is my favourite Bible character. A woman of great sacrifice, meekness, service and faithfulness.

 The book of Ruth is only 4 chapters long and can easily be read at one sitting, therefore I will not go much into it’s background but trust that you have familiarised yourself with it.

 Point 1 – Asking Nothing In return

                                 All Naomi’s family have died. Her husband and two sons. Ruth was married to one of these sons, therefore she was free to move on and find another husband. Instead she chooses to follow her mother in law who is returning to her native city of Bethlehem.In doing so she has chosen to give up her family, country (Ruth was a Moabite), her god, her hopes of future marriage and children. In short, she gave up everything.

 She said to Naomi: “Entreat me not to leave you,  Or to  turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people  shall be  my people, And your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If  anything but  death parts you and me.” (Ruth 1:16,17. NKJV)

This is the principle of, ‘Asking nothing in return’.

Asking nothing in return is also built into the foundation of grace. Grace, as we have often been taught is the unmerited favour of God. That is, God giving us what we don’t deserve, and giving without asking for anything in return.

 All the major religions of the world are built on the precept of pleasing their God/s. to find acceptance with them, to appease their judgement and anger.

To do so, the people offer sacrifices of animals, prayers, fasting, food, money, whatever their God requires.

Only in Christianity do we find a God who not only asks nothing in return but has done for us what we could not do for ourselves – He sent Jesus to be our substitute sacrifice for our wrongdoings that we might find forgiveness and build a relationship with Him of love, acceptance and intimacy.

 Ruth lives out this embodiment with her mother-in-law Naomi. Naomi deserved nothing. Her bitterness, anger and rebellion were a mask covering a deep hurt. But when Ruth gave Naomi, her all, asking nothing in return, it melted Naomi’s heart, transforming her into a woman of happiness and contentment.

The world says, “If I do something for you, you must do something for me. You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch your back. Do me a favour and I’ll owe you.”

 Ruth is a type or prophetic picture of the body of Christ, and God has put the Spirit of Christ within us so we can address the bitter, angry and rebellious people of today, God is calling His followers, those of us who are in Christ, to be Ruth’s to the world’s Naomi’s. To give, asking nothing in return.

Meditate on these scriptures:

 Rom 12:14. Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. (NLT)

 Mat 5:44  Love your enemies.Do good to them that hate you. Pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; (KJV)

 You say, “But I can’t be Ruth to such people, I’ve tried and failed miserably.”

 No – ‘YOU’ can’t. But ‘JESUS’ can and will do it through you if you ask Him. He will change you inwardly so that outwardly you can express the character of Ruth.

But give Him time. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Trust your Naomi to Him and He will change you.

Ps 37:7 Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. (KJV)

 This is His grace working through you to give, asking nothing in return, and you’ll find what were once mountains, road-blocks and walls, removed, and problem people and circumstances turned around.

Meditation Point : Prayer – Lord Jesus, I give my Naomi (name the person – ………………..) to you and ask that you will work your grace in me so that I can love the unlovely and give without asking anything in return. Thank you Lord that you will turn my situation around.

(READ 1 SAM 25:2-42  {NKJV} )

Point 4: Timing Is Crucial – When Abigail returns from intercepting David, she finds her husband Nabal is celebrating a feast day and is drunk with wine. She knew she had to tell him about her actions regarding David and how she prevented David from destroying the whole household.

To tell Nabal while he is drunk and in high spirits would be the wrong time, so she waits until the following morning when Nabal is sober and can take in the seriousness of the situation.

Do we need to challenge someone’s behavior? Let’s look at a ‘Checklist’ to help us in such situations:

A) Do not challenge a person when either your or there emotions are still raw. Stirred emotions such as anger, resentment or rejection, cloud our thinking and we will invariably say and do the wrong thing. This will exacerbate and further inflame the situation.

Prov 15:18 Hot tempers start fights; a calm, cool spirit keeps the peace.   (TM)

Wait until you know emotions have calmed down. You can then think and act impartially in the situation.

B) Carefully appraise the situation. Have any of our actions contributed to the breakdown in the relationship. This takes humility and a willingness to be real with ourselves.

If so, we must be willing to acknowledge this to the other person, say sorry for our actions and ask for their forgiveness. God’s grace will always flow and bring healing when we humble ourselves. (1Pet 5:5,6.)

C) Put your trust in God and rest in Him. Learn and speak out the following confession:

When I rest – God works   – When I work – God rests!

When we give our situation to God in prayer and rest in Him. He goes to work on our behalf. But if we take the situation back and start worrying and fretting and trying to work it out ourselves – God rests and leaves us to it!

Ps 62:5-6  Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will not be shaken. (HCSB)

Meditation Point: When I am resting in God, I can claim the promise that says, ‘If God be for me, who can be against me’! (Rom 8:31)

]]> https://peterwilsonministries.org/blog/?feed=rss2&p=3447 0 https://peterwilsonministries.org/blog/?p=3403 https://peterwilsonministries.org/blog/?p=3403#comments Mon, 10 Sep 2012 17:33:47 +0000 http://peterwilsonministries.org/blog/?p=3403 (READ 1 SAM 25:2-42.  {NKJV})

Point No3: We now move to the part of this story where Abigail intercepts David and through great wisdom saves not only Nabal and his house, but also David and his future Kingship.

a) Abigail’s first action is to load up donkeys with food:1 Sam 25:18 Abigail lost no time. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys. (NIV)

She knew the value of how much a gift can take the heat and emotion out of anger:

Prov 21:14 An angry man is silenced by giving him a gift! (TLB).

Prov 21:14  A heartfelt present cools a hot temper. (THE MESSAGE).

b) When she meets David she humbles herself and falls on her face before him (1 Sam 25:23) Abigail then proceeds to tell him that Nabal is a fool and his actions have brought death upon the household. She tells David she knew nothing about the incident and to let the blame and it’s consequences fall upon her.

When we humble ourselves we will always find grace,  1 Peter 5:5-7 “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.   (NKJV

c) Abigail then speaks with great wisdom.  In a gracious way she explains that killing someone except in a time of war is unlawful and constitutes murder and would leave David with blood on his hands (a guilty conscience). Thus when David became King his actions would taint his Kingship.
Pro 15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.  (NKJV)

Prov 25:15 By long forbearance and calmness of spirit a judge or ruler is persuaded, and soft speech breaks down the most bonelike resistance.  (AMP)

David immediately realizes his wrong attitude and murderous intent. He repents (changes his mind), thanks Abigail for her wisdom and grants her request not to destroy Nabal’s Household.

Do we need to address a wrongdoing in our husband, wife, friend, neighbour or collegue. If so, Scripture plainly states the correct behaviour we must adopt.

Gal 6:1 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.  (NIV)

Let me repeat again, as the verse states, that if we will humble ourselves and speak gently to correct a person, God’s grace will flow into the situation and bring resolve and a win win situation for both sides. Scripture teaches that in correcting a brother or sister we are to seek to win them back to righteousness and restoration.

Matt 18:15  “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. (NASU)

Gal 6:1 Also states that in correcting a person, we are to be mindful not to fall into the same sin as they have committed. What Paul means here is that if we sin and need correcting, we would not want to be corrected with harsh, angry, condemning words, but would want to be dealt with gently and humbly. Therefore let us treat others as we ourselves expect to be treated.

So remember, next time you go to correct a person, prepare yourself. Make sure you are going with a loving humble attitude, with an intention of healing and restoration.

Medidtation Point: Gal 6:1 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.  (NIV)

In Point No 1 in my last Blog, we saw how approachable  Abigail was and how approachability is one of the key characteristics of wisdom.

James 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield (approachable), full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.  (NKJV)

Point No 2: When Abigail receives the news that David and his men are on their way to kill Nabal, herself and all their household, she orders her servants to load food and drink onto donkeys. Her intention was to take them to David,  intercept him and persuade him not to carry out his threat. But she did not tell Nabal what she was about to do! (1 Sam 25:18,19)

Question – why did Abigail not first discuss her actions with Nabal. Doesn’t Scripture say that the wife is to be submissive to her husband?

The answer to this question is in two parts:

A) Scripture teaches that trying to reason with a fool is impossible.

Prov 18:2 A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions. (NIV)

Prov 23:9 Do not speak to a fool, for he will scorn the wisdom of your words. (NIV)

Abigail knew from past experience that trying to reason with Nabal was a futile exercise, and that time was of the essence!

B) Part of Abigail’s role as a wife was to submit to her husband Nabal.

Eph 5:22 Wives, be subject (be submissive and adapt yourselves) to your own husbands as [a service] to the Lord. (AMP)

But Scripture also says that a husband is to love his wife and lay his life down for her.

Eph 5:25,28,29.  Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her. He who loves his own wife loves himself. For no man ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and carefully protects and cherishes it, as Christ does the church. (AMP)

Scripture describes Nabal as ‘harsh and evil in his doings’ (1 Sam 25:3) and as the head of the home he was not taking responsibility for his wife and family. He was excercising selfish unrighteous authority, whereas, when the Bible talks about submission it is always in the context of righteous authority.

Therefore, Abigail was justified in taking independent action without first consulting with Nabal.

There are those who teach that a wife must submit to her husband at all times, and there are husbands who have taken full advantage of this by treating their wives as doormats, abusing and bullying them.

If the husband loves his wife and is laying down his life for her, not only will he treat her with respect but will respect her right to have equal input into family issues. Thus if her input is respectful, wise and right, he will submit himself to her.

Eph 5:21  Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (NIV)

Marriage is two people pulling together: loving, supporting, serving and helping each other.

Eccl 4:9-12 Two can accomplish more than twice as much as one, for the results can be much better.  If one falls, the other pulls him up; but if a man falls when he is alone, he’s in trouble. Also, on a cold night, two under the same blanket gain warmth from each other, but how can one be warm alone?  And one standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer; three is even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.  (TLB)

Not only do husband and wife have each other, they also have Christ, and the Scripture above declares that a triple braided cord is not easily broken.

Wherever this model is lived out, both parties will naturally respect the roles that Scripture ascribes to them and harmony will reign!

When we view Abigail’s actions in the light of this story, we can see just how wise she was. Truly, any man would would count it an honour to be married to such a beautiful and wise woman. Everyone, that is, except  Nabal!

Meditation Prayer: Father, help me take responsibility for my actions. Give me your wisdom to see the big picture of my life.

BACKGROUND STORY

David and his men who are living in the wilderness, have been protecting Nabal’s sheep and cattle ‘gratis’, free of charge. When a feast day comes around David sends his men to Nabal requesting a few sheep to roast and eat during the feast.

Nabal refuses the request by saying that David is a run away slave and sends his men away empty handed. Upon hearing Nabal’s refusal David becomes very angry and gathers his men to return and kill Nabal and all his house.

One of Nabal’s servants hears about David’s intent and tells Abigail, Nabal’s wife. Abigail takes prompt action and by great wisdom saves Nabal and all his house.

Let’s take a closer look at how the story pans out -

Nabal & Abigail: Nabal’s name means foolish, stupid and senseless, and as his name, so was his behavior (1 Sam 25:3,25), whereas Abigail was a woman of wisdom (1 Sam 25:3,33). Foolishness and wisdom are opposites, and their story is a picture of the Book of Proverbs which so often portrays the difference between the two.

Prov 10:23 A fool finds pleasure in evil conduct, but a man of understanding delights in wisdom. (NIV)

Prov 12:15 The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.  (NIV)

Prov 14:1 The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.  (NIV)

Let’s look at some points in this story that reveal these two words of foolishness and wisdom:

Point 1: One of the servants of the household came and told Abigail about Nabal’s rejection of David and how David was on his way to destroy them all, and asked Abigail to do something because they couldn’t reason with Nabal (1 Sam 25:17).

Here we have one man (the servant), who can approach Abigail but can’t approach Nabal. He says that Nabal is a man that can’t be reasoned with

We have a tendency to think that wisdom is having knowledge, and the ability to put that knowledge into action. It is. But it is much more than that. In Jam 3:17 we see that true wisdom has at least 8 characteristics, one of which is, ‘easy to be intreated’ or ‘willing to yield to reason’. This is what being approachable means.

James 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. (KJV)

Abigail allowed the servant to speak to her, she was approachable. Nabal was unapproachable, he wasn’t willing to yield to reason.

Question: Which one are you? Reasonable or Unreasonable?

When you are spoken to, challenged or questioned, how do you respond. Are you defensive, stubborn, evasive. Do you blame-shift, become angry, make excuses, tell lies. Any one of these characteristics makes us unreasonable, and like Nabal, people will ignore or work around us.

if any of the above applies to you and you’ve sought to change your behaviour but it always ends in defeat, hopelessness, shame, guilt and condemnation. Be encouraged! There is a way to victory and freedom from your weakness, and His name is Jesus Christ.

He is, ‘the wisdom from above’ (Jam 3:17). He is Christ, ‘in us’ (Col 1:27). Only Jesus can change our behaviour, turn our failure into victory and our weakness to strength.

Question: How is this possible? The answer is to give our weakness to Jesus and leave it with Him (Mt 11:28-30). After giving it to Him, we must then rest in Him until He brings the inward change we are looking for.

Question: What happens if i take back my problem and start worrying about it. The answer is to give it back to Jesus and keep giving it back to Him until you can leave it with Him.

Question :What happens if I repeat my behaviour. The answer is to receive His forgiveness, throw off all guilt and condemnation and return to the place of peace and rest. Remind yourself that only Jesus can change you and He is in the process of doing just that. Thank and praise him for the changes He is making in your life.

He will make good on His promise, but we must give Him time!

Meditation Point: Seeking to change ourselves by our own strength and will power only results in ‘behaviour modification’.True change is inward change from within. Only Jesus by His grace can make such changes.

RAHAB: WOMAN OF HOPE  (Read Joshua 2:1-19)

In our last Blog about Rahab, we see that not only was she saved, she was also delivered from the curse.

A curse is a spoken judgement over a place, person or thing. Built into the curse is the appropriate punishment relative to the judgement.

In Jericho’s case, the punishment of the curse was death to all the people in the city. Only Rahab escaped.

Josh 6:17 The city and everything in it is under a holy curse and offered up to God. “Except for Rahab the harlot — she is to live, she and everyone in her house with her.   (THE MESSAGE)

Josh 6:20-21  When the people heard the blast of the trumpets, they gave a thunderclap shout. The wall fell at once. The people rushed straight into the city and took it. They put everything in the city under the holy curse, killing man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey.  (THE MESSAGE)

When God introduced the law, there were blessings for those who kept it and curses for those who broke it.

Gal 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.  (KJV)

Because of sin, the whole of mankind is under the curse of the broken law and it’s punishment: death!  But when Jesus died on the cross, because He was a perfect man, He fulfilled the law on our behalf. He also became the curse of the broken law for us, took our punishment upon Himself and died in our place.

In this story, Rahab is a type (prophetic picture) of the Church, the body of Christ. Hence all Christians are in Christ and as such He has  fulfilled the law on our behalf and we have been delivered from the curse and punishment of sin and it’s effects.

Matt 5:17  Do not think that I have come to do away with or undo the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to do away with or undo but to complete and fulfill them.  (AMP)

Gal 3:13,14  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree. That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (KJV)

Not only have we been delivered from the curse, we now live under the cloud of the blessing of God! Hence whenever we read about the curses and blessings found in the Scriptures, the Christian can legally reject all the curses and receive all the blessings.

But you ask, what happens if the curse is seemingly still working in our life. Eg: A barren womb, sickness in our body or lack of prosperity.

Our response is to realize by faith, that we are no longer under the curse of the broken law, we are under the blessing of God. Therefore we are to take the promises of God relative to our condition and claim the blessing of that promise. Eg:

Deut 28:11 The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity — in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground — in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you. (NIV)

Matt 8:16-17 When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick,  that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying “He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses.”  (NKJV)

We are not to look at our circumstances but to the promises of the word of God. As we confess the promises over our circumstances and put our faith and trust in Christ – eventually the blessings of the promises will manifest in our life.

Meditation Point: Jesus has fulfilled the law on our behalf. Jesus has become a curse for us and taken the punishment of the broken law. Jesus has freed us from all sin that we may claim the blessings of God’s promises.

]]> https://peterwilsonministries.org/blog/?feed=rss2&p=3280 0 https://peterwilsonministries.org/blog/?p=3243 https://peterwilsonministries.org/blog/?p=3243#comments Tue, 31 Jul 2012 12:40:08 +0000 http://peterwilsonministries.org/blog/?p=3243

Rahab: Woman of Hope!  (Read Joshua 2:1-19)

In my last Blog, we saw that Rahab was saved from death and destruction because she believed in Jehovah the living God. Today, let’s look at how she was saved.

Rahab lived on top of the city wall surrounding Jericho. She helped the two spies to escape by letting down a scarlet rope from her window down to the ground. The two spies scurried down this rope and away to safety.

Before the spies left she agreed a covenant with them that she and her family would be spared and kept alive when Israel invaded Jericho. Rahab also asked them for a token of the covenant. A token is a sign to both parties which reminds them of the covenant they have entered into and the responsibilities they have in keeping the covenant.

The sign both parties agreed on was the scarlet rope used by the spies to escape.

Josh 2:18 When we come into the land, you must leave this ‘scarlet rope‘ hanging from the window through which you let us down. (TLB)

The word rope in the above scripture in Hebrew means, ‘Hope or an expectation of good things to come’.

Rahab’s hope and expectation of good that she and her family would be saved by Joshua and the Israelite army were placed in the sign of this scarlet rope.

Sure enough, when Israel invaded Jericho, Joshua told the Israelites to kill everyone in the city apart from Rahab and her family.

Josh 6:25 And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day.  (KJV)

The scarlet rope is a picture of the blood of Christ and  is a sign to us that we have been  cleansed from all sin.

Joshua is a picture of Jesus Christ who has saved us from death and given us eternal life.

When we put the two things together, the Holy Spirit is showing us that our hope today is always to be placed in Christ our heavenly Joshua, and in the scarlet cord of His blood. He alone is our hope of future glory, He Himself has become our anchor of hope who is firmly embedded in the presence of God.

Col 1:27 Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Heb 6:18-20 We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God  where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us.  (THE MESSAGE)

Therefore, no matter what happens to us in life, as we place our trust in Christ, the oxygen of hope rises in our hearts and gives us the strength for daily life. Also we can have a sure expectation of good things to come, that God will meet our every need and bring us His security.

Ps 42:5 Why am I so sad? Why am I so troubled? I will put my hope in God, and once again I will praise him, my savior and my God. (GNT)

RAHAB – WOMAN OF HOPE  (Read: Joshua 2:1-19)

In this story, God has commanded Israel to invade the city of Jericho and kill all it’s inhabitants, men, women, children and livestock. The sins they committed had reached a tipping point, and God as the Lord of the land (Landlord) exercised His right to evict them. (Gen 15:16, Jos 24:8. Amorites is a collective name for the Canaanites)

But there was a woman called Rahab (a prostitute) who gave sanctuary to two men who had been sent by Joshua to spy out the land, and she alone out of the whole population of Jericho, believed in the Lord God of Israel.

Heb 11:31 By faith Rahab the harlot perished not with the unbelievers.  (Douay-Rheims)

Here was a woman who lived in the midst of a people who practiced abhorrent sin. She herself was a prostitute, but because she believed, God saved her.

No matter our background or how deeply mired in sin, it takes one thing to be saved: ONLY BELIEVE!

You may be reading this Blog today, and your life is a mess. You don’t know where to turn or how to break free from your mess.

God says to you today, believe in my Son Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

Rom 10:13  For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  (NKJV)

Call upon the name of Jesus and simply ask Him to come into your heart and life and save you, and He will. He is true to His Word.

Now you’ve become a Christian, develop your relationship with God through praying and reading the Bible. Ask God to guide you to an Evangelical Christian Church.

You need people of like mind around you to nurture you in your new found faith.

Meditation Point: No matter how messed up our life, if we will call on the name of the Lord, He will, He will save us.

Mary: Women of Destiny

Not Left To Her Own Devises

In our last Blog we saw that Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel and impregnated with divine seed. In 9 months she would give birth to the Son of God. A great responsibility and calling now rested on Mary. She couldn’t share her story with anyone. No one would understand. No one had any experience of such a thing.

Did God abandon Mary to her own devices, was she left alone to fend for herself. No! God told Mary that her cousin Elizabeth was also going through a similar miracle and would give birth to John the Baptist, and was already 6 months pregnant.

Luke 1:36 And listen! Your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is now the sixth month with her who was called barren.  (AMP)

Elizabeth was way ahead of Mary and could encourage her and give her hope in what she was going through.

As soon as Mary walked through the door and greeted her, Elizabeth responded: Lk 1:42-45.  “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear, and blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” (NIV)

Can you see how Elizabeth is strengthening Mary for the task ahead.

What seed of revelation has God birthed in your spirit. What work has He called you to do. Be assured, He will not leave you alone to fend for yourself. He will bring someone alongside you to encourage you and speak hope into your life.

“But I don’t have anyone to fulfill that roll in my life?”  Then pray and ask God to send such a person.

Non of us can make it alone. That’s why we should all be a member of a local Church and surround ourselves with people who can help us.

John and Mary

God repeated the same provision for Mary when her Son was hanging on the cross and about to leave her all alone. The Scripture says: Jn 19:26-27. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing near by, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. (NIV)

Jesus provided for His mother’s future by asking John to take her into his home and look after her.

Are you worried about the future, who will look after you, will you have enough money to live on?

God has promised to provide for us at all times. He will not allow us to be cast onto the rubbish heap of life and left alone to fend for ourselves.

That’s why we need to arm ourselves with the promises of God, such as:

Ps 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.(NIV)

Heb 13:5-6 For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. (KJV)

Meditation Point: God has promised to provide for every one of His children. God never breaks His promises. He is not a man that He should lie.