Welcome to our study entitled, “Walking in Wisdom”. As we spend the year together in the New Testament, I pray that God will bless each of us with growth, wisdom, and understanding as we dig deep into His Word!
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Monday Jan. 6
Can you believe it? Here we are fresh off the holidays and ready to begin 2020! Another year is upon us, and with it comes both renewed hope and a commitment to resolutions made. For me each new year brings the familiar pattern of good intentions and promises of doing and being better. But invariably, my faithfulness comes up lacking and my follow through becomes almost nonexistent. And even though I own my accountability, I try not to be too hard on myself; after all I’m a work in progress. So I forgive my failures, never give up trying, and remember that although I might not always be faithful in fulfilling my own promises, I know who I can always count on to fulfill His; and that’s God. For as I am reminded by the Apostle Paul, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Tim. 2:13)
That’s why I’m happy we are beginning our study in the book of Luke. Because more than just the beautiful Christmas Gospel of our Savior’s birth, Luke also contains promises made by God. And here in chapter 1 we learn of the awesome ones He makes to Mary, the Jewish girl chosen by the Lord. Living in Galilee and engaged to a man named Joseph, Mary is visited by the Angel Gabriel. After greeting her as, “favored one”, Gabriel lists seven promises God has in store for her and the baby she would be carrying. 1. She will conceive and bear a son. 2. He shall be named Jesus. 3. He will be great. 4. He will be called the Son of the Most High. 5. God will give to Him the throne of David. 6. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. 7. His kingdom will have no end. (vs. 31-33)
I often imagine how Mary must have felt hearing the glorious news. Was she scared, excited, overwhelmed? Did she laugh, cry, or stand frozen in shock? Of the many emotions Mary must have felt, the Bible is clear that the one she didn’t feel was disbelief. For after asking how this miracle would come to be and hearing, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child will be called the Son of God.” (vs. 35), She simply replied, “may it be done to me according to your word.” (vs. 38) The example of strength and faith in God shown by Mary, a young girl of probably between 13 and 16 years of age, is something to behold and an inspiration to us all.
So how did Mary find such unshakable faith? First, she believed God would keep His promises. Mary knew the history of the Jewish people and how, “Not one of the good promises which God made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.” (Josh. 21:45) Second, she trusted God’s ability to make His will come to fruition. For not only did Gabriel say, “Nothing will be impossible with God” (vs. 37), God Himself also declares, “Behold, I will do something new, I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.” (Is. 43:19) Finally, she walked in surrendered obedience to God. Just as we are told in 2 Cor. 9:8, Mary knew the Lord would provide whatever He required. “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.”
Each January 1st carries with it the excitement of a clean slate, a fresh start, a new beginning. It marks the start of the year ahead filled with the certainty of love and loss, triumph and tragedy, joy and sorrow. Yet no matter what 2020 may hold, whatever change this new decade ushers in, we can rest assured that, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Heb. 13:8). So make resolutions. Commit to growth. Set new goals. Above all else, trust in the promises of God. In her lifetime Mary saw four of God’s promises fulfilled, and soon she will see the final three as well. And just as He did for Mary, God will fulfill each of His promises to us, so that like Elizabeth we too will cry, “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.” (vs. 45)
