Nail Prints to Foot Prints...
Following Jesus
A devotional for
Tuesday, April 25
The angel Gabriel appeared to me. I was very frightened! But he said, "Mary the Lord is with you, and you have found favor with God. You will become pregnant and give birth to a Son. He will be great, Mary, and will be called: The Son of the Most High."
I was not only fearful of this messenger of God, but I was astonished by what he was telling me. He continued, "The Lord will give Him the throne of His father David and He will deliver the people from the power of sin; and He will reign over the House of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will never end." Then the angel said to me, "The power of the Most High will overshadow you and the Holy One will be born of the power of God, and not of the seed of man"
And he said, "You shall call his name: Y'shua."
I cradled my infant Lord, knowing with the assurance that this child would somehow save us all from the power of the Evil One(and from ourselves). This fragile baby would lead us into peace with our Father, Yahweh. He alone could help us, for we could not obey the law of righteousness in our strength. He would find a way for us, but for now, I would nurse my sovereign Lord, and I would gently rock Him and sing to Him. I'd hold Him close, and jealously guard these few years when He would be known just as a carpenter's boy.
Joseph and I watched in wonder as He grew in stature and in favor with God and man. Our Son was a compassionate man. He healed those who hurt, and He delivered those who were entangled in demonic power. He opened blind eyes and whispered music into ears that had never even heard a bird sing. To the hungry of body, He gave food; and to the hungry of soul, He fed the riches of His wisdom. We even saw Him raise the dead.
He spoke of a Kingdom where only the pure in heart could live. He said that He, Himself was TRUTH...the very essence of life...and the WAY. "The way to what?" we asked. "The way to the Father." He told us.
He outraged our religious leaders by the claim that He and Yahweh were One; and if we had seen and known Him, surely we had seen the Father!
My love for Him grew far beyond a mother's love...I loved Him as my God.
And yet, I knew there were those who wanted to bring Him harm...and some who even wanted to kill Him. A dark foreboding gripped my heart when His friends came and told me of His arrest and trial.
In the darkness of noonday, I stood on that hill and looked at my firstborn. My Promised Child, hanging bloodied and broken on a criminal's cross. I wrapped my arms around the base of the cross. It was as close as I cold get to Him. His blood was dripping on me...He was dying.
And I heard Him cry out, "Father...Father, why have You forsaken me?"
I looked up into His face and never in my years of caressing and washing and loving that beautiful face had I seen such agony...such sorrow. I tried to comfort Him.
I was watching Him die. There was no ram in the thicket..The "thicket" was this cross, and the "ram" was my Y'shua.
I covered my mouth to keep the horror inside.
And even at this moment, His thought was to take care of me. He called to John to take me where I could not see the end.
As they laid Him in that tomb, my only comfort came from knowing I could trust the words that Gabriel had given to me years before..."He shall live forever and His kingdom will never end." El Shaddai...the Holy God keeps His promise... I held to that.
When the news of His resurrection reached me, I danced, I shouted, I wept and I laughed. My Son, my Beloved, my Y'shua, my Lord had destroyed death and by His death, He had forever atoned for the sins of us all.
"O Father Abraham," I sang out:
"The promise lives. The promise lives."
Carol Lombard
Cadyville, NY USA
Father
Help me to understand, even in the midst of my deepest sorrow and agony that You still are working for me. I don't always understand Your "whys" and "hows," but I am coming to understand that it is when I don't understand that I trust You the most. Thank You for always demonstrating that it's not just the "big things" that You care about as You bring the "big things" to pass in Your own unique and awesome ways.
Amen
[Psalm 103] [Exod. 12:28-39] [ I Cor. 15:12-28] [Mark 16:9-20]
Visit:
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or suggestions toYvonne Edwards.
Edited: Apr. 16, 9:30 p.m.
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Prayer by:Joe Hittle
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