Luke 1:38

Verse of the Day Devotion: Luke 1:38

“And Mary said, “Behold, the bond slave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.” – Luke 1:38  

Mary, the chosen mother of Christ, was visited by the archangel Gabriel and brought a message from the Lord to her. “And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” Luke 1:28. Now, this confused her, and she pondered in her mind what was said to her and what could it mean.  It appears she feared Gabriel. “The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Luke 1:30-33.

Now, this was again confusing to her, for she had never laid with a man up to this point, so she wondered how this could possibly be.  She had followed the law faithfully. So, what was he saying?  Therefore, “Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” Luke 1:34.  In response to this question, “The angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason, the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:35. It would not be Joseph who she was currently engaged to who would be the father.  She would be a mother not by any man, but by God Himself. This is prophesied by Isaiah when he said, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14. Matthew clarifies this by stating Immanuel in the Hebrew means ‘God with Us’. (Found in Matthew 1:23).  This child she will give birth to is God.  Now, she probably was questioning this in her mind, so Gabriel says to her, “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.” Luke 1:36.  This was probably told to her to give her confidence that if God could cause Elizabeth to have a baby in her old age, then He could cause her to have a child with the promise given her. He then ends his words with, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Luke 1:37.

Without any more questions, she says through the focus verse, “Behold, the bond slave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her.” Luke 1:38. This was an expression of giving herself over to the will of God.  This shows us the commitment Mary had to God and why she was chosen for this purpose.  For her to have a child by someone other than Joseph, to whom she was engaged to, would have had her ostracized because she broke the law by committing adultery. She knew what this meant regarding her reputation, but she followed the will of God completely, no matter the consequences.  My question to all of us here is, would we do the same?  Would we follow what God tells us no matter how anyone thinks of us, or what we would look like in their eyes?  Are we willing to be humiliated before men to be found pleasing before God?  Something to think about.  Is how God sees us more important than how man sees us?  Sometimes He calls us to do things that are not acceptable to the ways of men.  And we, as Mary did, should be willing to go against the ways of man to obey Him.  It is hard but think about it.  Who is more important?  This will give us the answer we need.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.

1 Corinthians 16:14

Verse of the Day Devotion: 1 Corinthians 16:14 

“Let all that you do be done in love.” – 1 Corinthians 16:14        

Paul here is closing out his first letter to the Church in Corinth.  He spoke to them throughout this letter about what love is.  There are four basic words for love in the Greek language. First there is ‘Storge’ which refers to a family type of love, such as a love of a parent to their kids, and vice-versa.  Second there is ‘Philios’ which is a love between friends.   Third there is ‘Eros’ which is a romantic love.  And fourth is ‘Agape’ which is an unconditional God-like love; the love God has for us.  Remember, God loves His people, however He also loves those who are not His people.  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  John 3:16. God loves everyone, and desires that all would be saved. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” John 3:17.

The Greek word translated love in our focus verse is agape.  What Paul is saying is that whatever we do, it should be done with unconditional, God-like love.  A love that transcends and persists no matter what our circumstances are.  Whatever we do for someone else, we should do with a love that is not lessened by what they do, say, or react.  In fact, what we do should come out of our love not only to the person, but also our love for God.  We should desire to do the most we can in our service to God, which includes our service for others.  “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” Philippians 2:1-4. 

We should have the same love for others as Christ has when He came into the world.  “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:5-8. 

So, what is our focus verse saying?  That everything we do should be done with an unconditional, sacrificial, God-like love that does not look at how we benefit, but how the recipient of our deeds benefit.  We should see others higher than we see ourselves, thus doing things in humility and not out of self-aggrandizement.  Anything we do for another should exhibit and, as much as possible,  be seen by them as an act of love toward them and that we are doing it because of our love for them and God.  When we do this, our brothers and sisters in Christ will be encouraged that God is bringing us there way, and those who are not saved will see the reality of this Christian life and the love God has for them. 

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.