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God's Words For US
by Cecelia Lester
WITH
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us). Matthew 1:23 Isaiah 7:14 (ESV)
Do you understand the significance of the angel’s message? This message refers to a prophecy of Isaiah some 4oo years earlier. God is with us!
Even today, we see evidence of God’s presence in our world. The end of last month, I received a prayer request from a very dear friend. Her husband’s nephew had called and asked her to pray for his new-born granddaughter. The baby was born with three heart abnormalities.
The medical team waited for almost a week before performing surgery. In the meantime, several of us were praying. I requested prayer from one of my social media friends and from an online social media prayer group. This family needed to see God’s working in this circumstance. On the day I prepared this. My friend texted me a picture of the baby being held by her 3-year-old sister. She seems to have no tubes for breathing or feeding or heart monitor leads. We believe that this baby will go home very soon. God was with them.
In the early part of our nation, there were people who believed that God created the world and chose to stand back and see what we would do. Those of us who have witnessed His workings know that God chooses to stand beside us in the good times and in the not-so good times.
As we continue in our observance of Advent, let us learn to seek God in our lives and let Him lead us through the difficult times of our lives.
May this thought continue as we approach the upcoming New Year.
PONDER
But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Luke 1:29 (NRSV)
Mary thought about what the angel said. She weighed the consequences of what God’s working in her life. She chose not to immediately tell the angel, “No way, you’ve got the wrong person!” She took the time to consider that this assignment was from Yahweh Himself.
In our present world, we hear people give quick retorts to words spoken in haste by another. We need to let those know that both sides need to take the time to rethink the issue before raising the level of anger in the situation.
As we advance through advent, let us put into practice what we have been shown by our scripture readings and our reflections. Then we may be able to carry Christ’s love in our hearts to others throughout the year.
May each of you be blessed as you celebrate the birth of our LORD Jesus Christ.
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Cecelia Lester has been serious about her writing for over two decades..
She composes Christian essays and posts them to her blog quietspirit-followingmyking.blogspot.com/
She has served in a faith-based organization, Grace In Action by writing two newsletters and searching for possible grants.
In July 2017, she published her first book, 'Times of Trouble Bring Rays of Joy.'
She and her husband of 54 years live in central Indiana. They have one grown son.
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