Peace and Favor -- Truths from Mary's Story

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Hey friends, thank you for joining me for a bit of encouragement and inspiration in

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your walk with the Lord during this very busy holiday time of year.

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I'm your host, Jodie Chiricosta, ministry leader at Somebody Cares America and international

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author and traveler on this journey of faith.

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This episode is dedicated to my wonderful mom, Mary, on her birthday.

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She has been an amazing example of following Jesus and of putting her faith and trust in

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God and in honor of her and of this Christmas season, I'm going to share a little from

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the story of another Mary, Mary the mother of Jesus.

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But better than celebrating my mom on her birthday is celebrating the birth, the incarnation

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of our Lord Jesus Christ on Christmas.

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I love Christmas and all the joy and expectation that comes with it.

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It's the time of year we hear a lot of peace on earth, goodwill to men, or God's favor

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on men because that is God's desire and plan for us.

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But let's be real, the past few years have been anything but peaceful.

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Fear and anxiety is a very real part of our world.

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Civil unrest, racial tensions, political instability, war, inflation, disease, natural disaster,

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and so on have caused more and more people to experience a high degree of stress and

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worry.

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A survey published on safehome.org a couple years ago said that 45% of the people in the

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US reported an increase in daily anxiety levels and 39% report regularly losing sleep at night

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because of it.

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And since that survey was done, things have gotten even more chaotic for many people.

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In Mary's day, things were not very peaceful either.

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Israel had been conquered by the Romans who ruled the land with an iron fist.

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Mary lived in an out of the way town of Nazareth, a poor community that was looked down on by

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many other Jewish people in the land.

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And Mary was in her early teens when a potentially terrifying thing happened.

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She was confronted by an angel.

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This angel was not one of the cute cherubs we may see sitting on a mantle or hanging

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on a tree.

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This was Gabriel, Archangel of the Lord of Hosts.

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Throughout scripture, when angels talked to people like Daniel, John, Isaiah, and others,

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they were initially terrified.

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This is the kind of angel that appeared to Mary.

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When the angel spoke to Mary, scripture says she was greatly troubled by his words.

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That's probably an understatement.

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In the synagogue, she had undoubtedly heard stories of angelic encounters of the past.

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There were the angels who brought Lot and his family out of Sodom before destroying

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it, the angel who stood before Balaam in order to kill him, the angel who brought plague

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on Israel, and others.

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But this Mary, Gabriel, came to Mary with kind, encouraging words.

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As you can imagine, she was not sure what to think of at all.

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Whenever angels entered the scene, big, life-altering things happened.

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This young teenage girl from a small rural village was afraid of what might lie ahead,

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the unknown.

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The unknown is at the heart of most fear.

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How will the event change our life?

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How will people respond to you?

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It's all unknown.

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The angel knew Mary's anxious thoughts and spoke words of comfort.

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Do not be afraid, Mary.

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You have found favor with God, he said in Luke 1.30.

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The Greek word translated favor here is charis, which speaks of grace and kindness.

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Gabriel was telling Mary, you have God's grace and kindness on you, so do not fear.

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In scripture, the Lord says the same thing to us.

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Do not fear.

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We also live in God's grace and kindness.

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Romans 5, 1-3 tells us that since we have been justified through faith, we have peace

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with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into His

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grace, His charis, in which we now stand.

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By faith, we have access to God's kindness, which is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

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So we can trust God completely with the unknowns of our lives.

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So do not fear anything.

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By faith, live in the grace and kindness of God today and in your unknown future, just

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like Mary did.

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From time to time, of course, we all struggle with doubt.

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Believe me, I understand it's one of Satan's favorite tools.

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Did God say?

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It's often used to sow doubt in our minds and shake our faith.

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And sometimes we raise the shadow of doubt on our own without Satan's intervention.

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It's hard to imagine change will come when things have been the same for so long and

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when the promise of something we have never seen or heard is made, it seems safer to cling

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to doubt.

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Mary faced a huge unknown.

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When the angel told her she would be the mother of their long-awaited Messiah, Mary had questions.

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The angel also told her that her elderly relative Elizabeth was also pregnant.

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She needed to check out the truth of these claims, so she was quick to visit Elizabeth

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and she got the confirmation she needed.

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Isn't God good?

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He knew what he had told Mary was pretty hard to comprehend.

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It would require a miracle when miracles were in short supply just then.

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So God showed her the miracle of Elizabeth's pregnancy.

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Elizabeth was well past childbearing years.

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God did not take offense that Mary needed assurance.

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30 or so years later, during Jesus' earthly ministry, news about the healings he performed

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in the people he delivered spread like wildfire.

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Even his disciples were being used to minister and heal.

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So in Mark 9 verses 15 through 26, when a desperate father brings his deaf and infirm

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son to them for help, he is full of hope.

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But when Jesus' disciples were unable to heal his son, this father's face began to

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slip.

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When Jesus arrived on the scene and began inquiring about the boy, the father wasn't

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even sure he could help.

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If you can do anything, please take pity on us, he said.

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I can imagine what was going through his mind.

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Maybe Jesus has finally met his match.

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Maybe my son can't be saved.

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He wanted to believe Jesus' power would set his son free, but there was some doubt.

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When Jesus proclaimed everything is possible for one who believes, the father was brutally

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honest.

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I do believe.

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Help me overcome my unbelief, he said.

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That's all Jesus needed.

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He cast the demon out, healed the boy.

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His father sure believed after that.

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So if you struggle with doubting God or his promises, be honest with him.

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Ask for his help.

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And spend time reading the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

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John 20 verses 30 and 31 says, Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples,

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which are not recorded in this book, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus

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is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

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The more you know Christ, the stronger your faith will grow.

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Back to Mary.

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Seeing Elizabeth was pregnant certainly bolstered Mary's faith, but she was still faced with

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a huge transition with many unknowns.

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She had no idea what lay ahead and how this would all play out.

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Would Joseph her betrothed still agree to marry her?

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What would happen when people found out she was pregnant?

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How would her family react?

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Of course, God had spoken to her and confirmed his word, but there were still a lot of unanswered

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questions.

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Have you ever felt like that?

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Maybe you feel like that now.

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Instead of focusing on the unknowns, Mary focused on what she did know, proclaiming

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the goodness and provision of God in her life.

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In Luke 1 verses 46 through 55, we see how she got her strength.

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As she was standing there with Elizabeth, Mary's voice rang out with praise to God.

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The New Living Translation reads, Oh, how my soul praises the Lord!

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How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!

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For he took notice of this lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call

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me blessed.

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For the mighty one is holy, and he has done great things for me.

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He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him.

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His mighty arm has done tremendous things.

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He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.

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He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble.

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He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away with empty hands.

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He has helped his servant Israel and remembered to be merciful.

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For he made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children, forever.

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In the natural, she was still unmarried.

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She still faced the potential of stoning or being ostracized.

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And yet, she proclaims, How my soul rejoices in God my Savior!

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For he took notice of this lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call

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me blessed.

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For the mighty one is holy, and he has done great things for me.

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I know from experience, when we declare the goodness and faithfulness of God out loud

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with our mouths, our spirit rises up and faith with it.

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We're lifted up and begin seeing things from God's perspective and know His reality instead

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of the world's perception of things.

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I have no doubt that is what happened to Mary too, as she declared the goodness and faithfulness

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of God.

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Faith and joy rose up in her so strongly that it lifted all doubt and fear.

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Over and over again in the Psalms, we see David do this.

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When he was being chased by his enemies, or was betrayed by a friend, or winning battles,

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or receiving the adoration of his kingdom, David always focused on God.

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No matter what David's mental or emotional state, when he starts telling of God's faithfulness

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and goodness, his outlook always improves.

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Maybe Mary learned that secret hearing stories about David at synagogue when she was a young

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girl.

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It's a secret worth learning.

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When we put this into practice, it not only changes our perspective.

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We invite God's miraculous peace, power, and favor into our situation, and that is

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always good.

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If you're facing unknowns, take a few moments to focus on God's faithfulness and proclaim

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His goodness in your life as well.

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Sometimes when I don't know where to start, I pick out a Psalm and personalize it.

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I say it out loud.

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So as many of my senses as possible are engaged in reading, saying, and hearing the truth.

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Psalm 103 is a great place to start.

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I'll give you an example, Jody, praise the Lord.

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Everything in me, praise His holy name.

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Yes, I say, praise the Lord, Jody, and don't forget any of His benefits.

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The Lord, my God, forgives all my sins.

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He heals all my diseases.

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He has redeemed me, Jody Kirikosta, from the pit and crowned me with love and compassion.

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The Lord satisfies my desires with good things and renews my youth like the eagles.

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The Lord works righteousness and justice for me and for all the oppressed.

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The Lord is compassionate and gracious to me.

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He is slow to anger with me, abounding in love.

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He does not treat me as my sins deserve or repay me for my wrongdoings, for as high as

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the heavens are above the earth, so great is God's love for me.

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Jesus has removed my sin from me as far as the east is from the west.

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The Lord is my good and loving Father, tender and compassionate.

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He knows my weaknesses, and still His love and kindness remain on me forever.

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Amen.

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There are a lot of great Psalms and other scriptures that lend themselves to this type

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of proclamation.

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Psalms 23, Psalm 37, Psalm 91 are all some of my favorites.

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Try it out.

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You'll find that fear of the unknown will dissipate, doubt will fade away, and faith

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in God's goodness and faithfulness will rise up.

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You'll experience the peace and the favor of God just as the angels have proclaimed.

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Let me pray for you.

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Heavenly Father, you are good, and everything you do is good.

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Teach me and my dear listening friends your ways so we will walk in your paths and not

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waver in unbelief.

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As we look forward to and celebrate the incarnation of Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the

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life, let the reality of that take deep root in our hearts so we are all convinced of your

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goodness and faithfulness in our lives.

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And Lord, let each of these dear ones experience your favor, your peace in their lives and

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in their families.

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I ask for breakthroughs, miracles, healing, and salvations to visit their homes, their

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families, their churches, their communities.

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Let them be the beautiful fragrance of Christ to all those they meet.

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In Jesus' name, amen.

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Merry Christmas, dear ones.

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If you enjoyed this episode, you will love our Her God Story devotional.

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You can get a six-week devotional on Women of the Bible by going to hergodstory.org,

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Or you can purchase a 12-week devotional on Women of the Bible that will send you for

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We'd love to pray with you on our 24-7 prayer and text line, so give us a call or text anytime

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at 855-459-CARE or email us at prayer at somebodycares.org.

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And now I bless you with the proclamation of the angels in Luke 2, 14.

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Glory to God in the highest, and may peace and God's favor rest on you.

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Her God Story is a ministry of Somebody Cares America and international.

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To find out more about or support the ministry, go to somebodycares.org.