Blessed to believe

Luke 1:43-45 (NIV)
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!

Good morning!

This is crunch week for many college students. I took a final exam on Tuesday and I am wrapping up a semester project that is due next week. While I know I am going to miss class time and homework, I am looking forward to the Christmas break. The season of Advent is such a busy time of year, especially at Faith church. Once the classes are behind me, I will get to spend some quality time with Jeff, my mother and sister, and all my children and grandbabies. It will be good to take a break from school and simply enjoy having company.

I’ve been thinking about one of the questions from my final exam this week. The instructor asked me to state why I believed the holy Word of God, the Bible, was true. There are many good reasons to believe God’s Word. Prophecies of the Old and New Testaments have already been fulfilled. The study of world history and early civilization confirms many of the stories passed down through scripture. Yet, I found myself struggling with just the right words. Why do I stake my life on God’s Word? How I can accept and believe it to be true?

After the angel visited Mary, she made a trip to visit Elizabeth and Zechariah in the hill country of Judea. She was looking forward to seeing them and wanted to share in their joy, as they awaited the birth their infant son. Mary wondered how Zechariah and Elizabeth might react to her news of the angelic visitation and pregnancy. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s voice, she was immediately filled with the Holy Spirit. She greeted Mary with great joy, asking why the mother of her Lord had come to visit. Elizabeth believed what she knew to be true in her heart. Elizabeth said that Mary was blessed to believe that what the Lord said to her would be fulfilled.

I trust that God’s holy Word is true because He enables me to believe through the power of the Holy Spirit. Every single time I read the Bible, my heart beats just a little faster, and my mind is filled with overwhelming love for the one who creates, redeems and forgives. When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, it is because God has blessed us with the ability to believe and see what He has done, through the work of the Holy Spirit in our life.

Believing by faith is a gift of God. He has blessed each of us with the power of the Holy Spirit, enabling us to grow in knowledge and faith. Will you stake your life on His Word today?

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding
www.songofdeborah.com

Pray for: God to fill you with His Holy Spirit to help you grow in faith, confirming what you know in your heart to be true, as you study His holy Word every day.

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