| Our verse to DATE the Word on February 19 (2/19) is Luke 2:19 |
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| Luke 2:19 says, “But Mary treasured up all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” |
| Pausing to Ponder on God’s Working Mary has had quite a journey over the past nine months. That might be an understatement. She heard from the angel Gabriel in Luke 1 that she had been selected by God to have a very special child. To know just how special read Luke 1:31-33. She will agree to God’s call by making one of the most beautiful statements we read in Scripture as she says, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” In Luke 2 that special child is born in Bethlehem. His name is Jesus. Soon afterward shepherds arrive with an amazing story of an angel appearing and announcing a message of good tidings of great joy which would be to all people. And then Mary hears these words: “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) What she had been told was going to happen has happened! Shortly the shepherds would leave and now Luke records another action by Mary. Luke 2:19 says “But Mary treasured up all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” She TREASURED UP all these things. It is as if she gathered up every action of the last 9 months to put in a “BABY BOOK.” It is like she takes inventory of her journey with and for God. She KEEPS tightly the various amazing moments. She rehearses in her mind everything she has heard and everything that happens. She puts together a mental “BABY BOOK.” One Bible scholar wondered if she “showed” her “Baby Book” to Luke. I, for one, believed she did because how else would Luke have known such details of the birth of Christ? She not only treasured the moments she PONDERED on them. She sought to compare and put together the things she heard and the things she experienced and the things she saw with the purpose of making spiritual sense of it. She pondered. She thought deeply about these things. More than just keeping a mental journal she sought to understand how God was working and what it meant. She was evaluating what God was doing in her life and how His actions impacted her. She was evaluating what God was doing to save the world through her newborn Son! May I ask, are you just racing through life or are you running the race that is set before you, and as you run you have times to recap what has been happening as well as PONDER the meaning of what was happening? Do you periodically list your experiences of God working and then evaluate your experiences to see how God was working? A great example of this along with Mary is David. He realized a lot more was happening when he killed a bear and he killed a lion. As he evaluated those experiences he realized that God was working to protect him and strengthen him. Having evaluated those experiences he knew that he could kill an ungodly giant because God would deliver Him. So, how are you doing? How goes the race you are running? What are you learning about God, LATELY? How have you changed, LATELY? What prayers have been prayed? What prayers have been answered? What victories have you experienced? Let’s cut to the chase: Are the actions of Luke 2:19 by Mary happening periodically with you? I encourage you to put her actions into action. Verse to DATE the Word on February 19 (2/19) is Luke 2:19. It says, “But Mary treasured up all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” What was the last thing you put in your “spiritual journal” about your spiritual journey? When is the last time you paused to ponder what God has been doing in you, around you, for you, and through you? Continue Strong journaling and pondering about the Journey He has you on, And remember to DATE THE WORD |