Mary’s Magnificent God

Day 2 Advent

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” (Luke 1:46–55)

Mary sees clearly a most remarkable thing about God: He is about to change the course of all human history; the most important three decades in all of time are about to begin.

And where is God? Occupying himself with two obscure, humble women — one old and barren (Elizabeth), one young and a virgin (Mary). And Mary is so moved by this vision of God, the lover of the lowly, that she breaks out in song — a song that has come to be known as “The Magnificat.”

Mary and Elizabeth are wonderful heroines in Luke’s account. He loves the faith of these women. The thing that impresses him most, it appears, and the thing he wants to impress on Theophilus, his noble reader of his Gospel, is the lowliness and cheerful humility of Elizabeth and Mary as they submit to their magnificent God.

Elizabeth says (Luke 1:43), “And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” And Mary says (Luke 1:48), “He has looked on the humble estate of his servant.”

The only people whose soul can truly magnify the Lord are people like Elizabeth and Mary — people who acknowledge their lowly estate and are overwhelmed by the condescension of the magnificent God.

John Piper

Prepare the Way

Day 1 Advent

“He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” (Luke 1:16–17)

What John the Baptist did for Israel, Advent can do for us. Don’t let Christmas find you unprepared. I mean spiritually unprepared. Its joy and impact will be so much greater if you are ready!

So, that you might be prepared . . .

First, meditate on the fact that we need a Savior. Christmas is an indictment before it becomes a delight. “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). If you don’t need a Savior, you don’t need Christmas. Christmas will not have its intended effect until we feel desperately the need for a Savior. Let these short Advent meditations help awaken in you a bittersweet sense of need for the Savior.

Second, engage in sober self-examination. Advent is to Christmas what Lent is to Easter. “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23–24). Let every heart prepare him room . . . by cleaning house.

Third, build God-centered anticipation and expectancy and excitement into your home — especially for the children. If you are excited about Christ, they will be too. If you can only make Christmas exciting with material things, how will the children get a thirst for God? Bend the efforts of your imagination to make the wonder of the King’s arrival visible for the children.

Fourth, be much in the Scriptures, and memorize the great passages! “Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 23:29)! Gather ’round that fire this Advent season. It is warm. It is sparkling with colors of grace. It is healing for a thousand hurts. It is light for dark nights.

John Piper

The Long-Awaited Visitation

Day 3 Advent

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.” (Luke 1:68–71)

Notice two remarkable things from these words of Zechariah, Elizabeth’s husband, in Luke 1.

First, nine months earlier, Zechariah could not believe his wife would have a child. Now, filled with the Holy Spirit, he is so confident of God’s redeeming work in the coming Messiah that he puts it in the past tense: “he has visited and redeemed his people.” For the mind of faith, a promised act of God is as good as done. Zechariah has learned to take God at his word and so has a remarkable assurance: God “has visited and redeemed!” (Luke 1:68).

Second, the coming of Jesus the Messiah is a visitation of God to our world: The God of Israel has visited and redeemed. For centuries, the Jewish people had languished under the conviction that God had withdrawn: the spirit of prophecy had ceased; Israel had fallen into the hands of Rome. And all the godly in Israel were awaiting the visitation of God. Luke tells us that another old man, the devout Simeon, was “waiting for the consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25). Likewise, the prayerful Anna was “waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38).

These were days of great expectation. Now the long-awaited visitation of God was about to happen — indeed, he was about to come in a way no one expected.

John Piper

Do You Have a Difficult Boss?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eye-service, as men pleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God.” Colossians 3:22

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Do you work for a difficult person?

“Yes! That slave driver, penny pincher, bully!” 

Well, let’s see what the Bible says about that slave driver.

“Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward [harsh]” (1 Peter 2:18).

“You mean I’m supposed to submit to that two-legged devil?” 

That’s right. And you are to serve him.

ACTION POINT:

You can shut the mouth of criticism and bring that one to Jesus Christ when you practice the mightiest force upon the face of the earth—submission through obedience.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Redeemed From The Wrath Of God

See the love of God through Christ. 

A willing, obedient, and sinless Son.

Christ alone is brings your salvation.

There is no other way.

Man has sinned.

None will escape God's wrath with the exception of those covered by the blood of Christ.

It is the sacrifice that took away your guilt.

It is through the blood that you are cleansed.

It is through baptism, you are raised to walk in newness of life.

There will be no excuses.  

If you remain in your sin, you are doomed to an eternity in Hell.

You can't do enough good deeds or live a good enough life.

Christ has paid your debt.

Bow, in repentance, to the King.

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,

4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, - 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,

19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you

21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. - 1 Peter 1:18-21

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. - Colossians 2:13-15

7 Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, 

8 for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice,  - Psalm 49:7-8

But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah  - Psalm 49:15

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." - Mark 10:45

19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. - Romans 3:22-25

20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,

23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,

25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature;

27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. - Romans 1:20-28

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. - Romans 5:8-11

Satisfied Just Skimming The Surface?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.” John 14:21

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

A little boy fell out of bed and was crying. His mother came, picked him up, and said, “Honey, what’s wrong? How did you fall out of bed?” He said, “Well, I guess I went to sleep too close to where I got in.”

I think there are a lot of people who have done exactly that. They get into Christ and somehow they just seem to go to sleep right there. They say, “I’m saved and that’s it.” But friend, that’s not it. It’s just the beginning of a relationship that will last through all eternity.

ACTION POINT:

God wants to move you further into a knowledge of Himself. I don’t know about you, but I’m not satisfied with the status quo of my life. I want to go deep into the heart of Jesus. I desire the same for you.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Greatest Event In Human History

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Seven hundred years before the first Christmas, Isaiah dipped his pen in golden glory and wrote these words about the coming Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ. “A child is born” speaks of His virgin birth. “A Son is given” speaks of His eternality—He has been the Son of God, with the Father, through the ages.

Some years ago—you may remember it—man first stepped onto the moon. The President of the United States said, “The planting of human feet upon the moon is the greatest event in human history.”

No, the greatest event in human history was when God came to Earth and planted His feet here. We call that the incarnation—Almighty God stepped out of Heaven, the ivory palaces, into this world of woe, and put His feet upon this earth. And that is the greatest event in human history!

ACTION POINT:

The first Christmas, God sent a package to earth, a gift of deity wrapped up in humanity. What a marvelous thing this is. It’s supernatural. Share this with someone you know today and never forget it: Jesus is God in human flesh.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers