Leaning In
As women, most of us need an example like Mary’s [the mother of Jesus] to help us believe God can use us in any significant way. We have no trouble believing God can use others, but when we look at ourselves, all we can see is our inadequacies and inabilities. So, clinging white-knuckled to our comfort zones, we tend to stick with what comes naturally. We shrink back from God’s upward call and find ourselves reluctant to say, “Yes, Lord! I’m Your servant. Use me as You please!”
I’ll be the first to admit that’s often been true of me. I find it easy to believe God can use my husband. When we started Gateway Church, for instance, I had no doubt God would bless it. My excitement soared, and my faith roared into action as I stood on the [ … ]
Mary’s Faith
Most of us have heard Mary’s story so many times we take it for granted. We sang about it at Christmastime standing on risers, dressed as white-robed preschool choir cherubs. We acted it out in nativity plays at church. We heard over and over again about the angel who came to tell Mary of God’s plan and how she responded with a statement so simple and full of faith that it’s echoed through the ages ever since: “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.”
As children, we didn’t grasp the gravity of the statement. To us it was just a line from a Christmas pageant. Even as adults, we sometimes think of it that way. But Mary never did. For her it was a momentous declaration of faith that forever changed [ … ]
Be Fruitful
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10
What an incredible thought! You and I have been created for the purpose of doing good works. God designed you, He gifted you, and He placed you in the world so that the fruit of your life would have an everlasting impact. He even prepared those activities for you before you were born.
Out of all the centuries in time, this is the generation into which God chose to place you. Of course, you had nothing to do with the country in which you were born or the family you were born into. But clearly God placed you in His world at this particular time so that you could do something special. [ … ]
