Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
As I was sitting in my car this morning, waiting to meet up with a friend, I picked up my Bible and opened it to these chapters. I didn't intend on having church in my minivan but oh, how God planned otherwise.
The Lord was just all over me as I read! I mean those moments you feel like you are suffocating in his presence. Where His presence brings you to tears. These thoughts were revealed to me. God wants US to be like a spiritual Mary!
Mary was so pure and favored she was entrusted by God himself to conceive and carry Jesus in her womb. To nourish him. To sacrifice herself to bring Him to life. We should be so pure and favored that we conceive and carry Jesus in the depths of our souls!
When a woman becomes pregnant her body starts changing. Things start moving around to make room for the new life within her. Her body starts providing nutrients so the life can grow! We too should be moving things out of the way for Christ in our lives!
We should be feeding our souls and nourishing Christ within ourselves. Make room for Jesus! Get that addiction and push it aside. Get rid of that anger so the life within you can grow and flourish. Rid yourself of those wayward thoughts so Jesus can stretch! Give him room!
Then when we see that Mary so much as greeted her cousin and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and her own baby LEPT in her womb... Wow!!! Can you imagine if we were so full of Christ within us we just had to greet someone to fill them with the Holy Spirit? I mean c'mon, that's how we should be! Overflowing with Christ's presence till the people around us can't help but feel it too. That's how I want to be!
I want people to know I'm different just by my spoken word. I want them to feel Holy Ghost floods in their spirit when I say nothing more than a hello! Will you allow yourself to be a vessel? Will you make room for Jesus today? Not just a little room but let him really have all the space he needs, even if that means he's pouring out of a brand new you? I will!