Devotional Song: ... Go to this link … Please take the time to take in a video of Steve Green singing his great song … Find Us Faithful, declaring what should be the goal of every Christian to be faithful to the promises God has laid out for us in His word.
Highlight Passage Luke 2: 37-38 [NKJV] …
37 ... and this woman [Anna, the Prophetess] was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
… When faith intersects with God’s providence …
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Highlight Context - Luke 2: 25-38 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Simeon and Anna see the Christ child and their faith is rewarded with God’s plan unfolding in their faithful presence
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Reference Passage #1 - Proverbs 3: 5-6 [NKJV] …
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him; and He will direct your paths.
… God’s promise when we’re fearful! …
Reference Passage #2 - Luke 9: 23 [NKJV] …
23 Then He (Jesus) said to the them all (His followers), “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”
… So, are we really ready to be His faithful followers? …
My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread devotional entry, authored by Marion Stroud, refers to Luke’s account of two faithful seekers of God’s promise for Israel; and their willingness to patiently wait for God’s promise of the The Messiah.
In Luke 2: 25-38, linked above, we read the story of Simeon and Anna who encountered their Messiah in the Temple, with the baby Jesus being brought there by His parents, Mary and Joseph, for the rite of circumcision. And these two old Jews, who had been faithful followers in waiting for The Messiah, were rewarded by God’s providence to be able to see their Promised One before they died.
Author Stroud, in today’s ODB entry, delivers a profound truth for his readers (me) today; as he writes … "It’s hard to see both God’s plan and our part. But their intersection is the best place to be." And that truth was illustrated in the lives of Simeon and Anna, who TOTALLY believed God’s promises of a Messiah coming to save God’s people. Simeon had even been given the promise of seeing The Christ before he died; and that promise played out in the Temple scene we read from Luke, Chapter 2.
My dear one, there’s no better place to be than at the intersection of faith in God and His promise for our lives. So, like Anna and Simeon, let us be, as Steve Green sings in the linked song above, faithful followers of God’s promise … that we who know Him and love Him and share Him with others; and that we will be with Him in Glory. And that is a promise to which all who call Jesus, “Lord,” can await with confidence.
My Prayer Today: Lord, one day I will be with You in glory. HALLELUJAH!! Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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