Dear Heavenly Father - I am shooting from the hip here today. I have never heard these speculations preached and am just gonna go out on a limb and risk looking like a fool. There is always a first - ha ha ha ha hahahahahahhhhhhhhhaaaaaa. hee hee. I noticed something and I am just wondering......... I love the Christmas story and all the events leading up to it. I love the whole account of John the Baptist paving the way for Jesus and it starting from the womb. I love how the Lord has a plan of salvation for each person and how unique each story can be. Lord, please use whomever or whatever to show me my errs today with your scripture. I LOVE your Word!!! ok - from the hip...
In Luke 1:39 and following we have Mary getting ready to go to Elizabeth's - long walk and she was pregnant. So Mary gets to Elizabeth's house and enters the room. Elizabeth is pregnant too with John the Baptist and some are erroneously thinking she could be carrying the Messiah. Mary says hey and then what I called salvation occurs to Elizabeth. Upon hearing Mary's voice the baby within her leaps and then Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior He immediately comes and dwells within us. It is as if He breaths life into us and we are filled again, born again!! Looking at verse 41, it states that when she heard Mary, the baby leaped within her, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit. The end translation of that is that she was breathed into new life - a life resided by Jesus Christ. I am just wondering and am beginning to believe this was Elizabeth's salvation account.
Obviously she was a believer of our Lord, the Old Testament follower - I am not sure a believer in the technical sense, but now she had been filled with the Holy Spirit. She had been doing all the things that a good Jewish woman would do, but now it was different - She Believed. Another supporting idea that I had was her public proclamation. Verse 42, "In a LOUD (she believes in shoutin', right Valarie?) voice she exclaimed: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear." She proclaimed loudly that Mary was highly favored and proclaimed, made a statement of belief, received in faith, believed that the child Mary was to have was the Christ. In the very next verse she claims Mary's child to be her Lord - her personal Lord and Savior - that is what I believe.
The last verse ,45, in that section say, "Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished." I have always thought that Elizabeth was referring to Mary here and she certainly is, but I see now that she could be talking to herself as well - or at least meaning that for herself as well. Blessed is me (Elizabeth) who has believed what the Lord said to me today about that being my Christ in Mary's tummy to save the world, will be accomplished.
I don't really see an alter call here in this account. I don't see Mary persuading Elizabeth to believe. I don't see one more stanza being played to see if just one more person will come forward to believe. I don't even see Mary telling Elizabeth how to say the sinners prayer. But what I do see is and Up Close and Personal encounter (Heather we can use this) with the Living God that has changed a person forever!! All of our stories of meeting Him are different, but when we truly get Up Close and Personal with the Lord we will be changed and believing must start!! There is an acceptance, a proclamation, and now a believing life walking with Him. Her son is proof she believed - he had to learn it somewhere!
Lord Jesus, I am not saying there doesn't have to be an invitation at church - oh no, no, no - I am just saying when God comes to meet with us and make an impact it can be any where any time and through any who!!! I have never thought about the fact the Jesus could change a life even when He was still only a few cells Himself - in utero. There will be some that this encounter is very different, but I say Praise you for that!!!!! But there will be an acceptance, proclamation (and her son, John the Baptist laid the way for Baptism to be taken place after the acceptance and proclamation upon Jesus' request), and then a different walk. We must be different. Lord Jesus, thank you for your Word. Show me where I have erred today. Show me where I have misinterpreted. Show me where I am walking unchanged by my encounter with You!!! Lord please forgive my sin and help me to get back up and walk again!! Oh Lord I love you so much!! Kind of a crazy day!! Thank you for bringing Clay home safely!
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