"Peacefully, Redeeming Eternal
Savior Elegantly Nurtures Carefully Everyday!" (P.R.E.S.E.N.C.E)
By Ramesh
C.Reddy
Pittsburgh Standard
Sunday, Dec 23, 2007
“In the sixth month, God
sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin
pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The
virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you
who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." (Luke 1:26-28, NIV)
Observations:
I asked myself who are
the characters mentioned in these verses?
-
God
-
Angel Gabriel
-
Virgin
-
Joseph
-
Mary
-
Lord
Character 1: God!
I asked myself what is
the role of God in these verses?
-
God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth!
-
God sent the angel with a message!
Interpretation:
I asked myself what is
the significance of what God did!
I saw this to be very significant because it showed me that God was the
initiator to send a messenger to earth. Specifically, the messenger was
sent to Nazareth, a town in Galilee. Without God’s initiative the
messenger would not have arrived! What God initiates, He finishes. In
this case, He used an angel to accomplish His purpose.
Observations:
Character 2: Angel
Gabriel
I asked myself what was
the role of the angel?
-
The Angel Gabriel went to Nazareth, a town in Galilee.
-
The Angel went to a virgin pledged to be married to a descendant of
David.
-
The Angel gave two messages!
At God’s command, Angel Gabriel obeyed
and went with the message to Nazareth! While at Nazareth, the Angel
Gabriel visited a virgin pledged to be married to a descendant of David.
Interpretations:
I asked myself what was
the significance of mentioning who the Angel visited?
I found it interesting that we are not
given the name of the person the angel visited right away. Instead, all
we know is the label given to the one being visited as a ‘virgin pledged
to be married’.
Character 3: Virgin
This emphasized to me the importance of
the phrase a ‘virgin pledged to be married’.
I asked myself what it
meant and what it did not mean!
Even though this person gave her word to
the one she was going to marry, she did not have sexual intercourse with
that person. She did not reason, ‘I am going to marry that person
anyway, so it does not matter if there is sexual intimacy before
marriage’
Instead, she remains a virgin pledged to
be married to Joseph, a descendant of David.
Character 4: Joseph
I asked myself the
significance of mentioning ‘Joseph, a descendant of David.’
It made me think a lot of credit goes to
her for remaining a virgin especially being pledged to Joseph, a
descendant of David! This is because Joseph comes from a line where
sexual sin almost destroyed a dynasty. Sadly, when there is a sin in a
family line, that sin continues through the generations unless there is
a stop put to it somewhere.
King David was involved not only in
sexual sin when he committed adultery with Bathsheeba but also was
involved in murder to cover it up. Joseph comes from that family line.
King David did repent of his sin but the consequences remained for
years! In Psalm 51 & Psalm 32 we see
David's repentance and hopefully that cycle of sin was eliminated from
that family line years later.
APPLICATION I:
A lot of credit goes to Joseph too
because in a patriarchal society the man usually decided about marriage
and so on. Joseph was very careful that the engagement would remain
sex-free until marriage.
I have a lot of respect for both the
Virgin and Joseph because an 'engagement to be married' did not make
them allow sex into their lives unlike today!
Sadly today, we have couples having sex
before marriage when they know they are definitely going to be married
using that as a rationalization to think they are not doing wrong.
Others go ahead and lose their virginity
because they just cannot wait until marriage night or never intend to
marry but want to experience what God gave for the confines of marriage
thinking what they are doing is not wrong!
Character 5: Mary
Finally, the name of the virgin is
mentioned as Mary!
I asked myself, ‘What
does Mary experience?’
Mary experiences, the Angel Gabriel tell
her 3 things:
-
Greetings,
-
You who are highly favored!
-
The Lord is with you!
Being greeted by an angel of the Lord
can be so cool if the angel comes with a positive message! In this case,
that’s what Gabriel does! Gabriel lets Mary know that she is highly
favored! That is so awesome to know that the Virgin Mary was not just
favored but highly favored!
Character
6: Lord
Not only does the Angel Gabriel tell her
she is highly favored but also lets her know that the Lord is with her.
Wow! That is amazing! Gabriel comes to earth with a message from God and
part of the message is to let Mary know she is not alone but the Lord is
present with her!
Those days were filled with turmoil with
the politics of that day! Amidst that turmoil, the Virgin Mary is
visited by an angel with a message! The angel must be commended too for
following God’s orders and coming to earth to deliver the message!
I saw important implications for our
lives!
I ask you now dear
friend, can you say that the presence of the Lord is with you?
Dear friend, this Christmas season of
2007 if you cannot answer with a resounding ‘Yes’, I want you to know it
does not have to be that way!
As God took the initiative to send the
Angel Gabriel with a message to the Virgin Mary, God has taken the
initiative for you too! Yes, he has friend! No matter what you have
done, no matter where you have been, you are never out of His love and
never out of His reach! Yes, no sin of yours is too big for God to
forgive you and give you His peace! All the guilt you have, God already
took the initiative to help you experience forgiveness and grace. God
did it through sending Jesus Christ to save you and me from our sins.
Jesus paid the price with His life on the cross, shedding His blood for
you and me. His blood can clean us where we are and cover us with His
purity. When God looks at us, He sees Christ covering us! That is
amazing to know! For Christ to cover us, He has to be with us!
When you turn over your life to Him,
Jesus will be there for you! He will never leave you nor forsake you! If
you have given your life to Him but have gone your own way, it is not
late to come back to the One who loves you and wants to be part of your
life. Yes, He does! This Christmas season, you can say, that the Lord is
with you because He wants to be with you if you will ask Him to be part
of your life and your daily living!
The Virgin Mary experienced the presence
of the Lord and later sang a song to the Lord. Friend, you can
experience the Lord's presence this Christmas season too. Turn your life
over to Jesus Christ who is Immanuel - God with us. Let Him work in your
life and you will experience His presence even through the darkest times
as you look to Him.
Two thousand years ago, on Christmas
night the baby Jesus was born but He is not a baby anymore. He is the
King of Kings and Lord of lords. He reigns on High and is the Redeemer
of you and me when we turn ourselves over to Him. Jesus became
God-incarnate and lived among us. He wants to live in your heart and
make your heart your home.
Won't you make space in
your heart for Jesus Christ, our Immanuel-God with us, our Mighty God,
our Wonderful Counselor, our Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace?
You can right now this moment! You need
not wait! Yes, friend come as you are to the One who loves you so much
because peacefully, redeeming eternal Savior elegantly nurtures
carefully everyday!
Peacefully,
Redeeming Eternal Savior Elegantly Nurtures Carefully Everyday! (P.R.E.S.E.N.C.E)/”Can
you say the presence of the Lord is with you?”
Prayer:
Jesus, I heard that you want to be part of my life. I want you in my
life. I do have a lot of baggage with me. Most of the baggage is damaged
goods and only you can set me free. I want to have your presence in my
life, for you say when you come in, you will never leave us nor forsake
us. I am so sorry for my sins Jesus. You know all my sins what I have
done, you know where I have been in my life! You alone can give me new
life. I don’t expect everything to be peachy when I come to you but I do
know you will be with me and help me through whatever I have to face in
life. Thank you Jesus! Please forgive me of my sins and cleanse me with
your cleansing blood. I believe you died on the cross to save me from my
sins and came back to life to give me new life. I accept all that you
have done for me through your grace! I thank you for being my Mighty
God, Everlasting Father, Wonderful Counselor, and Prince of Peace! Thank
you for your grace, you want to impart in my life. Please come into my
heart now and make my heart your home forever! Live in me Jesus and I
will live for you and serve you the rest of the days of my life as you
help me through the Holy Spirit. Fill me Jesus with the Holy Spirit.
Thank you Jesus for coming into my heart and making my heart your home!
Thank you for being part of my life as I acknowledge you as my Lord and
personal Savior! I am not alone but you are with me guiding my path!
Thank you Jesus I am born-again into your family and when I have
backslid you have brought this prodigal son or daughter back to you.
Thank you Jesus for being my Lord and Personal Savior! Thank you, you
have heard my prayer and answered me! In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!
No matter what you feel in your heart,
know that Jesus has come in and resides with you! You are not alone! To
make your walk strong with the Lord, spend time in prayer talking to Him
as you would to a friend. You don’t need special words to talk to the
Lord. Spend time in His Word reading Psalms and turning them into
prayer. Next allow God to heal you and speak to you through the Gospel
of John or Gospel of Mark!
It is also important to be part of a body of believers to help
you grow in the faith. Find a Bible believing church that preaches
Christ crucified and risen to bring us hope, healing, and help! As a
student, it is not too late to join a fellowship on campus too this
coming new year!
Feel free to email me at
reddy4hisglory2004@yahoo.com if you want to meet to study the Bible,
pray with, talk about Spiritual issues or whatever is on your mind! My
number is 412-720-4579
"This is my work and
I can do it only because Christ's mighty energy is at work within me."
(Colossians 1:29, TLB)
Love in Christ,
Ramesh
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