Weekly Devotional
Faith Series: "God Is Still Doing the Miraculous" (Volume I Devotional #011)
“For with God nothing will be impossible.”
Luke 1.37
Greetings, my beloved readers, we have recently experienced a time of thanksgiving and are about to embark upon the season of the tidings of great joy of the miraculous conception and birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. In these next few weeks, until the beginning of the new year, we will be reminded of the many blessings the Lord has bestowed upon us throughout our lives and within the past year. We will see relatives we have not seen for a while, sons and daughters will be coming home from college, messages of the great blessings of our salvation will be heard from the pulpits of many of churches, and the Holy Ghost will touch the hearts of men, women, and children throughout the season. The beauty of the lights, the decorations and the children’s laughter will take us to the memories of those deeply missed and the smells of Christmas will fill the air and it will remind us of how much we love this time of the year.
Recently, I received a text from a dear sister in Christ, whose reward in heaven will be much greater than mine, who is going through a very difficult time in her life. Such a difficult time, very few are even able to understand. In her text she wrote, “A death sentence was declared against me because I chose the Christian faith. In my country, injustice has become normal. Being a girl is seen as a sin, and they try to silence us in every possible way.” She goes on to say, “If I survive, I want to scream for justice, for dignity, and for the stolen lives of…women and girls.” This woman of God and great saint has no other desire in her life than to be able to live out her Christian faith in peace, experience the justice of God, be treated with the honor, dignity, and respect every daughter of the Most High deserves, and speak out for those who have not the power to speak for themselves. What a testimony! What faith! What courage! What love!
As we enter into the season of the remembrance of the miraculous, where we hear the Gospel account of the announcement of Gabriel to Mary, speaking of her miraculous conception, saying, “…with God nothing is impossible,” let’s always remember that testimonies such as the one of our dear sister in Christ, who is being hunted for her faith in Christ is a love for God that should be sought to be strived in all our lives. It is the love of God that motivated Him to send His Only Begotten Son into a lost world to save all of us from our sins and bring peace and goodwill to all men. Such peace and goodwill involves all of us as the Body of Christ to make certain we do good to all, but especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Prayer: Dear, Gracious Heavenly Father, as we approach in faith, dear Lord, knowing first and foremost that You exist and are loving and gracious and a most caring God, please, help us Father to draw closer to You at every moment of the day. Help us, Father, to not live in fear, nor give place to the Enemy in our lives, where he does not belong. Gives us strength, Father, in our weaknesses, and help us to always look to Jesus Christ, Who is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Cleanse us, Lord Father, from our unrighteousness and wash away our sins with the preaching and teaching of Your Word, and may we always glorify Your name. In Jesus Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
This week’s memory verse from the Weekly Devotional is Matthew 1.23:
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, ‘God with us.’”
Pastor Ron, thank you so much for this powerful devotional. Your words remind us that the same God who worked miracles in Mary’s life is still working miracles today in the lives of His people. Luke 1 :37 says with God nothing shall be impossible and your message made that truth come alive again. The testimony of that sister who is suffering for her faith moved my heart deeply and Hebrews 13 : 3 tells us to remember those in bonds as bound with them which is exactly what your devotional called us to do. Her courage shows the reality of Revelation 12 : 11 that they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony and loved not their lives unto the death. As we enter this season of remembering the miraculous birth of our Savior, your reminder that God still works in impossible situations gives us hope and strength and Isaiah 41 :10 says fear not for I am with you be not dismayed for I am your God I will strengthen you I will help you. Thank you Pastor Ron for faithfully feeding us the Word each week. Your devotionals encourage us guide us and lift our faith. Galatians 6: 9 says let us not grow weary in well doing for in due season we shall reap if we faint not and your ministry is a living example of that promise. May the Lord continue to fill you with wisdom power and grace as you serve Him and shepherd His people.
Brothers and Sisters in Christ please pray for this woman and everyone involved. Please read the story and join all of us in prayer for her. This is so sad and this is one of our sisters being persecuted to the max. Please lift her up in prayer to Jesus for all strength and all peace and for her rescue.