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In extreme situations in combat a soldier who leaves a secure position to advance on the enemy will ask his buddies to ‘cover me!’ Perhaps you have never been in such extreme conditions, but could the same concept still apply? Has anyone ever covered for you in an awkward or embarrassing situation, helping you to a place of safety by not passing on damaging information? Perhaps you have done the same for others. Did you find a sense of satisfaction in ‘having their back’?  Even in situations not as severe as combat the same terms are used for the same concepts. Love covers a multitude of sins. 

Read LUKE 1:1-22 (NEW KING JAMES)

Focus on Luke 1:13-14
“Do not be afraid…for your prayer is heard…and you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice…”

“My Child, I see that you’ve had a stressful time lately.  Remember, this is about relationship. This is about spending time with Me and hearing My heart for you.”

Do you see life as a game? It is often portrayed that way, with the goal of getting ahead. Some people have advantages and are ‘winning’, although in this game no one really wins. Grace changes the rules so that everyone can win. Have you noticed that not many noble are called to the kingdom? Who wants to change the rules of the game while they are winning? I send the sun and the rain on everyone, the wicked and the just alike. Do you see the abundance of your life as a gift from me? When riches increase don’t set your heart upon them. Don’t let your blessings keep you from grace. 

Read Luke 1:46-55  NEW CENTURY VERSION

“Son, I love you.  Today, I am looking with you at the Song of Mary, and looking at the words ‘He has filled the hungry with good things’.  It is My desire and heart that you eat good things.  It is my desire that you be lifted up from a low place.”

What if I loved everyone? What would I expect from my followers? I would make it easy for them, and make my kingdom accessible for everyone, particularly the poor. I wouldn’t require special garments that not everyone could afford. I wouldn’t require a pilgrimage to some location that was too far away for some people. I would ordain rituals that involved common ordinary materials like water, food and drink. I would structure a faith that could be practiced by anyone, anywhere. My kingdom is not of this world, but the faith I established can be followed by everyone in the world. If I loved everyone I would found the Christian faith. 

Do you remember my first miracle? I turned water into wine at a wedding. My mom wanted me to do this but I said that my time was not yet come, and I did the miracle in secret. Only the servants who filled the water pots and a handful of others were aware of what happened. The master of the banquet was surprised that the best wine was saved for last. In particular  the guests at the wedding, for whom the miracle was performed since they drank the wine, had no idea where it came from. How many miracles have I performed for you that you are unaware of? How long have you been drinking divine wine? 

On several occasions I mentioned that my time was not yet come, yet I told my disciples that their time was always ready. This wasn’t meant for them alone, but for all my followers, and it is a call to live now, rather than in the future or the past. You can’t change the past and you don’t know what the future will bring. Are you aware of the possibilities of the present moment? This is where obedience and redemptive acts take place. It is the only time that you can act. Paul forgot those things that were behind and pressed forward for the high calling. Different faith traditions recognize different sacraments. Are you willing to see the present moment as a sacrament? 

Do you know how strong you are? It would be fairly easy to find a set of weights and see which was the heaviest you could lift. But strength is more than physical lifting. Spiritual and emotional strength are more important. How do you measure them? As with physical strength it is only by testing them, but the tests are not so short and easy to arrange. Yet they will come whether you schedule them or not. Do not be afraid of them. I have promised that those who wait upon me will renew their strength. I will enable you to do all that I ask of you, and the strength you require will be there when you need it. 

Do you find that people represent themselves by assigned offices or earned credentials, and that most credentials are academic? But there are other indications that validate authority. Consider Paul, who was quite advanced in the academic credentials of his day. He lists these in detail but then says that he counts them as dung. Yet when he needs to assert his authority he says let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. A modern version of this is, ‘you can just shut up because I’ve paid my dues and have the marks to prove it’. Do you? Remember that not all scars are visible. 

For far too long, emotions have been viewed as soulish and to be ignored or even discarded. I forgot that Jesus, moved by compassion, healed (Matt. 14:14). The emotion of compassion was an integral part of His healing ministry, being the carrier wave upon which healing power flowed.