The weather has now made a turn toward winter. I can just feel it in my bones. There are days that I can’t get this body of mine to warm up. That has nothing to do with my age. I know what you are thinking.
With all of the seasonal changes that come our way, we have many things to look forward to. The time change this weekend for one. We all get one hour of extra sleep on Saturdaynight. For those who forget to move their clocks back, they will be at church an hour early. For some, that means they may make it on time to church. Did I say that? Shame on me. I know, I don’t have 3 kids to get ready. Thanksgiving is another holiday to look forward to. Then there’s Christmas. For the past several weeks, Vickie and I have been listening to Christmas music before we go to sleep. We put on an app called Spotify and listen to all the sounds of Christmas. I am so proud of myself. I have finally worn Vickie down to the point of listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving. It took close to 30 years to do that but it just goes to show that if you are persistent you can make changes, even in your spouse. I won’t go into the many things she has changed in me, for the good of course. As I have been focusing on Scripture memory for the past few months, I thought I would bring up the mother of Jesus since I am getting in the Christmas spirit. Mary was chosen by God to carry His Son. She must have been a special woman of God. When you read carefully in Luke 1, you will notice when the angel Gabriel told her she would bear the Messiah, she hurried to the home of her relative, Elizabeth, and there she broke out in one of the Bible’s greatest prayers of praise – the Magnificat. It is found in Luke 1:46-55. 46 And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord 47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, 49or the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. 50 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. 51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. 52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful 55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.” Mary must have been a great Scripture memorizer. Her exhortation drew heavily on Old Testament Bible verses, and we get the impression that Mary was a student of Old Testament Scriptures, with a rich treasury of verses packed away in years of saturating in God’s Word. She knew how to ponder these things in her heart. We can also assume she frequently quoted those verses to her firstborn as He was growing up. This Scripture memory undoubtedly filled her heart and her home. Let me encourage you to fill not only your mind with God’s Word, fill your homes with it as well. Follow the principle found in Deuteronomy 6 and creatively weave it in all aspects of your life. This past Sunday night during our Night of Worship, God showed up in a powerful way. I believe it was a culmination of prayer, revival, and hungry hearts coming together and seeking the heart of God. Let’s continue to hunger and thirst after the things of God and be an eyewitness of the new things He is doing. Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike
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Rev. Mike McClurgSenior Pastor, Findlay First Church of the Nazarene Archives
March 2020
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