December 2, 2022

ABOVE ALL WOMEN

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed.”

Luke 1:41-42 NLT

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TODAY’S THOUGHT

Mary is told she is going to have a baby by divine action of God. This baby is going to be the Messiah, the Savior of the world. He will be called the Son of God. That had to be an overwhelming announcement to take in for Mary. She didn’t appear to be anyone special. Just an ordinary young woman engaged to be married. Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth who declares, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed.” What does this mean?

For some Mary is worshipped almost as a god. For others Mary is forgotten and almost ignored. I believe the truth about Mary is somewhere in between. She is worthy of honor and respect for the part she played in God’s redemptive plan. She proved herself to be a worthy barrier of the Messiah. She suffered much because of her son being the Son of God. But she was an ordinary woman who was given grace by God. She was human. She had sin. She received God’s grace to cover her sins. I believe the same grace Mary received is available to all of us. We can be recipients of God’s grace and discover what it is like for God to be working through us. We can carry the life of God inside of us to a world that is living in darkness. This Christmas let’s desire to receive God’s grace in our lives and carry that grace to our hurting world.

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TODAY’S PRAYER

Holy Spirit help me to be a recipient of God’s grace. Help me to carry Your grace to those in need around me. Let me be a light in their dark world.

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