Holy - the Son of God

"And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God’” (Luke 1:35, ESV).

Holy. The word described Mary's son, the Son of God. I wonder if she fully understood it all. Can you imagine that you would give birth to the Holy, Son of God? My Logos Bible software describes holy as "exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness; divine" from Merriam-Webster's Dictionary. I think of holy as one who is set-apart, one who is pure and without fault While Mary heard the angel say it, I am sure the thought must have overwhelmed her. And yet somehow, she trusted God to walk her through each day and learned to depend on the Holy Spirit that had come on her.

It is one thing to know that God is holy. We may not comprehend that but we can accept it. The hard part comes when we try to understand how we are to be holy as it says in 1 Peter 1:16, "since it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy." We are to be set apart, to be holy and pure. The only way we can do that is with the help of the Holy Sprit. When we confess our sins, He is faithful and will forgive them and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

This season, let's be like Mary. Let's trust that God is holy. Let's believe in Him and take Him at His word. Let's ask forgiveness of Him and others when we lose our cool because the season is so hectic. Let's remember that there are more important things than perfectly decorated homes and perfect gifts. Let's remember that He is the reason we are here. He is holy. Let's fall on our faces, confess our sins, and make a commitment to start over and to be like Him - Holy.

Will you join me? So many need to know the cleansing power of God. He is the reason for the season.

The Power of the Most High God

"And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God"  (Luke 1:35, ESV).

Just imagine being Mary. Her whole life she had heard the rabbis teach about the Messiah that was to come. I doubt she could have imagined that He would be born to her. What do you think she was thinking when she heard that the power of the Most High would overshadow her? I doubt she had much concept of what that meant. Not only was she scared, but she had to be a bit overwhelmed by it all...and all so sudden. It was the Holy Spirit's power that came on her but obviously His power was what took her through long months of thinking, preparing, praying, and no doubt experiencing all the emotions that go with being pregnant with the Son of the Most High God.

Today, when we accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God who died for our sins, the Holy Spirit comes on us and stays with us. He guides us in truth, comforts us, show us the way to go, loves on us, counsels us, and is our constant companion. If we have made a commitment to Him, then He is forever there. We may be overwhelmed but all the happenings of life, but we have God's promise that the Holy Spirit will never leave us.

As I write this, I've been shopping all day. I'm not sure what I was thinking to go to the stores in Houston on a Saturday (especially when it was 80 degrees). I was overwhelmed by all the people who were overwhelmed! You would have thought it was Christmas Eve. As I stood in a long line (people speaking other languages in front and behind me), all I was thinking was how hot it was, how long the line was, and how crazy I was to keep standing in it. I should have been thinking how much Jesus loved and died for each one.

I think Mary must have focused on the important things about having the Son of God. I bet she listened to the Holy Spirit and let him help her keep it all in perspective. I pray that you and I both stay focused on what's important this season. I pray we let the power of the Most High God comfort us. I pray we have a "Mary" Christmas day.