Holy Boldness

quences.

This is what the fear of the Lord looks like. The fear of the Lord places God’s needs above one’s own. Mary did not ask, “What will I tell my fiancé?” Mary left all the details and explanations in the hands of the Lord and she simply embraced the word of promise and counted it a privilege. Few people take the time to really think about the ramifications of the virgin birth of Christ. Miracles are wonderful until a person tries to explain them to others. Imagine what it would have been like to walk out this wonderful miracle. Miracles occur in the context of real life, where families watch and talk. Miracles bring their own unique set of challeng es and conflicts. Sometimes the resulting warfare over a work of God can do great damage. Some miracles make life easier and some come at a great cost. Mary had a genuine miracle manifesting in her womb. Once God’s word starts to manifest in one’s life, there are always adjustments to be made. Miracles bring disruption. Are you ready to receive your miracle? As the Angel spoke with Mary, he deliberately mentioned her cousin Elizabeth who was also pregnant through divine intervention in her old age. This was more than a casual reference but rather seemed to be a hint of where Mary needed to go to get the encouragement she would need in the early days of her pregnancy. Luke tells us that Mary immediately went to go stay with her cousin. The early stages of things can be very unsettling and vulnerable. It seems as if God orchestrated Mary’s and Elizabeth’s coming together as can be seen through the sign that emerged at their greeting. As soon as Mary reached Elizabeth’s house and called out, the baby whom Elizabeth was carrying- the future John the Baptist- leaped in her womb, and simultaneously she (Elizabeth) was filled with the Holy Spirit. She began to cry out with a loud voice prophesying over Mary and “the fruit of her womb,” the future Jesus of Nazareth and Messiah of Israel. Mary in turn also began to worship and broke out into a prophetic declaration of her own, quoting, incidentally, the Psalms and the scriptural words of Hannah, the once barren mother of the prophet Samuel. (Luke 1:39-55, 1 Samuel 2:1-10) The Encounter between Mary and Elizabeth

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