Trusting God

In the news recently was more news from the Spears family. This time, instead of Britney doing something outrageous, her 16 year old sister announced in OK! Magazine that she was 12 weeks pregnant.

Can you imagine for a minute how your world would change if you were pregnant or got someone pregnant at your age?


Read Luke 1:26-38

1. What did the angel say to Mary? 

2. Despite all that potential for problems (considering that back then unwed, pregnant teenagers could've been stoned to death for this act), how did Mary respond? 

3. What possesses a girl that young to go along with a plan like this?

I believe it is because she held onto the promises of God. She probably didn’t know what would become of her once she accepted this challenge to be the mother of God’s child, but she knew enough about God to accept the challenge.

4. And how did this story end – down the road?

Luke 2:6-7 – “While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

Application:

Mary was a young teen when she became pregnant with Jesus.  Some say she was as young as 13!  As I wrote earlier, being an unwed pregnant teen was more than just frowned upon back then.  Some people could actually have been stoned to death for this act.  But, she wasn’t stoned to death and Jesus was born to be the savior of the world. 

She put her trust in God’s plan and because of that, we all benefit by having an opportunity to know and follow Christ.

So, what can we learn from Mary?
1. She trusted God plan even when she may not have fully known the outcome.
2. She followed through
3. Because of her actions, we all benefited

This is a simple concept – Trust God, follow through and benefit. But, the application can be and should go much deeper than that.

See, there is a difference between saying you are trusting God and actually trusting God like Mary did. She put her life on the line and spared nothing to trust God and follow through on his plan.

The question is, are you able to trust God like Mary did? Are you willing to put your life as you know it in God’s hands and let him guide you? I’m not saying that now you have to become a monk or nun in order to really trust God.

But, we live in a control freak, self-centered world today where we don’t want other people determining our way for us. But, what God is saying is that I have a plan for you – trust Me [God] and follow.

Proverbs 3:5-6 – “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight”

So, I want to take a minute and brainstorm how you can trust God this week.  How do you actually trust him?

Will God ever lead you down the road that doesn’t lead to success? No. Remember, because Mary trusted and followed through on God’s plan, the whole world, not just her and Joseph benefited. The key for us to actually place our 100% trust in following God’s plan.

PRAY

Spreading the Great News!

When something good happens to you, what do you do? Do you keep it quiet or share it with others? What is something good that has happened to you lately?




Read Luke 2:8-20

Who did the Angels appear to?



What message did the Angels bring?



Why is this great news?



When the Angels left, what did the Shepherds do?



What did they do after they saw Jesus?



Application:

The Shepherds were some of the lowest of the low in the class structure back then. They were so low that even their testimony wasn't admissible in court. But God choose to reveal this great news first to the Shepherds! What a great privilege and responsibility.

So, what can we learn from these poor, outcasted Shepherds? They did 3 things that we should all seek to do.
1. They had an experience with God (when the Angels came).
2. They verified the truth (went to go see Jesus) and then
3. They shared their experience with others (told everyone that Jesus was born).

They experienced God, verified the truth and shared it with others.

Are you experiencing God? When was the last time you prayed for God to work in a situation and trust that He will help? When was the last time you gave God control?  In order to experience Him, we have to give Him the opportunity.

Are you verifying the truth? When was the last time you heard something about God and then opened up your Bible and verify it was true and to see other things that God has and can do? In order to verify the truth, we have to go and seek it out.

Are you sharing your experiences (good news) about God with others?  It seems that often times, when God does a good work in our lives such as answering a prayer, that we tend to forget to tell people that God did this.  We share our good news, but fail to mention that God had a hand in it.  It's like we are afraid to tell people that we believe in God.

Romans 1:16 says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile".

Let's not be ashamed of the gospel, but let's open our lives us to experience him.  Once we have that experience, verify it is His work, then share it with others.  God will bless you and others.

Pray