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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Wednesday, December 23, 2020
Today's Passage : Today's Passage:The Magnificat Bible Verse:Luke 1:46-55 (NKJV) "And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.” " Message:
The theme of Mary’s powerful hymn of praise and thanks is God’s love of the innocent and lowly, and His justice that will exalt them above the powers of earth. It is easy to follow, other than the first several lines. The use of the verb “to magnify” in the sense here — to laud or praise highly — is not used often (although it is not considered archaic). But it is different from how we usually use it, for we think of magnifying as causing something to appear larger than it is; whereas, in this sense, Mary is helping us to see the greatness of a God whom we are apt to underestimate.
Virgin of the Magnificat
Sandro Botticelli, 1483 Virgin of the Magnificat Sandro Botticelli, 1483 The second verse, similarly, makes us stop to understand it. “He has regarded the lowly state of his handmaiden” surely means something more than God looked at or noticed Mary’s socio-economic status. In fact, even today, one of the definitions of “to regard” in Webster’s is “to respect or hold in high regard.” God has actually chosen Mary, in part, because she is not exalted as rich or powerful; he has seen her lowly condition and esteemed it. Every line is a gem. The dominant motif is a transition between the Old Covenant and Christianity. It expresses the very Christian theme of God exalting those who are lowly and simple, but it is very Jewish in its view of God working these miracles within the framework of human society. As Christ comes of age and begins His teaching, another great theological principle will come to dominate: That those who love Him and follow him might willingly abjure earthly goods, because the delights of this life are so pale in comparison to a joy that will come only after our bodies die. One cannot miss the poetic impact of such lines as, “He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.” All of us suffer from pride that is purely a product of our own imagination, but some people take their self-importance to such an extreme that it becomes ludicrous. God will, Mary tells us, deflate the pompous. And so let us pray for humility, so that we ourselves will not have so far to fall. Meditation : Prayer : Almighty God, by your Holy Spirit you have made me one with your saints in heaven and on earth. Grant that in my earthly pilgrimage I may always be supported by this fellowship of love and prayer, and know myself to be surrounded by their witness to your power and mercy. I ask this for the sake of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns for ever and ever........Amen |
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