THE PUREST PRAISE

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is His name. His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation.”

Luke 1:46-50

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

 “I am the Lord’s slave. May it be done to me according to Your word.” Luke 1:38 (HCSB)

These were the last words spoken by Mary in the presence of the angel Gabriel who had just revealed God’s divine plan for her, a plan where she was central to the coming of His only Son and Savior of the world, Jesus. Although she was a virgin, Gabriel told Mary that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and she would conceive, beginning to bear a baby boy who would usher in God’s new covenant for His people.

Mary could have said a lot of things in response to this proposal but as we see by her words, she deferred to absolute deference to the plans God had for her, declaring herself a slave to Him, the One she fully viewed as her Master. As we covered in a prior message, Mary’s willingness to surrender herself completely and without compromise to God and His will made her a perfect model of obedience for anyone to follow.

After her proclamation of commitment and dedication to all the Lord wanted to do through her, Mary would not speak again until after she paid a visit to her cousin Elizabeth, the woman Gabriel had told her about when he said:

“Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” Luke 1:36-37

Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah were elderly and at an age where childbirth would have been considered an impossibility. But as we know, the couple, like Mary, were chosen by God to bear a special child, one named John who would live in the wilderness before emerging into Israel to pronounce the coming of Jesus, the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.

The scriptures tell us that when Mary arrived at the home Elizabeth and greeted her cousin, something amazing happened for the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaped inside her and she was immediately filled with the Holy Spirit, an experience that led her to exclaim these words:

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Luke 1:42-45

Think about how amazing an experience this must have been for Mary. She had not revealed anything about what had happened to her; she had shared none of the story of Gabriel’s visit or the conception by way of the Holy Spirit. Mary had told Elizabeth nothing and yet her cousin knew that the child in Mary’s womb was no ordinary baby. Mary was going to be the mother of Elizabeth’s Lord and this made her blessed among women for she believed the Lord would fulfill His promises to her and obediently surrendered herself to Him.

If you were Mary and just heard Elizabeth say these words, how would you respond?

Maybe, you would do just as Mary did, speaking these words of praise that were as pure as her virginity before conception and the faith that led her to allow it to happen. Look again at these words which served to honor and bring glory to the Lord:

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is His name. His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation.” Luke 1:46-50

My prayer for you this Christmas and into the new year is that you will replicate the faith attitude of Mary and approach the Lord in praise through the following ways:

1. Glorify Him with all your soul.

“My soul glorifies the Lord.”

When we glorify the Lord, we present Him with the fullest degree of admiration, sharing with other all He is, all He has been, and all He can and will be in the lives of His people.

2. Lift your spirit to Him and rejoice that He is the Initiator of your salvation.

“My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

Think about it. We would have no hope of salvation through Jesus if God had not first had the desire to save us out of His deep love (John 3:16). Our spirits should bring Him nothing but rejoicing because through our belief and trust in Christ, we will not perish but live forever.

3. Give thanks to Him that He was mindful of your humble state.

“For He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant.”

Mary was not a rich and prominent member of Nazareth society when Gabriel came to her with God’s holy conception plan. Rather, she was a humble virgin who had a faithful heart toward serving her Lord. This is who God chose to bear His one and only Son who would come to save you, me, and every other person on earth. Indeed, God was not only mindful of His humble servant Mary but all of His humble servants on earth, something we should be grateful for.

4. Acknowledge and proclaim God’s holiness.

“From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is His name.”

Only God could pull off what happened to Mary. Only He could impregnate her in such a hallowed, supernatural way, setting her apart from any other woman who would ever live because she and she alone was the mother of Jesus. Indeed, this Christmas as in all that have come before since Bethlehem’s birth have found Mary remembered and celebrated as being blessed, the One the Lord did great things for by choosing her to bear His only Son.

The Lord God Almighty has no equal or rival. No one can do what He can do. He is set apart from everything and everyone because He and He alone is holy. We should always give keep this special distinction in mind and proclaim His special greatness to all.

5. Remember His mercy.

“His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation.”

At the heart of the Christmas story and the celebration of salvation’s coming in Jesus, we find mercy. God sent His only Son Jesus to this world with the express intent of sparing those who would place their trust in His salvation promise. God did not want anyone to perish and so He offered up an opportunity for anyone to be saved, not just in the here and now but forever.

None of us deserved this. None of us earned this. God freely gave us grace and pardon through His Son as long as we, like Mary, respect and honor Him through our faith and trust.

For when we do this along with glorifying Him with our souls, rejoicing in Him with our spirits, celebrating how He cares for us so much in our humble states, and proclaiming His holiness, then we will ever speak words to others that reflect the purest praise for the Lord who deserves nothing less than that.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
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