Advent is a time for believing

       Today’s word is believe.  How quick are we to tell someone- Oh- just believe me, believe it-it’s true?  After Mary was told by the angel she was to carry the Messiah, she packed her bags and went to see her cousin Elizabeth.  Elizabeth was carrying a baby that was to be the forerunner of Messiah, John the Baptist.  In Luke 1 we learn of this encounter.  “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  In a loud voice she exclaimed: ‘Blessed are you among women and blessed is the child you will bear!’ …Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished.”  Luke 1:41-45   Elizabeth was saying that Mary would be blessed because she believed God.  Abraham believed God and “it was counted to him as righteousness.” James 2:23  Paul tells us in Romans 3:23 “The righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”  and  Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”    The writer of Hebrews puts it like this: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”  Hebrews 11:6

       So what do you believe?  Are you like Mary and Elizabeth and claim faith and believe God exists and rewards those who seek after Him?  Is your faith something that exists for you and helps you walk towards righteousness in Jesus like Abraham?  Or will you take the step of faith  like Paul, claiming faith in Jesus for your own, knowing He is who he says He is and is your savior?   Mary and Elizabeth call to us to believe this Christmas season.   Will you?

Believe in Him,
Linda

Beautiful mosaic of Madonna and child at the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth.

Another lovely mosaic donated by churches around the world.