December 8, 2023: What Are You Hiding in Your Heart?
- Liana V.
- Dec 8, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 12, 2023
What Are You Hiding in Your Heart?
“And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.””
Luke 1:46-55 NKJV
Mary knew the word of God. There are 20 old testament (Torah/Tanakh) scriptural references in Mary’s song. She refers to the books of Genesis, Exodus, 1 Samuel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Habakkuk and Psalms.
“speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,”
Ephesians 5:19-20 NKJV
Woman of God, disciple of Jesus— you must know the word of God! It's a non-negotiable. The Bible must be the foundation of the Christian life. It is God’s Word: his breath, his life. It is authoritative, inerrant, and sufficient for growing us as healthy disciples of Christ.
Scripture is God’s ordained means of revealing and giving himself to us. Simply said, to be a follower of Christ without being a student of his Word is impossible.
Would you be able to make biblical references if given the opportunity? Maybe, maybe not. Would you be confident you got it 100% correct? None of that is important, what is, is that you take the opportunity to get into His Word. Perhaps, even picking out a scripture to memorize this month.
The Word of God is the Sword of the Spirit.
You could start by hiding any of these scriptures in your heart.
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
II Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV
“Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”
Psalms 119:105 NKJV
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
Hebrews 4:12-13 NKJV
“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
Isaiah 55:11 NKJV
“But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ””
Matthew 4:4 NKJV
I love that you are here. I love that you have joined us on this journey in this Advent Christmas Devotional. I love that you are taking the time this season to put God first. But what are you doing to hide God's word in your heart like Mary? I'm preaching to myself sister. I would love if you would help keep me accountable in memorizing God's word. I'd like to make it a part of my weekly growth plan in 2024. Which scripture did you choose?
Prayer: Father, thank you for the precious Word of God. Thank you for being a God who speaks to your people and thank you for equipping us to hide it in our hearts. Your word is sharper than a two-edged sword, sends the enemy in retreat, and gives comfort to our souls. Your word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths. Direct us today in your word, and help us to hear what you are speaking. In Jesus' name we pray, yes and amen!
This one may already be on your calendar. If you have kids it's likely you already have their Christmas concert on your calendar. No need to buy tickets (unless you want to), yes it might be a busy night with getting the kids home, fed, and back to school dressed cute.
Since our aim is to savor the moments with our loved ones and to be rejuvenated and refreshed this Christmas season. Plan ahead and have dinner made or planned out, so dinner is a family date instead of a chore.
No kids. No problem. Find a local Christmas Choir to listen to, they're often at shopping centers and other public locations. Do a Christmas Choir search on Facebook events. Or do Christmas with an area concert- the pictures shown are at St. Josaphat Basilica- Handel's Messiah. Whatever you do, let it be light and fun with no stress strings attached.
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