19/12/07

When a Baby is Born!

Psalm 40:8 -- And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger;...


As we come closer to the day we remember Jesus' birth, let us also remember our own birth. For one of the greatest evidence of God's power is human birth. When a baby is born, there is promise, potential and excitement. David (Psalms 139:14) considered babies to be miracles from the hand of God. Eugene Peterson has said, "In the presence of birth we don't calculate, we marvel." As we ponder these truths, what should be our response?

We worship God. The word fearfully means "I am shuddering with astonishment; I am trembling with awe" (v. 14). I fear that today people have in ways turned the process into something functional instead of miraculous. Some people think of sex as animal excitement, but David thought of spiritual enrichment. No wonder we are aborting babies today; we don't see anything holy about sex, conception and birth.

What we are is God's gift to us. What we do with our lives is our gift to Him. He accepts us as we are. He's not going to judge us on the basis of what He has given someone else, but on the basis of what we have done with what He has given us. Never be discouraged by what you don't have. Having confidence in God about your life brings eager expectation.

We obey God. The more we glorify God, the more we enjoy Him. We can take the miracle of life He gave us and wreck it, or we can present our bodies to the Lord as a living sacrifice.

To leave God out of your life is simply to exist, not really to live. Jesus died that you might be saved from your sins and one day go to heaven. But while you're here on earth, God wants you to fulfill all that He has built into you. Are you responding to His power for your life? Worship Him, place your confidence in Him and obey Him.


[ Prayer for the Day ]

Father, forgive me for not appreciating myself as the beautiful being You have made. Father help me to flower into what you planned for me in my life. Also help me to be instrument in bringing others to realize themselves in You. In Jesus' Name I pray this. Amen.

[ Reference Scriptures ]

Psalm 139:13-18
¹³ For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
¹⁴ I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
¹⁵ My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
¹⁶ Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
¹⁷ How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
¹⁸ If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

The Word of God was given free to us, therefore we should also share it freely with others. (All rights are with God)