Faith --> Blessings

And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. Luke 1:45 KJV

There is something so delicately marvelous about this verse. Let's break it down and look at it, "Blessed is she that believed", simple truth for our belief and trust in God, we are blessed. The woman this verse referred to was Mary. Her faith and her youthful, perfect trust in God by the Word of the Lord that came to her. In all sincerity she believed with her whole heart the fascinating truth that she, a virgin, would become pregnant supernaturally and bear a child - not just any child - the Son of God. Whoa!!! Could you imagine?! Mary's faith in God was not perturbed by logic, practicality or reasoning. She did not stop the angel and say, this is physically impossible! She gracefully accepted what the Lord was saying to her, and for it the Bible calls her blessed.

Blessed 

1. consecrated; sacred; holy; sanctified: the Blessed Sacrament.

2. worthy of adoration, reverence, or worship: the Blessed Trinity.

3. divinely or supremely favored; fortunate: to be blessed with a strong, healthy body; blessed with an ability to find friends.

4. blissfully happy or contented.

Our whole identity in Christ is based on our faith in Him, in God our Father and in His Holy Spirit. Faith is the root of our foundation and keeping the faith and passing it on to others is our mission on this earth. Abraham's faith in God rewarded him favor.
"Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness"  Gal 3:6. Here we see how much God values faith. I think there is something really beautiful to the fact that we have to believe in Christ to be saved. Amid a world where science reigns and human knowledge is the standard, God asks us to believe in the unseen and hold fast to what we can not touch. But the realization and the knowing we have in our heart when we accept Christ is beyond any scientific proof. It's a sweet and satisfying knowledge in our hearts that what we are believing is true and right.
Blessed are we, for what we hope God for will surely be given to us.


Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank you so much for faith. Thank you that you have all called us Children of God, despite our race, nationality or heritage. Thank you for giving us freedom from a life of death and destruction and thank you that we can receive that freedom by just believing. Help us to trust you Lord and help our faith to grow strong Holy Spirit so that all the good things you have in store for me will be realized. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Revengful, hurt, angry?!

 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you”. Luke 6:27-28

 

Whooooa those enemies! This is definitely one of those controversial statements that Jesus made to the people during His ministry. Love your enemies! Pray for those who hurt, abuse, curse, treat you horribly, take advantage of you and make fun of you. Pray for those people! Pray for them to be successful, safe and happy. After recovering from the initial shock of reading this verse we tend to consider who our enemies are. Our minds fly to the office bully, the frienemy that stays in our life even though they continual hurt us or even a family member who puts you down any chance they get. We are taught to love these people, not just tolerate them but love them. Do nice things for them, speak highly of them, be nice to them and respect them. “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” Ephe 4:32 I think this is a powerful and beautiful lesson. Jesus endured torture and a horrible death by His own people, but with blood in his eyes and nails in his hands, He looked up to God and said “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” Luke 23:34. Mocked, beaten, ridiculed, betrayed and abandoned – Jesus turned around and prayed to God to forgive those same people. Jesus’ words are profound “forgive them, they do not know what they are doing”. The people who upset us most times don’t know the effect they have on our feelings. When we pray for them and love them anyway, we open the door for God to take care of the situation while leaving you in peace, “if your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For you will heap burning coals on his head, And the LORD will reward you” Prov 25:21.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, you are my perfect example. Your life was one of love and forgiveness. Teach me and change me to love others despite the way they treat me. Help me to be your representative on earth so they may see You in me. Help me Lord to give you my battles, to not sit in bitterness and plot revenge. You are My God and I know you will protect and care for me. Thank you Lord for the freeing truth of your love.

I am

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Receiving Strength

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9 
 

My Lord, My Father. My vindicator, my fortress, I come to you in my weakness. Shower me with your strength, purge my fear with faith in you. As the world closes in around me and my fear breeds more fear I will trust in you. Although things seem to be overwhelming and I might be at the end of my rope, help me to always see your light, for you are ever before me. “For the LORD will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard” Isaiah 52:12. In you alone I can rest, you lead me to stillness and tell me to look at all you have done for me. My past with you is filled with miracles and hope. You have encouraged me through this trial with kinds words from people and the sweet peace of Jesus that passes understanding. I will get through this! This is a temporary issue and my victory will be in your hands today and I believe in you for a good, healthy and happy future. Are you not the God who rose Jesus from the dead?! Are you not the God who healed many sick, blind, lame and desperate people? You are that same God, you are the same generation to generation.