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NASB | Luke 1:38 And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 1:38 Then Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel left her. |
Subject: Hands: empty or full? |
Bible Note: Greetings Tim - you are right, there is no scriptural basis for that phrase. Once you have confessed Christ as your Savior, you are indeed "in His grip." Too often many fall prey to the devil's suggestion that we really aren't saved. Lots of people quote and requote the "sinners prayer" just to "be sure." Well, we can never be sure on our own for it is the Spirit who testifes that we are indeed children of God. (Romans 8:16)(See also 1 John 5!) Frankly, according Jesus, the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with our heart, mind, soul and strength (Lk 10:27). Yet the word He uses for love is agapao. How can we, as fallen humans, ever love the Lord with THAT quality of love? We can't! Jesus said,"THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,(Lk 4:18) Jesus declared that He had come to set the captives free. What imprisons us? I think it our human desire to please and be accepted. How do we accomplish this? Most often we succumb to performance Christianity - this is self effort - yet in God's economy, it is never good enough. He equates all our attempts at goodness as "filty rags." (Isa 64:6) Your closing says it all - once we are in HIS grip, Jesus lives through us. He says, "apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) So what do you think - can we obey the greatest commandment on our own? That's the good news, Christ lives in me - He's the one who does all the work - as Larry Crabb says, "The pressure's off!" Whew, that performance thing was really oppressive! Most people do recognize what Blaise Pascal calls the "God shaped vacuum in our soul." This emptiness is, in reality, our loss of relationship with God. Most of us grieve losses. But, we are so addicted to formulas and programs, that we fail to see how this amounts to nothing more than "trying" to live for God on our own. These are folks who come to God with their hands in their pockets (denial). They operate by a list of rules and set up meetings with God on their terms. It's the "you can do it mentality!" Then there are those who come to God with a clenched fist, blaming God for what ever misfortune or disappointment they have experienced. Perhaps they have found that "living by the rules" didn't make a difference. (These folks are angry at Him - at least it is a response!) The next group of people come to God with their hands full; they have "wish lists" and agendas for God to stamp with His approval.(Busyness, avoidance and self sufficiency rule here too!) However, in order to love as Christ commands, we must come to Him as Mary did, with open hands,(acceptance) ready to receive what God would place there. What He gives us is His Love - Jesus! Once we have Him, we can be confident that no matter what the Lord allows to come into our lives, HE is sovereign and HE is sufficent. God chose to place Himself within Mary's womb, just as HE chooses to place His Spirit within the souls of those who would receive Him. Let us respond to Him as Mary did, "I am the Lord's bondslave . . ." What if Mary had said, "Thanks, but no thanks?" Blessings brother! mommapbs |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Luke 1:38 | Author | ||
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Mommapbs | ||
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Timothy Paul | ||
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Mommapbs | ||
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Timothy Paul |