Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Celebration of hope : from dishonor to honor  

Bible Reading: : Luke 1:39-45

Key verse:  

Bible Verse::  Luke 1: 45  “ And blessed is she who believed that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled." 
DEVOTION

The first chapter in the Gospel of Luke, is rich with theological meaning, historical context, and spiritual depth. This will help each of us in our Christian understanding and knowledge, on  the life of Jesus here on Earth and the origins that sparked the birth of Christianity.  We focus on today’s devotional of Mary the mother of Jesus visiting her cousin Elizabeth who was pregnant with John the Baptist.  We see Elizabeth filled with the holy spirit, and truly recognizing  Mary as the mother of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Chapter sets the stage of the miraculous birth of Jesus and of John the Baptist and highlighting the faith of their parents and their obedience to God.  
Mary ‘s meeting with Elizabeth is filled with joy and full of prophetic insights and their meeting, has layers of spiritual meaning that offers us lessons we can learn and apply into our own lives.  There is ‘holy joy’  that both Elizabeth and the baby in her womb experience, a moment of divine presence,  and they both react with joy showing the mighty work of God in  their respective lives.  We see God at work as the two cousins meet and there is relational bonding coupled with God’s presence in the meeting.  Elizabeth joyous mood , serves as divine confirmation to what the Angel Gabriel had prophesized to Mary. This leads to strengthening of Mary ‘s faith and the belief that she is the chosen vessel that is set apart for God’s greater plan for the birth of the Messiah.  There is another interesting lesson in this meeting between these two cousins, where by we learn the importance of fellowship, and mutual support among believers.  We must also continue to encourage and bolster the faith of our fellow believers by our interaction on regular basis.  This will help us ,  promote   the very communal essence of our   Christian journey, here on Earth.
As we reflect on today’s devotion, we see in the brief verses not any ordinary meeting between two cousins, but fulfillment of God’s promises and the miraculous birth of Jesus, and John,  considering both Elizabeth and Zachariah were well advanced in age. The historical certainty of the Gospel events that we read today, provides spiritual roadmap for those who seek to understand and deepen their faith in God’s redemptive work through Jesus Christ

 

PRAYER

Almighty and Gracious Lord, as we dwell on the  meeting between Elizabeth and Mary, let us understand how important is  the fellowship and mutual support among believers that we can emulate to our lives today, this ,  we pray in Jesus Precious Name – AMEN.

Thought for the DAY

“ John the Baptist never performed any miracles. Yet, he was greater than any of the Old Testament prophets “  - Leonard Ravenhill 


Abraham Kurien, Immanuel Mar Thoma Church, Houston, Texas.

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