The Lord tears down the proud man’s house but He keeps the widow’s boundaries
intact. The Lord detests the thoughts of the wicked, but those of the pure are
pleasing to Him. ~Proverbs 15:25-26
Then Mary said, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the mighty One has done great things for me, Holy is His name. His mercy extends to those that fear Him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as He said to our Fathers.” ~Luke 1:46-55
“He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.” “The Lord detests the thoughts of the wicked, but those of the pure are pleasing to Him.” These things are true, even if it seems that God is doing nothing. For example, God was doing a really big thing when, in the fullness of time, Jesus’ coming was announced to a peasant girl with no standing and no voice in the seen world. And this announcement was quiet and private, given in the midst of a generation that had lost hope.
There is that saying: “Even when it seems that God is doing nothing, He’s doing something.” The announcement was made, but no one knew, and except for Mary, everyone’s lives went on as before. Mary recognized and celebrated the truth of Solomon’s Proverb in her song of praise. But still, the world took no notice. Even at His birth, when the announcement came to lowly shepherds, God indeed lifted up the lowly, but it had no impact on ordinary life.
God is always on the move. We just don’t see it. Kathy and I heard the most amazing story the other day of William Ford, a black man, and Matthew Lockett, a white man. They work together, in prayer for reconciliation in our nation. William’s history is that of slavery. He carries with him an iron pot that his ancestors used to muffle their voices during their nightly prayer vigils to end slavery. His ancestors died, not seeing the answer to their prayers.
Matthew discovered that he had two lines of history in his past, one strain was abolitionists, the other was slave owners. Both Will and Matt are Christians. They both had dreams in which God was telling them to attend a prayer gathering for racial reconciliation. Because of their dreams leading them, they met in 2005, at a prayer gathering at the place in Washington D.C. where Martin Luther King had said: “I dream of a day when the sons of slave owners and the sons of slaves will come together in prayer.”
When they met, they became good friends and traveled together to work and pray on race relations. After ten years of working together, both were in for a shocking discovery. First of all, it was learned that the last battle of the Civil War, ending slavery for good, was fought on one of Matthew’s ancestor’s properties. Then it was discovered that Matthew’s ancestors had owned William’s ancestors and the prayer meetings that had taken place so long ago had taken place in Matthew’s ancestor’s barn! I tell this story to impress upon us again the vision of a bigger picture than our own small part of history.
In Genesis, God gave Abraham promises that Abraham never saw realized, but he trusted anyway. William’s ancestors prayed for an end to slavery that they never experienced, but they prayed on anyway. Martin Luther King had a vision of a son of slaves and a son of a slave owner praying together, that he never saw realized, but he proclaimed it anyway. Now we know that dream prayer was answered very specifically, and right in the very spot where MLK Jr, had told his followers about it.
Solomon made claims about God’s justice, such as the widows’ boundaries being restored and the property of the wicked being destroyed. Yet, there is still injustice today. When Mary received the news of the Messiah, she made bold proclamations that we are still waiting to see fulfilled, but she made them anyway. She knew that knowing Messiah was coming was enough to prove that God keeps His promises.
In today’s culture, we are so used to instant solutions and quick answers, that when we don’t get what we want, when we want it, or when it would make sense to us, we give up. We think that God isn’t there or hasn’t heard, and in impatience, we move ahead to fix the problem ourselves. (Abraham and Sarah did that too, and Ishmael was born.)
We have lost the art of waiting upon the Lord. Yet, patience and self-control are just as much fruit of the Spirit as are love, joy, peace and gentleness. We often emphasize the latter, thinking that the former are for super Christians, or for those who have time to cultivate such behaviors. But God encourages all of us to have a longer view than just us.
Kathy’s Grandfather was a pastor and a missionary to the native Americans in Menominee county. He died of kidney disease 8 years before Kathy was born. His big concern, before his passing was about who in his family would carry on in ministry after he was gone. Fast forward 30 years to when Kathy and I married. You need to know, I was not what my in-laws were looking for in a son-in-law. I was a city boy who was more comfortable around books. They were farmers, hunters, and fishermen, so it was kind of rocky for me at first.
Then, after we had been married for about 8 years, my calling to the ministry was confirmed and we headed off to seminary, with three children in tow. At first, that didn’t set well with the in-laws either! But about two years into my schooling, my father-in-law came to me one day and said, “We believe you are the answer to Grandpa’s prayers.” I I pray that I am the answer to those prayers. But the point is, this man passed away forty years before I began seminary. We never met. Kathy also has never met him, but the prayers and the faith didn’t need us to meet, nor was it necessary for Kathy’s grandfather to see the fulfillment of his prayers to know, with certainty, that God would keep His promises.
Both Mary and Solomon spoke of assurance of things they did not see. God’s promise was enough for them to believe that it was a good as done. It’s not about us getting what we want now. It’s about us being faithful to do our part for the sake of the bigger picture that will be revealed in eternity. We may pass without seeing all of what God has promised being fulfilled for us in our lifetime, but if He has promised, you can take it to the bank, like a guaranteed deposit, that it will be there, it will be done as He promised. He is faithful, we must be faithful too.
Prayer: Lord, You have promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against Your Church and that we will be your witnesses to the ends of the earth. You have promised that You would be with us always even to the end of the age. So, we are not without hope! The Church in America is struggling right now, but it cannot be wiped out. Our faith will rise to the occasion. We pray for revival and a strong church and new believers who are faithful disciples until You come again! In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: Great is Thy Faithfulness
Then Mary said, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the mighty One has done great things for me, Holy is His name. His mercy extends to those that fear Him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as He said to our Fathers.” ~Luke 1:46-55
“He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.” “The Lord detests the thoughts of the wicked, but those of the pure are pleasing to Him.” These things are true, even if it seems that God is doing nothing. For example, God was doing a really big thing when, in the fullness of time, Jesus’ coming was announced to a peasant girl with no standing and no voice in the seen world. And this announcement was quiet and private, given in the midst of a generation that had lost hope.
There is that saying: “Even when it seems that God is doing nothing, He’s doing something.” The announcement was made, but no one knew, and except for Mary, everyone’s lives went on as before. Mary recognized and celebrated the truth of Solomon’s Proverb in her song of praise. But still, the world took no notice. Even at His birth, when the announcement came to lowly shepherds, God indeed lifted up the lowly, but it had no impact on ordinary life.
God is always on the move. We just don’t see it. Kathy and I heard the most amazing story the other day of William Ford, a black man, and Matthew Lockett, a white man. They work together, in prayer for reconciliation in our nation. William’s history is that of slavery. He carries with him an iron pot that his ancestors used to muffle their voices during their nightly prayer vigils to end slavery. His ancestors died, not seeing the answer to their prayers.
Matthew discovered that he had two lines of history in his past, one strain was abolitionists, the other was slave owners. Both Will and Matt are Christians. They both had dreams in which God was telling them to attend a prayer gathering for racial reconciliation. Because of their dreams leading them, they met in 2005, at a prayer gathering at the place in Washington D.C. where Martin Luther King had said: “I dream of a day when the sons of slave owners and the sons of slaves will come together in prayer.”
When they met, they became good friends and traveled together to work and pray on race relations. After ten years of working together, both were in for a shocking discovery. First of all, it was learned that the last battle of the Civil War, ending slavery for good, was fought on one of Matthew’s ancestor’s properties. Then it was discovered that Matthew’s ancestors had owned William’s ancestors and the prayer meetings that had taken place so long ago had taken place in Matthew’s ancestor’s barn! I tell this story to impress upon us again the vision of a bigger picture than our own small part of history.
In Genesis, God gave Abraham promises that Abraham never saw realized, but he trusted anyway. William’s ancestors prayed for an end to slavery that they never experienced, but they prayed on anyway. Martin Luther King had a vision of a son of slaves and a son of a slave owner praying together, that he never saw realized, but he proclaimed it anyway. Now we know that dream prayer was answered very specifically, and right in the very spot where MLK Jr, had told his followers about it.
Solomon made claims about God’s justice, such as the widows’ boundaries being restored and the property of the wicked being destroyed. Yet, there is still injustice today. When Mary received the news of the Messiah, she made bold proclamations that we are still waiting to see fulfilled, but she made them anyway. She knew that knowing Messiah was coming was enough to prove that God keeps His promises.
In today’s culture, we are so used to instant solutions and quick answers, that when we don’t get what we want, when we want it, or when it would make sense to us, we give up. We think that God isn’t there or hasn’t heard, and in impatience, we move ahead to fix the problem ourselves. (Abraham and Sarah did that too, and Ishmael was born.)
We have lost the art of waiting upon the Lord. Yet, patience and self-control are just as much fruit of the Spirit as are love, joy, peace and gentleness. We often emphasize the latter, thinking that the former are for super Christians, or for those who have time to cultivate such behaviors. But God encourages all of us to have a longer view than just us.
Kathy’s Grandfather was a pastor and a missionary to the native Americans in Menominee county. He died of kidney disease 8 years before Kathy was born. His big concern, before his passing was about who in his family would carry on in ministry after he was gone. Fast forward 30 years to when Kathy and I married. You need to know, I was not what my in-laws were looking for in a son-in-law. I was a city boy who was more comfortable around books. They were farmers, hunters, and fishermen, so it was kind of rocky for me at first.
Then, after we had been married for about 8 years, my calling to the ministry was confirmed and we headed off to seminary, with three children in tow. At first, that didn’t set well with the in-laws either! But about two years into my schooling, my father-in-law came to me one day and said, “We believe you are the answer to Grandpa’s prayers.” I I pray that I am the answer to those prayers. But the point is, this man passed away forty years before I began seminary. We never met. Kathy also has never met him, but the prayers and the faith didn’t need us to meet, nor was it necessary for Kathy’s grandfather to see the fulfillment of his prayers to know, with certainty, that God would keep His promises.
Both Mary and Solomon spoke of assurance of things they did not see. God’s promise was enough for them to believe that it was a good as done. It’s not about us getting what we want now. It’s about us being faithful to do our part for the sake of the bigger picture that will be revealed in eternity. We may pass without seeing all of what God has promised being fulfilled for us in our lifetime, but if He has promised, you can take it to the bank, like a guaranteed deposit, that it will be there, it will be done as He promised. He is faithful, we must be faithful too.
Prayer: Lord, You have promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against Your Church and that we will be your witnesses to the ends of the earth. You have promised that You would be with us always even to the end of the age. So, we are not without hope! The Church in America is struggling right now, but it cannot be wiped out. Our faith will rise to the occasion. We pray for revival and a strong church and new believers who are faithful disciples until You come again! In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: Great is Thy Faithfulness
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