December 2, 2023: Blessed & Highly Favored

Blessed and Highly Favored

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“And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

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Anyone else a fan of Historical dramas?

This is what I visualize when I read this: “Behold fair maiden! The Lord has chosen you.” Obviously, it’s not a knightly, heroic sort of person but a glowy, renaissance angel, in white clothing. Or maybe, I’ve just watched too many movie and period pieces?

Can you imagine an an angel greeting you like this? Seriously, I know I would’ve full lung girl screamed. You know the kind. The kind where you gasp in as much air as possible before you exhale every drop in one of the wildest roars. The one where afterward, you’re half impressed and half mortified that that kind of sound could come out of you.

And I know we are not all Mary or even like her. Maybe, you’ve never had an angel come into your room or home to tell you you’re highly favored. Me either. Nevertheless I still believe we are ALL highly favored and the Lord is with us. Every single one of us.

Do we carry different measures? Sure. That doesn’t mean God prefers one over the other. It could be related to season or pursuit. Whatever the reason, what is available to one is available to all. Let me ask you a question. Do you think Mary would’ve been able to fulfill her role and call if she didn’t believe she was highly favored, blessed among women, and the Lord with her?

My answer: No. I think her unbelief and lack of faith would’ve prevented it. I wonder how many times I’ve prevented the miraculous because of my unbelief? Perhaps, we will never have an angelic creature declaring God’s miraculous plan to us, but what if we just started with something much smaller? What if today and every day that follows you began declaring in faith “I am blessed and highly favored!”

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"Yes, joyful are those who live like this!

Joyful indeed are those whose God is the Lord."

Psalm 144:15

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Maybe you start declaring it until 1 day you actually believe it. Then because you've replaced doubt with faith you are now an available vessel for God to use! What do you need to do to make yourself available to God?

Prayer: Thank you Lord for being a God who can do impossible things. Thank you for creating me and equipping me with your Holy Spirit to do what would be impossible without you! I above all else believe you at your word, not at your work. I will stand on truth, believing and declaring who You say I am: I am blessed and highly favored.

It's a perfect time to take the whole family to a Christmas parade. Better yet get involved with your local community or partner with your church and share Jesus with your neighbors in the parade.

These photos were taken last year. Our church had its first appearance in our community’s Christmas parade. The West Allis Christmas parade is tonight, if you're local and want to come out, we’ll see you there.

#advent2023