Advent Day 18: Blessed is She...

These pictures are from a trip we took 3 years ago to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, near Telluride, Colorado.  The first time I saw the view in the top photo, I lost my breath because of its beauty.  As I took the shot, I noticed this woman  down at the very edge of the chasm, arms raised in worship.  I could certainly understand her reaction that day.

Traditionally, arms are raised to worship God and also to deliver or pronounce a blessing on loved ones. 

"Blessed", "bless", "bless it", "bless you" - - - even that old Southern staple "Bless her heart!"  These are, for the most part so overused they have moved into the realm of meaninglessness.  In fact, the New York Times wrote an article 3 or so years ago, proclaiming that the hashtag #blessed had gone viral on social media! But, what is meant by these terms?  How are they used in Scripture?

Let's look again at the two women in Luke 1:41-48 - - - Elizabeth and Mary. 

...and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.42In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Mary’s Song

46And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord

47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48for he has been mindful

of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

49for the Mighty One has done great things for me—

holy is his name.

Both of them claimed to be "blessed by God".  What does that mean, in their contexts, and in ours?

When Luke interviewed Elizabeth for his gospel, she reported to him that she had called Mary "blessed" (vs. 42).  This particular form of the Greek word used for "blessed" here is "eulogemene", which means "to be well-spoken of by another". You might recognize that our English word "eulogy" derives from this same Greek word.  The dictionary defines "blessed" as "divinely favored" or "consecrated".  "Consecrated" means "designated for a holy purpose".

So, Elizabeth and Mary were both proclaiming that God had favored them by fulfilling His holy purposes through them.  

They were both ordinary women of the day who loved God.  They were not rich or prominent.  They were typical, godly Jewish women - - - one in middle age or later, and the other in her early teens.

Do you realize that, if you are a Christian, a disciple of Jesus Christ, then you too are blessed? 

"But I don't feel blessed", you say.

Sometimes, our feelings or our circumstances can lead us into unbelief, error...a pit.  Let's look at the truth, presented in Scripture.

• We are blessed with salvation through Jesus Christ.
• We are blessed with the indwelling in our hearts of the Holy Spirit.
• We are blessed with purpose, God's calling to each of us, according to the unique spiritual gifts and talents He has given us. "Consecration"
• We are blessed with everything we need.  (I didn't say "want"; God is not Santa Claus.)
• We are blessed with the many promises of God.  

Elizabeth made the following statement to Mary:
"Blessed is she who has believed the Lord would fulfill His promises to her." (vs. 45)

Listen to this powerful truth:  the promises of God transcend current circumstances and feelings.
Faith.  Belief.  Trust.  Rest.  Do you struggle with believing the promises of God?  Do you really believe that He is good....all the time?  Do you believe that He is at work behind the scenes, even when you can't see it?

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28 (NASB)

Oh Blessed One!  Oh Child, consecrated, "called according to His purpose"!
Maybe, like me, you need to remind yourself of God's precious promises to you.  Here is a link that may bring you comfort today.  Go here and read about just a few of His many precious promises to His children.

http://www.intouch.org/you/article-archive/content/topic/god_s_precious_promises_article#.VJQIH8AAJA

Let's agree together this morning, this day, that our God is greater than all our blind stumbling around in the dark, our frantic groping for peace in the midst of severe pain.  Let's affirm that He will be faithful - - - that He who called you out of the pit of sin and eternal damnation LOVES YOU and WILL keep His promises to you. Let's hold on with everything we've got to the beautiful truth - - - that He does not change.  His word is eternal. 

Fellow Believers - - - we don't have to "feel it" to believe it!

Ah Lord God!  I declare that You are the Most High, the God of Angel Armies, and that what you promise, you will do.  Just as you fulfilled Your promise of a Messiah, prophesied in Genesis, through Isaiah, Micah, Zechariah and elsewhere, you will fulfill your promises to Your children. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I will praise You! (Psalm 63:3)  In Jesus' name, that Name which is above every name, that Name at which every knee will eventually bow, amen.

To Declare, To Claim, To Own

"I once was lost in sin
But Jesus took me in.
And then a little light from Heaven filled my soul.
It bathed my heart in love
And wrote my name above.
And just a little talk with Jesus makes me whole."

Cleavant Derricks1

Today's text is Romans 10:8-13 (NET)

8 But what does it {faith - - see v. 6} say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we preach), 9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation. 11 For the scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”12 For there is no distinction between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, who richly blesses all who call on him. 13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Sometimes, Y'all, the most foundational passages are the most difficult.  I've been thinking about this one for days.  This morning, lying on my bed in prayer, the Lord brought this 20th c. gospel song to mind.  It reminds me of Romans 10:9.  

Then, I was trying to think of what "confess" means.  In our modern day, it is most often used to describe admitting to doing something wrong.  But, that is just one of the word's meanings.  At its most basic meaning, "confess" means: to declare (speak forcefully), to claim, to own.  Within the context of Romans 10:8-13, it is used to describe how a person becomes a Christian.

Confessing Jesus Christ means to speak with one's mouth and claim and own that He is being embraced as the only path to God, the only avenue of salvation.  Confession must be married to heart belief (not just intellectual belief) in order for the transformation called "salvation" to occur.  After all, we can "say anything" and not truly believe it.  Or, we can say we believe something and have only an intellectual belief.  The Bible testifies, after all, that the demons of Hell have an intellectual belief in Jesus Christ, and they shudder because they don't claim or own Him as their Savior (James 2:19).

Note that confession which saves eternally involves (vs. 9) speaking truth...the truth that Jesus is LORD because He was raised from the dead by God the Father.  The accepting of Jesus Christ as Savior also involves accepting His right to then rule over your life, for the rest of your life.  There is surrender in this confession.  There is repentance and submission, bowing to the King of Kings.  If that surrender does not underlie the confession, then there is no true belief (faith) present.

There is something other-worldly powerful about the words we speak.  Quantum physicists have discovered that the very building blocks of matter react positively and excitedly to positive words being spoken.  When negative words are spoken, they slow down and eventually become irresponsive.  (Wow, there is an entire blog post, right there!)  It's little wonder the Bible says that we must speak and declare our "owning", our accepting of Christ Jesus.  Those spoken words will "matter" for all eternity!  (Couldn't resist the pun! ;)  )

You might say, "Well, you don't have to actually admit your faith to anyone.  There's no need to tell others about it, like admitting it in church or anything..."  Watch out, now!  What does the Bible say? Look at this:

32 “Whoever, then, acknowledges me before people, I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever denies me before people, I will deny him also before my Father in heaven.

Matthew 10:32-33 (NET)

Pretty clear, isn't it?  If you meant it, you will declare it.  It's got to be both "in your mouth and in your heart" (vs. 8)

Like peas and carrots, peanut butter and jelly, confession and belief go inextricably together.  You can't have salvation without righteousness (vs. 9-10), because you can't have belief without confession.  And, this is how you become a Christian.  This describes faith; this deconstructs the concept of salvation.  Admit your sin and your need for a Savior. Believe in your heart that He is the only one who can save, because He is the LORD whom God raised from the dead.  Receive Him into your heart forever.  Confess - - declare it to be so.

It's really as simple as that.

"Just a Little Talk With Jesus" was a popular song in mid 20th c. gospel music.  You can hear the late Rev. Derricks sing his composition here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br-qMVfJhLw

This is his confession.

Have you made yours?

Father, I'm so thankful and grateful that you have made a way, one and only one way, for the salvation of our souls and that Your way is through Your Son, Jesus Christ.  Thank you for saving my soul, so many years ago.  I pray that anyone reading this post will search his or her own heart, to see if true belief in Jesus is there, if eternal salvation has been secured.  And, if not, Lord, I pray that a confession as described above will be made, so that no reader will go away from this post an unbeliever.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:

1     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleavant_Derricks_(songwriter)