Troubled

"But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God" (Luke 1:29-30, ESV).

Troubled. Disturbed. Concerned. Worried. Anxious. Bothered. Regardless of how you say it, it happens to the best of us. Even Mary, the mother of Jesus, was troubled. An angel appeared to her. Don't you know she wondered if she was seeing and hearing things? I wonder if she shook her head or blinked her eyes several times. An angel reassuring her not to be afraid might not have been so reassuring! Probably a good thing that Mary and Joseph both got visits from angels so they could calm each other down. Troubled was probably an understatement.

Right now I'd troubled over much smaller things. Things like the right gift for the right person. Somehow I think if it fret over what to buy, it makes the gift-giving so much better. It seems I spend more time thinking about it all than I do just getting something. When I think back on years past, I can hardly remember what I gave - or what I received. It seems that shopping for hours leads me to buy more and then I'm still concerned it wasn't good enough or the perfect gift. I need to learn to be less troubled and more thankful. After all, this has nothing to do with the real meaning of Christmas. There are so many more important things I could be troubled, and thankful for - like friends, family, health, and the list goes on.

Mary must have gotten a handle on the trouble she felt. She was told not to be afraid, because God was with her. Wow Lord, give me your perspective on all the things that really don't matter. Help me to reach out to someone who is letting the little things get to them. May I remind them that there is no fear in the Lord because He is with us.

Have a "Mary" Christmas season.

The Lord is with You

“And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!’” (Luke 1:28, ESV).

I love the movie, The Nativity Story. If you haven't seen it, someone has graciously put it on You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOyejzcVxcg&feature=related. In the segment, The Nativity Story 3/10, the scene begins with the angel coming to Mary to tell her than she is favored and that "The Lord is with you." Our minds have a hard time imagining what Mary must have felt to hear this amazing news. The God of the universe had chosen her to carry His Son. The angel tells her that she is favored, and then he assures her that The Lord is with her! Words that changed her life, as well as ours.

I don't know about you, but there are times that I know the Lord is with me, and yet I don't feel it. Mary must have had many times during her pregnancy and her life that she felt the same way. Imagine the ridicule, the physical changes, and the challenges of keeping her perspective. The words from the angel must have been a comfort to her as people laughed and as she tried to prepare for the birth of our Lord.

As the Christmas season quickly approaches, there is so much to do. My house is barely back to normal after Thanksgving guests and all that cooking. The thought of papers to be graded, writing projects both large and small, emails to catch up on, and administrative details with the added pressure of gifts to buy, decorations that need to go up, and a packed schedule, can send me over the edge. It is easy to be overwhelmed with it all. It is as if everyone needs something and there is not a moment to spare anywhere!

In the midst of it all, I have to allow myself to be comforted by the fact that the Lord is with me. When I invited Christ to come into my life, forgive me of my wrongdoings, and be my boss; it changed my life forever. God came in, cleansed me from sin, and made me a new creature. He become my constant companion - even in the midst of the Christmas rush. He will be with me through the cleaning, working, gift-buying, and all the traveling. Lord, thank you for the reminder.

This season, have you allowed Christ into your life? Take a few minutes and thank Him that He is forever there, with you. Who do you know that needs a touch for the Savior? Who needs to know that God is there for them through the belief in His Son, Jesus Christ? Share with someone how God can be with them too. Be comforted that He will be with you when you do. Let's pray for each other.

How to Have a "Mary" Christmas

“And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”  (Luke 1:28, ESV).

I have always admired Mary, the mother of Jesus. Can you even imagine what she went through? I cannot begin to understand what being pregnant out of wedlock brings, especially at such a young age and especially in that day and culture. You can almost bet that hardly anyone believed that an angel had appeared to her to tell her that she was favored and would have a child. To think that she would become the mother of the Son of God must have carried a whole new set of emotions. And yet, in Luke, chapters one and two of the Bible, we can gain some insights into what Mary was like - especially about her relationship with the Lord. This December, we'd like to share with you some insights that we can learn from Mary and the very first Christmas.

Today, our word for Mary is FAVORED. The angel came to Mary, a virgin who was betrothed to a man named Joseph (Lk 1:27) and said that she was highly favored. In Luke 1:28, we see that she was troubled when she heard this and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be (Lk 1:28). "And the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus" (Lk 1:30-31). In verse 34, we see that Mary asks how this is possible, since she is a virgin.

If I was Mary, I'm not sure the word favored is what I would be thinking! There is so much to learn here but I want to remind us of this: When life and God's plan don't unfold the way we think it should, let's remember that we are favored. God loves us and he has given us favor - the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. He has a plan for us and He is still showing it to us. In the middle of the plan, it might not look like what we think it should look like. God doesn't show us everything at once.

Mary was favored and yet she might not have felt it at the time. We have the advantage of looking back on Mary's life and knowing that she was favored. She lived a life that honored God, even when the world doubted her story.

This Christmas, let's live every moment like we are favored. Not only will it change our lives, it will change the lives of those around us.