“He has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;”
– Luke 1:52

As Mary declared in this verse, God began a great reversal of fortune with the coming of His Kingdom in Jesus Christ. Through Christ, those of low social standing who entrust their lives to Jesus are raised up. In Christ, we’re adopted by the King of the Universe, united with His Son, and sealed by His Spirit. We are co-heirs with Jesus, princes and princesses raised up with Him to reign alongside Him. No matter how difficult or depressed your situation may become on earth, you’re exalted in God’s eyes. God sees you, He loves you, and He exalts you!

Meanwhile, those who’ve grown wealthy and powerful by exploiting the sinful systems of the world will one day be brought down in judgment. Those who’ve profited from injustice will receive true, eternal justice. Temporary power on earth, if rooted in sin and use for evil or selfish purposes, will become eternal powerlessness apart from God’s presence.

Make no mistake, there are godly people of power and influence on earth. Praise God for the good they have opportunity to do for God’s Kingdom! If you’re one of them, recognize that your situation is a stewardship entrusted to you by God to use well on His behalf. Use your blessings to further God’s Kingdom by proclaiming good news and opposing evil throughout the world. Live by the same values God does, including His concern for the uplift of those in low and difficult situations. #FollowJesus

“For nothing will be impossible with God.” – Luke 1:37

How often do you think in terms of what’s possible and impossible? Children generally don’t but once we get a little older most older folks do. It becomes ingrained in us by parents, peers, teachers, classmates, coworkers, or employers. And yet, as an angel stood explaining to Mary how her aged and infertile relative Elizabeth was going to have a baby as a sign that Mary herself was going to have a baby without an earthly father, the angel emphasized that nothing is impossible with God. Nothing!

Think about it, repeat it, and believe it. Nothing will be impossible with God. Yes, He has usual ways of operating in the well-ordered world that He created. Nonetheless, He can do anything He wants and nothing is impossible for Him. In light of that, be faithful in prayer and ask the impossible. As you grow in understanding God’s will and desire to expand His Kingdom on Earth and make disciples of all nations, ask God to do the impossible. He may choose to or He may choose to wait or He may have a better way to accomplish His will. But it certainly doesn’t hurt to ask!

When you’re facing an impossible situation, take it God in prayer. As a follower of Jesus, approach God’s throne with the confidence of His beloved child and ask for the grace and mercy you need to get past the seemingly impossible. Let God surprise you! #FollowJesus

“Just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us” – Luke 1:2

The beginning of Luke’s gospel is a wonderful reassurance for our skeptical age. Luke explains that he conducted meticulous research and eyewitness interviews. Under the direction and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Luke wrote an organized, sound, evidence-based history of the conception, birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. He did this so that we can be confident about what we’ve been taught, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, our Resurrected Lord and Savior!

The Christian faith isn’t built on legend or myth. The gospel accounts weren’t written hundreds of years later. Our faith in Jesus is rooted in the personal experience and eyewitness testimony of those who were with Him at every stage of His earthly life. Our faith is a rational, grounded, reasonable faith. As extraordinary as the idea of physical resurrection is, we can trust that it actually happened, because the people who talked with, ate with, and touched the risen Jesus shared their stories. They also invested their lives and deaths in repeating those stories to anyone who would listen.

Are there things that are difficult to understand or explain about our faith? Of course, that’s why it requires faith. Nonetheless, that doesn’t make them less true! Trust the Bible. Rejoice in the orderly, eyewitness accounts God has provided for us through inspired authors of Scripture. Trust Jesus! #FollowJesus

“Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.”
– Psalm 33:8-9

Take a moment to consider… God SPOKE the universe into existence. He didn’t go into His workshop and hammer away for awhile. He didn’t perform various tests and experiments. He didn’t develop models and prototypes. God spoke and everything came into existence from nothing. Extraordinary!!!!

That’s power beyond anything we can remotely comprehend! Humans have created beautiful and amazing things. But they always require time and materials. God didn’t need either of those. He spoke, and it came to be. Think about that and simply be in awe of God! Take time to praise Him for His power to create which is infinitely beyond our capacity to create. Be in wonder. Be in awe. Worship your Creator!

In practical terms, we often take God lightly. Our culture is dismissive toward Him. It trivializes Him as “the man upstairs” if it acknowledges Him at all. Even as Christians, we can be so focused on the truth of His love and kindness toward us that we forget God’s awesome majesty and authority as our Creator. Never lose sight of His love and relationship with you in Jesus Christ but immerse yourself in awe and reverence for Him. Let your mind be blown away by His power, His transcendence, and His holiness. Praise God. #FollowJesus

“You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.” – Leviticus 20:26

This is the essential principle at the root of most Old Testament Law. God is profoundly, perfectly holy. He is apart from ordinary things and separated from sinful creation. There is no hint or shadow of sin in Him. He chose Israel to be His people and because He is holy, they must be holy. They must avoid sin, both public and private. And they must do things that make them distinctly different from their pagan neighbors. Some of the stranger-seeming laws of the Old Covenant are rooted in helping a newly formed people keep themselves distinctly different from their neighbors. Why? So they won’t imitate the sinful actions or worship the false gods revered by their neighbors.

Why does any of that matter today? If you’re a Christian, you aren’t under the Old Covenant, you’re under God’s New Covenant of grace. Praise Jesus for that! But guess what? We’re also commanded to be holy. The New Testament repeatedly commands us to reject sin, crucify temptation in our hearts, and imitate Jesus. We’re commanded to be part of the world and yet fundamentally set apart from its sinful elements and practices. We are supposed to be different because God’s Spirit lives within us.

If Jesus is your Lord, then you must be holy. Why? Because your Lord is holy and you are His temple! Jesus has made you His own, buying your freedom from sin and death at the cost of His own life. You are to be distinctly different from unbelieving neighbors, relatives, and coworkers. You are to desire the things of God, love the people of God, obey the Word of God, and think, speak, and act like Jesus. That’s what it is to be holy in the New Covenant. Be holy because your Lord and Savior is holy! #FollowJesus