You Are Highly Favored!

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Hey friends, tis the wonderful holiday season when we get to celebrate the birth of our

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Lord Jesus Christ.

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Welcome to the Christmas edition of Her God Story podcast, where you will always hear

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a good story to encourage and inspire you in your walk with God.

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I'm your host, Jodie Chiricosta, ministry leader at Somebody Cares American International

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author and traveler on this journey of faith.

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The holidays and Christmas in particular for me is a wonderful time to be together with

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those we love.

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We reach out to and give gifts to our favorite people, letting them know we love and accept

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them.

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We show our goodwill towards them.

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Goodwill, favor, those are at the heart of Christmas.

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The night Jesus was born, a multitude of heavenly hosts appeared to shepherds on the hillside

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outside Bethlehem.

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They were sent specifically to let us know of God's good intentions toward us.

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The New King James Version of Luke 2.14 recounts their proclamation, glory to God in the highest

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and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.

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The NIV reads, glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor

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rests.

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How did this goodwill and favor manifest?

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It was the birth of Jesus, of course, Emmanuel, God with us.

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Now if you picture God as an authoritarian figure who is looking for reasons to smite

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you, Emmanuel, God with us, would not be such good news.

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But that is not who God is at all.

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He is love personified.

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And he has come to set everything right.

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That word, favor, likely brings something to your mind.

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Maybe someone owes you a favor.

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Of course, the definition of favor negates the owing part.

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But what does favor really mean?

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Dictionary.com has a few definitions.

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1.

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Something done or granted out of goodwill rather than justice or for renumeration, a kind act

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so someone cannot truly owe you a favor.

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2.

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Friendly or well-disposed regard.

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3.

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The state of being approved or held in high regard.

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4.

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Excessive kindness.

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Oh, I love that one.

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5.

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A gift bestowed as a token of goodwill, kind regard, and love.

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And there are a few others, but you get the point.

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When the angels declared that God's favor rests on us, that was huge.

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Enormous.

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Earth-shattering news that changed everything.

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God's favor was sending Jesus the Prince of Peace to take away our sin, our guilt, our

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shame, and to invite us into His family as His heirs.

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John 3.17 explains that God did not send Jesus to condemn us, but to save us.

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In that day, and still today, the world was a mess, not worthy of such goodwill.

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And that is what makes His favor so remarkable.

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Let's take a look at what the favor and goodwill of God meant in the lives of some women in

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the Bible.

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In Luke 1, we read about Elizabeth, who was described as very old.

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She was also childless, which was a source of great disgrace in that day.

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And then a miracle.

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The angel Gabriel told her husband Zechariah that Elizabeth would bear him a son.

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Not only that, but their son would be a joy and delight to them and be great in the sight

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of the Lord.

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Zechariah doubted this startling news and questioned the angel's message.

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So he lost his ability to speak for a time.

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Maybe that was so he could not plant doubt in Elizabeth's heart too.

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Not long after that encounter, Elizabeth became pregnant.

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For five months, she remained in seclusion.

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Why?

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I don't know.

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Maybe she was afraid of losing the baby.

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Maybe she was guarding herself against the mockery of others.

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Maybe she was just treasuring this experience that she had longed for all her life.

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Whatever the case, she knew God had looked on her with favor and blessed her beyond her

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wildest dreams.

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In Luke 1.25, a new international version, she declares, The Lord has done this for me.

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In these days, he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.

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The word favor in that verse means to take note of and to regard how sweet and kind the

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Lord is.

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He took note of Elizabeth who had lived in shame almost her entire life.

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And he takes note of us and regards us with his love too.

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He knows those things that affect us.

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He knows any disgrace we may carry.

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And so he sends his favor to us to give us peace, to make us royalty.

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As it says in 1 Peter 2.9, You are favored by God, dear friend.

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God has taken note of you.

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He knows you.

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He created you.

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And he loves you.

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Bask in that knowledge.

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It will change your perspective and your life.

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The angel Gabriel, the one that visited Zachariah, also visited Mary a few months later.

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Now Mary was a young teenager from a poor village in an oppressed land.

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Looking at her situation from a human perspective, she did not have much to offer the world.

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If things played out as everyone expected, she would scratch out a living with her husband

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in relative obscurity.

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So when Gabriel arrived, it was more than just historic.

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Zachariah was at least a priest and at the temple when Gabriel spoke to him, Mary, young

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Mary, was in Nazareth.

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Probably learning to cook and clean and keep a proper Jewish home.

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But then Mary, seemingly inconsequential Mary, heard these words.

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Greetings, you who are highly favored.

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The Lord is with you.

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Don't be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

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Now in these verses, Luke 1, 28, and 30, favor means, in dude with special honor, God extending

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himself to bestow grace, love, and acceptance.

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Then Gabriel goes on to explain that Mary will give birth to a king, the son of the

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most high.

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Can you imagine the overwhelming love and awe Mary must have experienced?

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To know the God of all the universe saw her, set his goodwill in favor, his grace and love

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on her, and chose her for a very special plan must have set her heart soaring.

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She was no longer inconsequential, even though others may not have known how important she

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was to God.

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And even though the world she lived in was chaotic and oppressive, there was no denying

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the amazing role she had in God's master plan.

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If you feel like your life is inconsequential, that you're overlooked or undervalued, know

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that you too are favored of the Lord.

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If you feel like the chaos in our world has derailed any hope of a future for you, know

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that God has taken note of you.

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Jeremiah 29-11 tells us that God has plans to prosper us and give us a future and hope.

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Receive his favor.

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Walk in his favor, and he will reveal his special plan for you as you set your heart

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to follow him.

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Back to Mary.

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Like Zachariah, she too had questions for Gabriel, but she did not doubt his words she

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sought to understand.

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In their conversation, Gabriel told Mary that her relative Elizabeth also was pregnant.

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So a few days later, Mary hurried off to see.

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Her journey would have taken four or five days at least, but she had to see Elizabeth

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and tell her all Gabriel had said.

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She knew Elizabeth would understand and understand she did.

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As soon as Mary saw Elizabeth and greeted her, Elizabeth knew Mary would be the mother

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of their long-awaited Messiah, their Deliverer, and ours.

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Luke 1.42-45 reads, In a loud voice Elizabeth exclaimed,

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Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear.

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But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord would come to me, as soon as the sound

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of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

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Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises in her.

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Elizabeth was twice favored by the Lord first when he took away her disgrace by giving

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her a son, and again when he revealed his plan of a manual to her through Mary's visit,

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she was likely the second person to know God's Messiah was coming.

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God used her to encourage Mary for the road ahead, and God's favor on Elizabeth and Mary

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was not just a brief visit from an angel.

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His favor and goodwill carried them the rest of their lives, and that favor was extended

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to the whole world when Jesus was actually born.

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You dear friend, our favorite of the Lord, how do I know?

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Well, God has you listening to this episode, that alone tells me that God favors you and

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wants you to know it.

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But there's more.

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Ephesians 1-6 tells us that God has freely given us his favor, his grace, which is the

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very thing that the angels proclaimed the night Jesus was born.

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As you celebrate this Emmanuel, God with us, and enter the New Year, God wants you to know

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that you too are highly, highly, highly favored by him.

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He has taken notice of you.

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He has set his grace and love on you.

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And he does have a wonderful plan for you.

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Do not doubt.

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Thank him for it and see what he will do.

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Let me pray for you.

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Father, thank you for setting your favor on us.

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Thank you for sending Jesus Emmanuel to be with us.

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Thank you for giving us peace, even though our world seems out of control.

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We know that you hold us in your hands, and according to Colossians 1-17, you hold all

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things together.

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And boy, we need that right now.

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Hold everything together, Lord.

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For that, we're truly grateful.

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Father, I ask that you would reveal yourself to my dear listeners, even now.

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Let each one of them know that you're with them, that you have taken note of them, and

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that your grace is sufficient for every situation because you love and favor them.

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In this coming year, I ask a special measure of grace and favor on each one.

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Lead them in paths of righteousness for your name's sake and prosper them.

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According to your plan, prosper them in spirit, in soul, and in body.

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You're able to do all these things because you alone are God.

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We know that you're good.

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We know that you're powerful.

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We know that you are love.

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And we're your children because of your good pleasure.

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So we know that you hear and will answer this prayer.

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And we pray this in Jesus' name.

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Amen.

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You know, dear friends, there are widows as well as orphans all over the world who need

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to experience God's favor and tangible expression of His love, His goodwill, right now.

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Many have special needs that we as a company of women can meet together.

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Will you?

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Consider joining us with a special gift to help.

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Just go to hergodstory.org and click on the Widow and Orphan tab at the top of the page.

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And thank you for tuning in.

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In our show notes at hergodstory.org, you'll find scriptures and other information we talked

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about.

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You can also get a six-week devotional on Women of the Bible to download for free.

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It's a great way to start the new year.

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Or you may want to purchase the 12-week devotional for just $12, knowing that all the proceeds

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go to support our Widow and Orphan fund.

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We'd love to pray with you on our 24-7 prayer and text line.

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So give us a call anytime at 855-459-CARE or E-U-L-S at prayer at somebodycares.org.

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And now dear friends, I bless you from Luke 2, 14, glory to God in the highest heaven

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and on earth, peace to you, dear friend, on whom God's favor rests.

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Merry Christmas and blessed new year.

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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.