About Hannah Ferris

Read: Luke 1:26-56

“I am the Lord’s slave…”

The first thing I think when reading this story is: “Would I have responded this way?”  

An angel of the Lord appears to this young girl from the poorest part of the nation of Israel and tells her God has found favor with her.  She is going to give birth to the Son of God!  The Holy Spirit is going to come upon her and conceive a baby within her, even though she is a virgin.

Let’s pause and find the context here.  Because today, sadly, being a single mom isn’t all that uncommon, or that big of a deal.  So it is hard for us to understand what Mary’s situation was, even though it is still frowned upon by most Christians to have a baby before you are married.

At the time Mary was pregnant, engagements and marriages worked very differently than they do today.  First the couple signed a ketubbah. The ketabbuh was a modern day marriage license. They were considered married but they would not have sex until the terms in the license were met.  After the time had passed that they were to remain pure, they would consummate the marriage and tell all their friends and family it was official (awkward!). They then would celebrate the marriage with a week long party. You can imagine how things would have looked when Mary became pregnant during the time when she and Joseph were not allowed to have sex.  Leviticus 20:10 says, “If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife- with the wife of his neighbor- both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.”  According to this law, Joseph was legally supposed to have Mary stoned.  He would have been completely justified because that was the culture and they were legally married.  

And Mary knew all of this the moment the angel told her she was going to have a baby.

When we see Mary in pictures she is usually beautiful, adorned in fine clothes, glowing with a halo on her head, but the picture that we get when we look deeper in the context of the Bible is very different.  At the time Rome was ruling over Israel and the people were being crushed under them.  Mary’s living conditions were probably very dirty and simple.  The Jews had also become very laxed in their religion.  We see that Joseph plans to divorce Mary quietly before being visited by the angel.  This is just one of the evidences of how far the Jews had come from the original laws and their dedication to God. He never should have been able to do that since the law did not even allow that as a second option.  Between all of these things, being surrounded by a people with stagnant faith, a brutal enemy army ruling over them, and dirty, possibly impoverished living conditions, Mary really had nothing going for her.

After the angel tells Mary that she is going to have a baby, she goes to her cousin, Elizabeth.  The angel explained that Elizabeth was also pregnant because of a miracle that God did.  Everything that we see of Zechariah and Elizabeth in the Bible suggests that they had strong faith. Mary probably sought their guidance.

Elizabeth is just the encouragement Mary needs in verses 39-46.  Can you imagine how the story would have been without Elizabeth?  Mary needed a friend who would encourage her. I’m sure the angel telling her about Elizabeth’s miraculous baby was deliberate so that Mary knew she had a friend who she could trust and confide in.  Mary stayed there for around three months before she went home.  It doesn’t say this, but I am willing to bet Elizabeth was mentoring her and helping her during that time.  

So what can we learn from Mary’s story?  I hope that when you hear Mary spoken of during this Advent time, you would remember this.

“I am the Lord’s slave.”

In Galatians 1:10 Paul says, “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God?  Or am I trying to please people?  If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”  We are still called to answer with the same humility and faith Mary did when she spoke those words “I am the Lord’s slave.”  It doesn’t matter what our living conditions are, or what our culture says.  God wants us to trust in Him, no matter how hard things may seem, or how impossible it may sound.

He doesn’t always explain the plan, or give you direction other than your call.  Did He give Mary an exact guideline of what she was to do or where she was to go?  No, He only told her what the call on her life was and expected her to trust Him with her life.

We need people in our lives who we can talk to who have a strong faith and who can pour into us in times of need.  Just as Mary had Elizabeth, we also need mentors in our lives who can do the same for us.  If you don’t have a mentor, I would encourage you to ask someone.  Find someone of the same gender as you who you feel is a godly role model and simply ask them to disciple you.  

God’s call on our lives to live out the gospel is now, no matter the situation or circumstances, because we are the Lord’s slaves.

O Come, Redeemer of Mankind
Words by: Saint Ambrose of Milan

O come, Redeemer of mankind, appear,
Thee with full hearts the virgin born we greet;
Let every age with rapt amazement hear
That wondrous birth which for our God is meet.

Not by the will of man, or mortal seed,
But by the Spirit’s breathed mysterious grace
The Word of God became our flesh indeed,
And grew a tender plant of human race.

Lo! Mary’s virgin womb its burden bears;
Nor less abides her virgin purity;
In the King’s glory see our nature shares;
Here in His temple God vouchsafes to be.

From His bright chamber, virtue’s holy shrine
The royal Bridegroom cometh to the day;
Of twofold substance, human and divine,
As giant swift, rejoicing on His way.

Forth from His Father to the world He goes,
Back to the Father’s face His way regains,
Far down to souls beneath His glory shows,
Again at God’s right hand victorious reigns.

With the eternal Father equal, Thou,
Girt with our flesh dost triumph evermore,
Strengthening our feeble bodies here below
With endless grace from Thine own living store.

How doth Thy lowly manger radiant shine!
On the sweet breath of night new splendor grows;
So may our spirits glow with faith divine,
Where no dark cloud of sin shall interpose.

All praise and glory to the Father be,
All praise and glory to His only Son,
All praise and glory, Holy Ghost, to Thee,
Both now, and while eternal ages run.

Credit: Photo by Rachel K Duncan // http://www.rachelkduncan.com // Instagram: @rachelkduncan

Haggai 2

Chapter 2 of Haggai opens with a date. Personally, I tend to skip over dates and genealogies.  Let’s face it, they’re boring.  I’m always kicking myself when I find out the importance that those dates and names hold- pretty much every time.  And of course this is one of those times when I skipped over it and it turned out to be really important.

“On the twenty-first day of the seventh month…”  
This was the end of the Feast of Tabernacles, a celebration of the provision of God.

“You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns.  For seven days you shall keep the feast to the Lord your God at the place that the Lord will choose, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.” – Deuteronomy 16:14-15

In order to understand what is happening at this time, we have to look at the context.  This book is taking place only sixteen years after the nation of Israel is returning from captivity.  Their land and cities are in ruins.  They have been exiled for so long that the land is almost foreign to them, and other nations have invaded the land, making it nearly impossible for them to make any progress in rebuilding.  

And now here they are.  Celebrating the provision of the Lord with a feast when they feel completely lost and desolate.

A chapter ago, the beginning of Haggai starts with a call for the people of Israel to rebuild the temple of the Lord.  When they had first returned the people immediately began rebuilding the temple.  However, they were unable to finish after laying the foundation and were very discouraged.  They had not resumed building, until the Lord sent the message to continue the work.

“But now be strong, Zerubbabel,” declares the Lord. “Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest.  Be strong, all you people of the land,” declares the Lord, “and work.  For I am with you,” declares the Lord Almighty.  “This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt.  And my Spirit remains among you.  Do not fear.”  -Haggai 2:4-5

So they start working, and in the way those Israelites knew how to do best.  

“So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,” declares the Lord. “Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled.” -Haggai 2:14

If we look back on the rest of the old testament we can see why they were so overwhelmed and gave up so easily at the prospect of rebuilding.  They knew it would never be as perfect and glorious as the temple Solomon built.  They were in ruins, barely surviving, being attacked on all sides, in a land that was supposed to be home but probably didn’t feel like it…  

But God knew the people could not remake the beautiful temple that Solomon built.  

“The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,” says the Lord Almighty. “And in this place I will grant peace,” declares the Lord Almighty.  -Haggai 2:9

Multiple commentaries suggest that the phrasing “this house” means that God was not referring to different temples by specific builders, but looked at it all as the same temple.  The place where God dwelled with men.

He longed for His people to serve Him wholeheartedly, even if they were unable to do what they wanted.  They wanted the glory of the earthly temple because of their selfish pride, but God wanted to bless them with something beyond compare.  And He did.

Much like the Israelites we too feel lost and desolate at times in this place that is not our home.  God calls for us to serve him faithfully no matter what the cost, and no matter the circumstances.  Our works to him don’t matter on the outside.  We need to serve God with what we have and not be prideful by comparing ourselves to others.  Sometimes we might not feel like we are being prideful when we compare ourselves to others, but as we saw from the Israelites experience, it can often lead to being discouraged.  And most importantly, we are the temple, the body of Christ, that God may dwell with us.  

He knows we can’t do it on our own.  That is why in this time of advent we can remember with grateful hearts how the temple was destroyed and Jesus raised it again in three days so that we could be with Him (John 2:19).  

“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.  I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty.  ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty.  ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty.” -Haggai 2:6-9

God didn’t care about the golden temple, it’s all His anyways, He says that in verse 8.  He cares about the heart of the servants who love Him.  He sent what was desired by all nations and filled us with His glory.  Now we get to serve a great and glorious God, and he allows us to do it by whatever means we have and with whatever we have, even if it doesn’t seem very good to us.  

What does your heart look like when you serve God?  How can we serve God with what we have?

Thou Art Coming, O My Saviour!
Words by: Frances Ridley Havergal

Thou art coming, O my Saviour!
Thou art coming, O my King!
In thy beauty all resplendent,
In thy glory all transcendent;
Well may we rejoice and sing;
Coming: in the opening east
Herald brightness slowly swells;
Coming: O thou glorious Priest!
Hear we not Thy golden bells?

Thou art coming, Thou art coming;
We shall meet thee on thy way;
We shall see Thee, we shall know Thee,
We shall bless Thee, we shall show Thee
All our hearts could never say;
What an anthem that will be,
Music rapturously sweet,
Pouring out our love to Thee
At Thine own all-glorious feet.

Thou art coming; at Thy table
We are witnesses for this;
While remembering hearts Thou meetest
In communion clearest, sweetest,
Earnest of our coming bliss;
Showing not Thy death alone,
And Thy love exceeding great,
But Thy coming, and Thy throne,
All for which we long and wait.

Thou art coming, we are waiting
With a hope that cannot fail;
Asking not the day or hour,
Resting on Thy word of power,
Anchored safe within the veil.
Time appointed may be long,
But the vision must be sure;
Certainty shall make us strong,
Joyful patience can endure.

O the joy to see Thee reigning,
Thee, our own beloved Lord!
Every tongue Thy Name confessing,
Worship, honour, glory, blessing
Brought to Thee with one accord;
Thee, our Master and our Friend,
Vindicated and enthroned,
Unto earth’s remotest end
Glorified, adored, and owned! Amen.

Credit: Photo by Rachel K Duncan // http://www.rachelkduncan.com // Instagram @rachelkduncan

Much like the rest of the world, Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. Similar to Easter, it is a long holiday that starts well before the day of celebration with a series of preparation days leading up to it. Easter has the overriding theme of Jesus conquering the grave, the days of lent are meant to be a time of repentance and mourning, remembering the weight of sin that Jesus freed us from. While it is a beautiful and reflective time, followed by celebrating the life Christ has given us, it is definitely a heavy hearted holiday.  

Christmas, on the other hand, is purely celebration! I think that’s why we all love it. It is celebrating peace, joy, and love, and we remember how Emmanuel, God with us, brought those things into our world.

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23)  

That gives me chills!  God with us!  Jesus came so that God could be with us again.  He is with us now because the Holy Spirit lives in us now!  As believers we are united with Christ, and now we get to rejoice and worship, over this beautiful story for a whole month!

But sometimes the most beautiful, joyful time of the year becomes the most exhausting and we can’t wait for the stress to be over. This is not the way God wants us to worship and celebrate His Son, “…since God is not a God of disorder but of peace.” (1 Cor 14:33)

Luke 2:13-14 describes the angels proclaiming the good news of the messiah to the shepherds.

 “Glory to God in the highest heaven and peace on earth to people He favors!”

The “people He favors” are believers and because of the coming of Jesus we have peace on earth!

As John F. MacArthur, Jr. writes in his book The Miracle of Christmas, “He offers peace from God (Romans 1:7) to all who are the recipients of His grace.  He makes peace with God (Romans 5:1) for those who surrender to Him in faith.  And He brings the peace of God (Philippians 4:7) to those who walk with Him.”

So why doesn’t it feel that way sometimes? And why do we forget worship in our Christmas celebrations?  Why doesn’t advent always remind me that God is with us?

Oftentimes we are swept along in the bustle of the holidays. We check presents off the lists, worry over who we forgot to bake for, try and schedule a little volunteering, decorate, remember all the traditions… the list goes on and on. Then once a week in church we try and focus on some advent readings as our mind keeps wandering back to the holiday distractions.  

I am guilty of this as much as anyone else.

Aren’t giving gifts and volunteering at soup kitchens good things? Aren’t those things God calls us to do as we walk with Him? So why don’t I feel the peace of God around the holidays? Of course those are good things, but they should never be the focus of our attention, and that is what we need to correct. We have made Christmas into a very hectic holiday, and advent is just the time before it where we prepare, go shopping, and wrap a hundred gifts.

So how do we correct that?  How do we refocus and find the peace of God in the everyday business of life?  Philippians 4:4-9 gives us the answer:

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

Read Philippians 4:4-9 three more times.  What stands out to you in those verses?

In response to this passage write down three things you are thankful for, three things you can pray for, and three ways you can rejoice to God this Advent season.

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be thankful.  Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.  And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”  -Colossians 3:15-17

Credit: Photo by Sarah Simon of @themintgardener