Luke 1:39-45 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”
 
AS Gabriel steps away to  heaven, Mary steps into life in Nazareth. What might happen next? Would her faithful submission melt away as reality set in? Now that the angel had left her, where would Mary find God’s strengthening encouragement?
    God sent her to Elizabeth. One of God’s impossible signs to Mary is that Mary’s barren cousin Elizabeth was pregnant in her old age.
    Mary goes to Elizabth. Mary finds in Elizabeth a joyous expression of the Lord’s impossible work. Elizabeth overflows with excitement and praise for God’s great work in her and Mary. She personifies God’s grace and love. Through this supernatural – Spirit-anointed – encounter with Elizabeth, Mary is encouraged and strengthened.
    With the voice of a prophet, filled with the Spirit, Elizabeth declares, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!” In that moment God had spoken to Elizabeth just as clearly as he had spoken to Mary. The two women have received the revelation of the Savior to come. Elizabeth’s son, John the Baptist, even in the womb, heralds the way of Mary’s son. Elizabeth’s benediction for Mary expresses God’s sovereign protection over his chosen servant: “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”
    We need one another to help us know God will accomplish his purpose when we obey his call. Encouragement is a powerful spiritual gift. It unwraps one’s potential often hidden under uncertainty. “Is this what God wants from me?”
    Elizabeth’s blessed affirmations convinced Mary she could confidently expect the Lord to complete his promise to her and through her. She could confidently confront the upcoming challenges because she was certain God’s hand was on her.
   
Prayer: I seek you, Lord, with anticipation and joy. Thank you for the magnificent life you have purposed for me. Amen.
 

Luke 1:38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
 
GABRIEL returned to heaven. He had served the LORD God, delivering the message to the virgin. He had heard Mary commit to God’s call. Gabriel’s mighty work was done.
    Now Mary’s work began. Mary resolutely affirmed she would serve Yahweh. There is no greater vow than to say, “I am the Lord’s servant,” You place your life completely in God’s hands. Are you ready for this?
    Such vows are very difficult to speak in truth. Faithful, unwavering commitment does not come easily to the human heart. To say, “I am the Lord’s servant,” is to declare a readiness to respond without question or reservation to the Master’s bidding. Such commitment is spoken when you join a church. With such questions as, “Do you commit to regular attendance? Will you give freely of your tithes and offerings? Are you committed to use your spiritual gifts to edify the church?” we are called to respond, “I am the Lord’s servant,”  God has called you to his church, and he wants you to be his servant there.
    A servant’s life requires humility that is very different than the pride that so naturally affects us. Jesus’ great servant demonstration to wash the disciples’ feet in John 13 reveals the depth of telling God, “I am the Lord’s servant,”
    Serving God puts us in the least position. It makes us vulnerable to criticism and disappointment. In much of the world, God’s faithful servants are abused and neglected. They are often at the mercy of a brutal godless society.
    But the servant Mary committed to her God. Thoughts of extreme uncertainty and difficulties crowded her mind. There could be a trial and a decree of death by stoning because of her perceived sin of sexual impurity. This was God’s own law as stated in Deuteronomy 22:20-22.
    Mary is ready to serve. She has heard from the Lawgiver. He has promised the impossible will happen. Prepared in the Lord’s sovereign grace and power, Mary is ready emotionally and physically for this enormous task. She is prepared to live completely committed as God’s designated Kingdom servant.
    You can see in Mary an expression of a humble, faithful and loving heart. Mary is a good model for us when we hear the Spirit call us to serve the LORD God in his “impossible” purposes for our lives. To grow a faithful, servant’s heart, we must often pray with a commitment that says, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.”
 
Prayer: I am your servant, Lord. May your task be to me as you have said, Lord. I open my heart to serve you. In the Spirit’s power and his anointing faith, amen. 

Luke 1:34-37 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God.”
 
“HOW will this be?” Mary wondered. Do you ever think, “How did she say this?” Would she have spoken this compelling question with an attitude of disbelief: “That’s impossible! There is no way can that happen.” Or would she have had a tone of expectation, “Thank you, Lord! That sounds impossible, but I’m sure you have a way to make it happen. Tell me more.”
    Based on Gabriel’s response to her, Mary’s attitude was one of expectation. Certainly she did not understand how she, a virgin, would give birth to any baby, especially to the Son of God! But she was willing to hear how this miracle from heaven would become real.
    Mary’s ears and heart were open to God’s guidance onto an unknown path. The tone of the entire account here is that she was ready to enter a new place with God. “How will this be?” was likely Mary’s eagerness to learn how the impossible words would become real.
    Mary must have had a great faith in God and a great love for God. She would have called him Adonai, submitting in worship to his sovereign provision for her life.
    The Jews also spoke the name Yahweh, which defines the I AM, who spoke to Moses in the desert (Exodus 3). The name encompasses God’s character. He is God the Provider, God the Creator, God the Law Giver and God the Freedom Giver. God is eternal.
    Mary must have known in her heart that God could and would act beyond the natural laws he had established. Yahweh had done this with Sarah’s empty womb. He had brought life to the barren Hannah (1 Samuel 1-2); he had given Samson to his childless parents. God had now ordained even Mary’s barren cousin Elizabeth to be with child. Yahweh is ever-present, ever-working. We must be aware, and we must believe the answer to, “How?” is God’s option.
    That’s faith. Mary trusted, “Nothing is impossible with God.” She took those words to heart. May this is true for you, too.
 
Prayer: When I look around and wonder, “How will this ever change, Lord?” I pray for faith to believe, “With God, nothing is impossible.” In the Spirit’s power I pray, amen.
 

Luke 1:32-33 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
 
“WHO is Jesus?” The question has been asked repeatedly since our Lord became Immanuel, God with us. In truth, though, God gives the one sure answer. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High…He will reign over the house of Jacob (Israel) forever.”  Plain, pointed and powerful Jesus is God’s Son, eternal King of Israel.
    Jesus also is descended from a man. “The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.” It is essential for our salvation that Jesus is fully man. He is descended from his father – his ancestor – David. Both Mary and Joseph descended from different branches of David’s legacy. Jesus, Son of God, son of David, is Ruler over Israel, Jacob’s house.
    Why is Israel called Jacob’s house? All Jews descend from Jacob, who is Abraham’s grandson. Jacob is the father of 12 sons from four women (Genesis 29-32). Eleven sons became the father of 11 tribes of Israel. The 12th tribe was descended from Manasseh and Ephraim, Joseph’s sons born to him in Egypt.
    “Israel” is the name God gave to Jacob in Genesis 32:28 Then the man (perhaps the pre-incarnate Christ) said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.” The name Jacob means “deceiver”. Jacob had struggled against his sins of deceit for nearly 60 years. When God gave Jacob a new name, God changed Jacob’s life. “Israel” reminds the Jews that God renews people and nations from their struggles for his purpose.  In God’s grace Jacob overcame his past.  Israel must always know God’s grace is the source of their redemption from centuries of deceit against his sovereign rule.
    You can understand Gabriel’s short message summarizes the Old Testament. God’s persistent promises are fulfilled in Jesus. The Father’s assurance to care for his people and to save the nations is bearing fruit. Gabriel affirms God has ordained the events soon to occur. Israel, Jacob’s house, will meet Jesus.
    Perhaps the LORD God has great plans for your house, too. Maybe your family will be a witness to the world to answer the question, “Who is Jesus?”
 
Prayer: I pray my house is a house of worship, praise and witness of the Savior. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.