Redeemed

Mother's Day was upon us yesterday.  A day that I loved before kids, but I absolutely adore it now after having kids. My greatest blessings that God gave me are my baby girls. Yes, they may wake me up before the sun rises, ask me the same questions over and over, throw complete melt-downs in the grocery aisle, but I've never regretted having those two ever! Nothing will touch your heart more than when you're baby comes to tell you, "I love you."

At church yesterday, one of the Associate Pastor's gave the message where he shared about Mary. She was a lowly, poor, 12 or 13 year old Jewish girl from Nazareth. She was betrothed to be married to Joseph and God chose her to give birth to the Savior of the world. He could've chosen a princess or an heir to a throne, but He chose her. She could've said "no," but instead she chose to say, "Let it be to me according to your word."

“She could’ve said “no,” but instead she chose to say, “Let it be to me according to your word.””

Something happened when she agreed to become pregnant with Jesus. Yes, she was going to give birth to Jesus Christ, the Messiah, but she was also reconciling and bringing full redemption to Eve who committed the first sin in the garden. When Eve ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, she brought sin into the world. When she chose to listen to the devil instead of God, she gave her authority to the devil. When Mary became pregnant with Jesus she brought salvation from that sin and gave redemption to the world. Seriously, God being God, could've just had Jesus magically appear one day, have His ministry on the earth and go to the cross and He would've still been our sinless Savior of the world. But no, God chose for a woman to become pregnant and to give birth to Jesus. What does that say about how highly God thinks of a woman? It says a lot. It shows that God has huge favor on us and that He has huge, enormous and amazing plans for each one of us.  From the fall in the garden, the devil has taken aim on women. That was part of the curse that came upon women after the fall. Genesis 3:15, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heal." In the Jewish culture alone, in Jesus' day, women were thought of as property. They had no rights, they had no say in anything, and they were not taught the Word of God. The priests in that day are said to have thanked God for not making them a dog, a gentile or a woman. Their view of women was very low and in their eyes they were only created to make babies. This was not God's plan! In the old testament God brought about women to be judges and prophetesses. They were created to be helper's of their husbands, not their bedchamber slaves. God used Rahab to help the children of Israel. He used Esther to save her people from extermination. He used Elizabeth (Mary's cousin) to bring in the greatest prophet at all, John the Baptist. He used Mary to bring Christ into the world. He allowed a woman to be the first to see the resurrected Jesus and He's ultimately going to come back for a Bride without spot or wrinkle! Tell me that God has not held woman in high regard from the beginning? There's just too much evidence to say that He does!

So, I want to encourage all of you ladies out there to go after God with all your heart. He wants to have your heart, all of it. Even if it's in pieces, He will pick them up and put them back together and He's the only one that can. You may have had a rough childhood, numerous broken relationships, divorce, abortions, and other countless things that have happened in your past, but know this....Jesus is your Redeemer. He wants you so much that God became a baby, was raised in a Roman oppressed world, was persecuted, lied about, beaten and disgraced in front of everyone. Then He ultimately was crucified. It was a style of execution that was meant for the worst of crimes. My Jesus died a nasty, horrific death that was meant for the worst of men and yet He was sinless. He counted it all joy to die on that cross because He knew that He would have you. His heaven is not meant to be just for when we die. No, He wants to bring heaven down to earth. He wants to put it inside of you, the hope of glory is to be inside of you!

“No, He wants to bring heaven down to earth. He wants to put it inside of you, the hope of glory is to be inside of you!”

To bring this to a close, I want to tell all of you women who want to mothers but can't conceive or you have been told that you can't, I'm praying for you. First off, know this that God has forgiven you all of your sins if you have accepted Jesus as your Savior. So you're not paying penance for your sins by not being able to conceive. Jesus has already reversed that curse, so don't give up on God. With Him all things are possible. He promises to give you the desires of your heart. Trust Him, it may take longer than you'd like, but don't give up. Keep praying and keep your hope in Him! We are praying for you and we are standing in agreement with your prayers!

Much love to you all and Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there past, present and future!

Candace