09 December 2008 Devotion for Today “A Song in Your Heart” Luke 1:46-56

In this passage Mary utters forth a beautiful song of praise. She begins by saying, “my soul magnifies the Lord.” What is it to magnify the Lord? We hear words like this and mouth them and scarcely know what they mean. The word magnify, coming from the Greek language- Megalunei- means to make great- to declare greatness, to extol or exalt greatly. In secular usage it means to focus upon. When you focus on something, the lenses in your eye concentrates solely upon the object that it wants to see, blocking out everything else and concentrates strictly upon it to bring it into greater view and clarity. Mary does this not only in this song of praise, but also in her life. She was a godly, pure young woman of Nazareth but in light of all that God was doing in her life Mary brings God into greater focus- perhaps greater focus than she had ever done in her entire life. We do that when unusual things happen to us- but more often than not it is not an everyday occurrence. Why? Because we get caught up in life focusing instead upon our own needs and our own problems and our own wants and our own desires where God gets pushed to the periphery instead of at the center. Mary realized she could not do that in light of what had happened in her life, and as a result, her heart bursts forth into praise with these words: “My soul magnifies the Lord!”

Mary’s heart gives the fullest expression possible to what God is doing in her life, and she serves as a marvelous example of how we can do this too. Praise is an offering of expression back to God. Deep within the heart of all of us is the desire to praise the Lord. It is born within us- innate and latent just dying for a chance to get out. But most of us seldom if ever come into contact with it because of our focus- not on what God is doing or who God is, but what is going on around us. But deep down within us, there is a song.

About ten years ago, my parents and my family were enjoying an outdoor fire one summer evening. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows as the fire crackled before us. My brother put a large, gnarly log on the flames. As the flames licked around the log, we began to hear a high-pitched squeal or whistle emerging from the log. The longer the log burned, the higher the pitch of the tune became until, under pressure, the log snapped with a loud pop- forceful enough to blow a few embers out of the fire. My dad commenting on the experience, said that deep within that log was a chamber or pocket of air that had been trapped in it for decades. The pressure grew as the fire heated up the air, which came forth from a tiny crack leading to the outside. The pressure got so much that finally the log exploded.

We enjoyed listening to this interesting fact, I reflect now on the fact that all of us have a song down deep within us. That song is a song of praise- like what Mary had. Have you heard that song? Do you have a song in your heart today? What is the song of your life? Does it magnify the Lord?

Have a blessed day!

01 December 2008 Devotion for Today “A Way Where There is No Way” I Corinthians 10:13

01 December 2008 Devotion for Today “A Way Where There is No Way” I Corinthians 10:13

This morning I was spending some time in the sanctuary at our church just praising the Lord for His goodness and provision in my life, and for how He has blessed me so much over the years- especially in recent weeks. I’ll not take the time in sharing just what He has done, only how He did it. As my eyes came up from prayer I glanced at a sign over the doorway which serves as the rear-entrance to our place of worship. That sign is an EXIT sign. That exit sign has been there for years- if not decades. It is a simple sign placed there to comply with the rules of the fire marshal. It has been there so long it makes me wonder if it is only a monument to the obvious. Everybody knows that there is an entrance leading out that way, why must there be an Exit sign. Of course, the answer to that thought immediately struck me- Because not everybody has been in this building as long as you have- what if it were their first time, would they know that were a way out if there were any trouble? The obvious answer to that question is no.

This is where the next implication of the sign really spoke to my heart. My mind was then drawn to a verse I had known since the time I was a child, where God has promised in His Word in I Corinthians 10:13: No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

A firefighter once told the story of being trapped in a burning building while trying to rescue a child. As the black smoke choked and blinded him, he found the child, still breathing, and hoisted him into his arms. However, he became disoriented and cornered by the flames which soon surrounded him. The doorway from which he entered the room was now impassible. The flames licked up through the floorboards, threatening to collapse as did the ceiling above him. There was no way out. Using the depleting oxygen in his mask, he breathed a prayer, “Lord God, you promised to make a way of escape whenever I am in a time of trial. I do not ask for myself, but for this child in my arms. If I don’t make it, at least, God- do it for him!” At that moment, a crash was heard behind the fireman. The wall behind him had collapsed, falling away from him and the boy, revealing a yet un-touched hallway leading to an exterior window above a porch roof. The fireman held on to the child and made his way to the window and knocked it through with his fire ax. To the amazement of everyone outside, as well as to himself, the fireman emerged with the child unscathed from the flames. Within seconds after scampering down from the roof, the window from which he emerged exploded into flame.

When asked to account for this act of heroism, the fireman refused to take credit, only to give glory and praise to God who alone could have provided this exit. He said, “God made me a way where there was no way!”

Perhaps you are going through a fire or a storm yourself. Perhaps you feel cornered by Satan and trapped by the enemy. You may feel overwhelmed and resigned to doom. If you are, please remember the promise that God has made- that He will provide a way of escape. He will open up that secret door that you never knew about. He may yet make a way where there is no way. He is God. He can certainly do it. And when He does it, remember to offer Him the praise for it.

Have a blessed day!