Category: Devotions

This is the answer!

 

Luke 1: 34-35  “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” ³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”

 

This is the answer!

When everything was barren, life-less and dark the Holy Spirit was hovering and the greatest creative, explosive, divinely empowered act took place! (Genesis 1:1-2).

When things had been put on hold, when life was not moving how it should have done and the people were not who they should have been the instruction was that things would not change by human effort and attempts at purity but by a move of the Holy Spirit (Zechariah 4:6).

When the disciples were wondering what to do next as they faced impossible odds of launching anything of a next chapter to a story they didn’t at that time fully understand, a sound came suddenly, like a violent wind filling the whole house where they were sat. Tongues of fire separated and came on them individually as the Holy Spirit moved over their lives (Acts 2:1-4).

“How will this be?” says Mary. The presence and power of God is the answer.

How am I going to get well? The presence and power of God is the answer.

How will I accomplish what is before me? The presence and power of God is the answer.

How are my loved ones going to find Christ? The presence and power of God is the answer.

How will the permanent turn into temporary? The presence and power of God is the answer.

When the presence of the Most High, the Creator of all, the life-giving Spirit who reaches across His world and beyond overshadows you, miracles happen.

Nothing we can do makes it happen except to welcome His presence.

“Hover over me, overshadow me, come down on me and cloak me in you” That is the answer!

How can this be?

Luke 1: 34 “Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” (NASB)

 

“Who let the wild donkey go free? Job 38:5

Which donkey? Where was it? What?!

Precisely!

 

Virgins don’t become pregnant. How can this happen then?

If you know the answers then maybe what God is about to do isn’t God after all?

God acts and blows our minds. That’s how it is.

 

You may be able to say ‘God can’ but it is a whole different scenario when you say “since I am …”

 

It is easier to believe in miracles when you don’t need one.

 

If you have to ask ‘How can ..?’ then you know the answer is God, only God can.

 

Today you may be holding on to the promises of God and at the same time saying ‘How can …’ then remind yourself God knows who untied the wild donkey and He knows how this can happen for you.

 

 

 

JESUS IN YOU!

Luke 1: 32-33

“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

 

He (CHRIST IN YOU) will be great (HE WILL MEET AND EXCEED ALL EXPECTATIONS)

 

Called the Son of the Most High (HE IS IMMEASURABLY HIGHER THAN ANY OTHER, WHO DWELLS IN THE 100% SOVEREIGNTY OF HIS 100% ABSOLUTE POWER WHICH IS ABOVE ANY OTHER AND WHO NO ONE ON THIS EARTH AND IN THIS UNIVERSE, IN HEAVEN AND IN HELL, NO POWER ANYWHERE AT ANY TIME WILL EVER COME ANY WHERE NEAR AN INCH OF HIS MIGHT)

 

The Lord God will give him the throne (JESUS’ PRESENCE AND POWER WILL RULE OVER ALL THAT OPPOSES YOU.)

 

Reign over Jacob’s descendants forever (HE IS THE KING OF YOUR LIFE AND WILL NEVER GO AWAY)

 

His kingdom (HIS RULE IN YOUR LIFE WILL DESTROY WHATEVER SEEKS TO DISCOURAGE AND ROB FROM YOU) will never end (HE IS HERE TO STAY, NOT TEMPORARY).

 

CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY.

THE INCARNATED PITCHES HIS TENT AND HAS INVADED YOUR LIFE.

God can use you – so go ahead, conceive, birth and name!

Luke 1: 31 “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.”

Conceiving means:

• It can look to others like God is nowhere near and not involved with what He in fact actually caused. Don’t expect everyone to be thrilled with the miracle that is inside you. They do not know that the miracle was planted in you. They do not know your encounter with the Divine Presence. Keep your eyes off people and their reactions and responses will not hinder you.
• Your planned future could be drastically changed forever.
• You may have been wrong about a certain matter your whole life, ie every girl wanted to be the mother of the Messiah but would never have thought of that happening in a ‘sinful’ way.
• Submission to God – we are not pre-conceived, we are open to new ideas, not closed because of our own agenda and decisions.

 

Birthing means:

• There are times when God allows us to be where He wants us to be but it is not the place of our choosing. The perfect set in the imperfect. You have wanted this all your life. You have worked towards it. You have dreamt of it. You are seeing with your own eyes dreams come true however, it isn’t perfect, it isn’t how you thought it would be, it isn’t only painful, it can feel lonely, insignificant, weak and scary.

 

Naming means:

• Claiming it for some. At the time many mothers would call their sons ‘Joshua’ in the hope that he would go on to set the people free as the name suggests, but it never happened and it became a common name amongst common people. Jesus is the Greek translated name of Joshua. How wonderful that God chose to come and be given the most common of names. Many name and claim for something extraordinarily special beyond the reach of most who dream of utopia. Not many are willing to accept and claim the common and ordinary. But God often wants to come through the ordinary and make it extraordinary. You may look at what you are birthing and it may seem small, insignificant and so very ordinary. It may even seem dangerous, harmful and unexplainable. And yet …! And yet it could be the greatest thing God has ever done in your life!!

 

 

God can use you – chosen to be broken

Luke 1: 29-31

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favour with God. ³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son …

Greetings! But Mary was greatly troubled.

You are ‘highly favoured’, ‘chosen’. But Mary was greatly troubled.

The Lord is with you. But Mary was greatly troubled.

Most women would be delighted to hear news they are pregnant, but not Mary.

I think I have spent the majority of my life listening to people believing God will use them mightily, praying that God will take them and do great things and announcing that they are stepping out into God’s great plans with a great awesome future in faith to do great exploits, sometimes leaving me wondering which character is the great one.

I don’t blame them because I have preached many a good sermon from that stance. I know the plans I have for you … to prosper etc always goes well!

But what if being chosen isn’t like that at all?

What if being chosen actually sounds perplexing, anxious and leaving you greatly troubled?

What if being highly favoured means you need an angel to tell you ‘Don’t be afraid’?

What if the reason why you are being instructed not to be afraid is that what you are being chosen for would scare the life out of most people?

Another observation I have come to see is the tendency to want greatness too soon. The performance before the stage has been built. When I came out of Bible College I was given 15 people to look after. The energy I gave those 15 people seemed like I was pastoring 150. But some today leave Bible College wanting 150 people because they are gifted, skilled and above all ‘God has called me to that size, now do I get a pension with this full salary?.

Some want resurrection power before the cross of suffering.

Can God choose you to be gracefully broken?

What if being chosen is the worst thing that could have happened to you?

What if being highly favoured means that you cannot see how you will be the most blessed of women but the most scorned, insulted and slandered?

You might not know the end of the story today, but how will you respond to such a greeting?

If this is you, wherever and whoever you are, God has brought this greeting because He believes in you and can trust you to be gracefully broken.

God can use you

Luke 1: 26-28

“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.”

The most surprised girl in history was Mary. An ordinary girl who was visited by a mighty angel who had been sent by an extraordinary God.

The Bible is a history of God taking ordinary people and doing miracles through them. They weren’t special but they became special through what God did through them.

God will use people who say YES to Him despite their circumstances saying NO.

Everything around you can be saying NO, but it is what you say that matters.

Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph. It was a 2 year journey leading to the consummation of the marriage. The first year was as important as the second and the woman could only get out of it by a divorce. It was a fixed position. This announcement of a child would leave the circumstance saying NO.

God will use people who are chosen by Him. “…highly favoured” or uniquely privileged. No one in all of history is called or privileged to receive God’s grace except Mary.

Except …

“Highly favoured” in the original written language is used in the Bible one more time, in Ephesians 1: 4 “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” ‘Chose us’ is ‘highly favoured’. So the special greeting to Mary is the same that Paul uses for you and me.

You who are reading this devotion today are uniquely privileged, highly favoured and incredible chosen.

So today wherever you are and whatever you do God can and will use you, He just needs your YES. It doesn’t matter about the circumstance you are in, YES use me God is the answer, I am chosen by you!

Stages of the miracle

Luke 1: 23-25 “When his time of service was completed, he returned home. ²⁴ After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. ²⁵ “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favour and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

 

When you journey through your miracle you will go through a few different stages.

1. You will feel isolated.

Elizabeth carried a miracle for 5 months in seclusion. Why?

Surely it was because she didn’t know how people would react. What would they say?

Perhaps it was herself who wondered whether she was able to carry the miracle to the fulfilment. Maybe she thought it would be best to not let people know, just in case.

Some would want the miracle-carriers to do the book tour and get onto the stages very early on in the 5 months. “Confess your miracle” comes the shout of the crowd. Ignore them!

So not only was her husband now silent, Elizabeth was now not seen. They were well and truly hidden.

2. You will feel imperfect.

This may last the whole time of carrying the miracle.

Her husband was still mute, a sign to the miracle that unbelief and weakness needs to be silenced.

It will not be perfect.

3. You will be inspired.

The month after a young teenage family member came to see her. Her name was Mary and she had some news also! God will always have people in the latter stages of your miracle who will come to strengthen you.

THE POWER OF THE MEANWHILE

Luke 1: 21-24

 ^“Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. ²² When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak. ²³ When his time of service was completed, he returned home. ²⁴ After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.”

 

At the same time as you are doing what you are doing, whether you are in success or struggling when perhaps the centre stage is the whole stage and you see no one else or nothing changing, remember this word: Meanwhile.

Meanwhile … the people were wondering … and Elizabeth was waiting and in her waiting she was being prepared for Zechariah. God was working in her womb, making her fertile for the very first time, waiting for her now dumb husband to come home to her.

You don’t see it all.

You are only part of God’s story not the other way round.

In His story He has many people and He moves them into place.

You may have lost out.

You may be struggling in that place.

But it may not be how it is for much longer.

There are things happening right now that you do not even see or could possibly imagine.

Things are shifting, circumstances are changing for other people, preparations are taking place, do not give up hope.

You are part of the community of God who believe in this: THE POWER OF MEANWHILE.

Tomorrow, Sunday, social media will be alive of what God has done in many church services that day. Meanwhile at the same time in other places of the world Christians flee from their homes, Church buildings are being burnt and further threats to those who witness we being made.
Should we assume that God is in one place but not the other? No.
Should we be careful not to be too happy in one place out of respect for the other? No.
You see, MEANWHILE is just how life is and how God works.
God is working the story of this world.
In one place it is good, meanwhile in another place it is bad. However, God is in control of both. He is working His story on the earth. We will one day look back and see how He wove it altogether.
So what do we do? We rejoice with them that rejoice and we mourn with them that mourn. We realise that whatever is taking place we cannot generalise and say this is what is happening all over the world nor should it, for in the meanwhile, God may be doing something very different and maybe allowing something very shocking to take place as the chapters of this amazing life are being written.

At the same time the people were outside of the experience of heaven that Zechariah was having. He was inside and they were outside.

1. One man was having an experience and meanwhile the people were waiting.
2. One couple had prayed for years and meanwhile God was waiting till they were past all possibility.
3. One man had forgotten about the prayers of old and meanwhile God was choosing him miraculously to enter the Holy of Holies.
4. One man performed his duty as all the previous priests had done and meanwhile God was sending Gabriel to him.

Which part of the meanwhile are you in? Where are you?

If you abandon ship now because it doesn’t make sense then you have not understood THE POWER OF THE MEANWHILE.

Learn to be a sign for your miracle.

Luke 1: 20 “And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

 

Let’s not be too hard on this old, righteous and good man.

Zechariah asks for a sign that this amazingly great news and answer to a very old prayer of theirs would actually come true. Wouldn’t we? Yes we would.

So the sign is given. Where is the sign> Zechariah wasn’t expecting that he would be the sign! It isn’t a punishment, it is a grace. “You will be silent”.

Some miracles need silence.

Maybe we also need to shut up and stop thinking of all the reasons why something cannot happen and be prepared to be part of an amazing story.

Zechariah had to complete his duty in the Temple and then go outside to meet the worshippers. He then had to go home and sleep with his wife Elizabeth. This was not the Immaculate Conception. He would then have to wait the 9 month period. In all of this he needed to be silent. If he had kept voicing his concerns then it would have affected the story.

Shut up and do what you have to do.

Be a sign for your miracle.

The presence is everything.

Luke 1:18 “Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years. The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.”

Zechariah was standing in the holiest symbolic place of the presence of God but he wasn’t standing in the presence and it showed.

We can gather at many altars and perform a variety of liturgies. We can arrange our artefacts around us. We can position our Temple furniture and we can perform our duty of worship. Yet in all of that we can have let go of the old dreams, the prayers that are now not prayed and the hope that has disappeared.

You see, the answer is always the presence of God.

The presence keeps dreams new, prayers fresh and hope alive.

We need visitations from angels or people who have been standing in the presence of God.

Surround yourself with the presence of God.

The presence is everything.