Virgin Birth? (and other devotionals)

BIBLE MEDITATION: “And the angel said unto her, ‘Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David…and of His kingdom there shall be no end.’ Then said Mary unto the angel, ‘How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?’ And the angel answered and said unto her, ‘The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God…. For with God nothing shall be impossible.’” Luke 1:31-37 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT: There are people who sneer at the idea of a virgin birth. “Ha!” they say, “How could this happen?” The angel said to Mary, “With God nothing shall be impossible.” Do you believe that? If you have trouble with the virgin birth, your real trouble is with God. Be reasonable. If God could make the first man without a father or mother, don’t you think He could bring His Son into this world in a virgin birth? If you don’t believe in the virgin birth, you have some character problems. • The character of Mary. If Mary had a child out of wedlock, then Mary was an impure woman. • The character of Jesus. If Jesus had not been born of a virgin, he would have been the son of Adam, and in Adam all die. Jesus Christ would have had the same human proclivities you and I have, who are by nature the children of wrath. • The character of the Word of God is flawed, because the Word of God clearly, plainly teaches it. ACTION POINT: Your salvation is inextricably interwoven with the virgin birth. No virgin birth, no deity. No deity, no sinless life. No sinless life, no sacrificial death. No sacrificial death, no salvation. No salvation, you’re going to hell. Jesus came to earth that we might go to Heaven; born of a virgin that we might be born again. Thank God for the virgin birth.. ~Adrian Rogers~ ___________________________ Be Careful What You Pray For? Mike Fabarez Hom Be careful what you repeatedly ask of God. You can’t always judge a prayer by its answer. While it’s true that many times in his kindness God withholds granting what we foolishly or selfishly request (James 4:3), there are plenty of biblical examples where God eventually grants the persistent yet imprudent prayers of his people. Consider Israel’s repeated cry for a king. “We want to be like every other nation!” they relentlessly sniveled. So at last God said, “Fine, here you go” (see 1 Samuel 8). God answered their prayer with exactly the type of leader they requested, but it certainly wasn’t in their best interest. We may think of God giving non-Christians over to their sin when they are obstinate in chasing what is wrong (Romans 1:24-28), but how often do we Christians doggedly pursue our own interests in our prayer lives without sincerely following Christ’s example of tempering every request with “… nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42)? We need to learn to be flexible in our asking. We must be honest and humble about our limitations. We may not know what is actually best. We need to be less obstinate concerning our prayer requests and more trusting that God may have a different path or some creative means to accomplish his will in our lives. So pray, and be specific, but always end your prayers with a malleable heart, which believes that God knows best how to lead and direct his children.

_________________________

An Introduction to Christ

Revelation 1:4-8

The first chapter of Revelation gives a compact description of the Lord. In verses 4 to 8, John condenses the wonder of Jesus Christ to the bare but beautiful essentials of who He is:

Jesus Christ is the faithful witness. Jesus came to earth to more fully reveal the character and ways of the Father (John 14:9). The miracles He performed validated His claim to be the Son of God.

Jesus Christ is the first-born from the dead. The Savior bore our sins and died on the cross, was buried, and rose again on the third day. His resurrection proved that eternal life is possible for us, too, as Jesus taught in John 11:25: “He who believes in Me will live even if he dies.”

Jesus Christ is the ruler of the kings of the earth. It is the Lord who raises men to power, just as it is He who removes them (John 19:11; Rom. 13:1). Meanwhile, believers have access to a higher authority. In God’s throne room, we can beseech Him on behalf of our nations and lay claim to His promises.

Jesus Christ loves us and released us from our sins by His blood. Note the change of tense in John’s writing. The Lord’s love is ever-present, but He has freed believers from their past. Both the penalty and power of sin have been broken.

When people ask you about Jesus, introduce Him by guiding them through this mini-biography. In just a few sentences, John describes Christ’s character, divinity, and authority. The disciple was not timid about proclaiming the Lord. We shouldn’t be shy, either, when we serve so great a Savior.

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

__________________________

Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well (2 Kings 4:26).

Be strong, my soul!
Thy loved ones go
Within the veil.
God's thine, e'en so;
Be strong.
Be strong, my soul!
Death looms in view.
Lo, here thy God!
He'll bear thee through;
Be strong.

For sixty-two years and five months I had a beloved wife, and now, in my ninety-second year I am left alone. But I turn to the ever present Jesus, as I walk up and down in my room, and say, "Lord Jesus, I am alone, and yet not alone--Thou art with me, Thou art my Friend. Now, Lord, comfort me, strengthen me, give to Thy poor servant everything Thou seest he needs."

And we should not be satisfied till we are brought to this, that we know the Lord Jesus Christ experimentally, habitually to be our Friend: at all times, and under all circumstances, ready to prove Himself to be our Friend.
--George Mueller

Afflictions cannot injure when blended with submission.

Ice breaks many a branch, and so I see a great many persons bowed down and crushed by their afflictions. But now and then I meet one that sings in affliction, and then I thank God for my own sake as well as his. There is no such sweet singing as a song in the night. You recollect the story of the woman who, when her only child died, in rapture looking up, as with the face of an angel, said, "I give you joy, my darling." That single sentence has gone with me years and years down through my life, quickening and comforting me.
--Henry Ward Beecher

E'en for the dead I will not bind my soul to grief;
Death cannot long divide.
For is it not as though the rose that climbed my garden wall
Has blossomed on the other, side?
Death doth hide,
But not divide;
Thou art but on Christ's other side!
Thou art with Christ, and Christ with me;
In Christ united still are we.

~L. B. Cowman~

________________________________

Whom Do You Trust?

In Psalm 118:8-9, we are told this,

It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.  It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.

There are a lot of applications to this passage, but let me talk to you about just one.  And that is this:  You do not want to trust the state of your eternal soul to any man.

Ma'am, maybe your husband prays.  Maybe he has a "real deal" relationship with God.  Do not expect that to gain you any merit or to somehow get you to heaven.  You have to have a relationship with the Lord yourself.

Sir, perhaps you have a praying wife.  She is on fire for God.  Do not expect that to get you a seat at the marriage supper of the Lamb.  You must be born again.  You have to be trusting in the Lord yourself.  You have to have your own living, breathing, walking, talking, relationship with the Savior, or you will not get in!

When I was in my early twenties, there was a plethora of gurus and eastern mystics people were following.  Some of my friends gave up all of their earthly possessions and became disciples of certain "holy" men.

But you know what?  If you follow a man, when he perishes, you will perish just like him.  Psalm 146:3-4 says,

Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.  His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; in that very day his plans perish.

If you put your trust in men, you will perish just like they do.  But if you put your trust in God through His Son, Jesus Christ, you will gain eternal life.

Put your trust in God alone!

~Bayless Conley~