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Luke

Luke 
Day 
Day 22

Luke 1:46-56 "ASTONISHINGLY GOD-CENTERED!"

Day 22 – Luke 1

Text: Luke 1:46-56

ASTONISHINGLY GOD-CENTERED!

Take time to read Mary’s famous song (The Magnificat; Luke 1:46-55) again! Not only do we sense her spirit of joy and humility, but we are astonished at the extent to which she is “God-centered”!

Did you notice that every single verse mentioned God, in one respect or another? If there had been any doubts at all as to why God chose Mary to bear the Baby Jesus, those doubts are banished!

In young Mary, we have a person whose heart and mind are filled with great thoughts of God! What a challenge for us to aspire to be as “God-filled”!

A LIFE ENRICHED BY THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

It is reasonable to postulate that Mary had all these thoughts about God, and that this song that burst forth from her lips, came from a heart that truly knew the Lord! She must have taken much time to fill her heart and mind with the knowledge of her Lord! How rich her life must have been, when she had such a wonderful knowledge of God.

As we look carefully at the knowledge that Mary displayed, we cannot help but recognize that we too probably have the same store of knowledge! Let’s take a closer look at Mary’s knowledge of the Lord:-

1. He was “Lord” to her Luke 1:46

2. He was “God my Saviour” Luke 1:47

3. He was a Gracious God who looked kindly at His maidservant Luke 1:48

4. He was a “mighty God” who “had done great things for her” Luke 1:49

5. He was a merciful God; and all who fear Him will experience His mercy too Luke 1:50

6. He was a great God of “strength” who will scatter the proud Luke 1:51

7. He was a great God who will exalt “the lowly” Luke 1:52

8. He was a sovereign God who cares for the hungry and feeds them; He was also a sovereign God who will send the rich away empty Luke 1:53 (God is not upset with the rich per se; the “usual” context to be borne in mind would be the rich who reject God; cf. Psalm 73)

9. He was a God who remembers His covenant with Israel and thus He would always extend mercy to those who fear Him Luke 1:54

10. He was the same God who spoke to Abraham and gave His word to him and his seed forever Luke 1:55

FROM COMMON KNOWLEDGE TO A RICH FAITH

What Mary uttered as her song of praise showed a rich but traditional knowledge of God! There was nothing unusual about her knowledge of God. In fact it might even be said that her understanding of God was “common knowledge” to all who came from good Jewish homes. Children from good, traditional Jewish homes were all brought up with this store of knowledge of God.

What was her secret? Part of the answer lies in what Elizabeth observed about Mary. The older relative made this remark to Mary,
“Blessed is she who believed…” (Luke 1:45). One simple word, “BELIEVE” and yet many of us struggle with the problem of unbelief!

In Psalm 78, an important historical-didactic psalm, the writer lamented the fact that Israel had always exhibited this major sin problem! Israel kept on rebelling against God, because “they did not believe in God” ! (Psalm 78:22).

Work after wondrous work God performed for Israel so that the nation may trust in Him but instead of faith, we have this candid comment.

“In spite of this they still sinned, and did not believe in His wondrous works”
Psalm 78:32

A CHALLENGE TO CONVERT KNOWLEDGE TO A LIFE-CHANGING FAITH!

What are some reasons we have in our hearts as we take time to read the Lord’s Word every day? Surely, one of those reasons must be to convert knowledge to faith! When we have the kind of faith that Mary exhibited, we will have a truly ‘”life-changing faith” indeed.

Go over The Magnificat one more time. Look at the various points of knowledge of God that Mary displayed! Do you have that same knowledge?

Ask yourself whether you seriously and sincerely believe in the kind of God that Mary spoke about. Do you believe that you have the same God as Mary? Do you believe that He is deeply concerned about you? Do you believe that He will be there for you, to show you His mercy, to extend to you help in your hour of need? Can you believe all that you know about God?

Only when you can say with great conviction and joy in your heart, “Yes, I believe…” have you seen a conversion of your knowledge to a life-changing faith! May the Lord bless us with this kind of faith!