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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nDaily Reading:<\/strong> Numbers 21:1-22:20 ESV<\/a>, Luke 1:26-56 ESV<\/a>, Psalm 57:1-11 ESV<\/a>, Proverbs 11:9-11 ESV<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Daily Verse:<\/strong> \u201cAnd he came to her and said, \u201cGreetings,\u00a0O favored<\/em> one,\u00a0the Lord is with you!\u201d (Luke 1:28 ESV<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n CHARITOO (5487): <\/strong>\u201cTo grace, i.e., indue with special honor, make accepted, be highly favoured.\u00a0 To make graceful or gracious, and came to denote, to cause to find favour.\u201d[I]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n God honors.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel, God\u2019s messenger, delivers a message to Mary. The angel greets the young virgin, telling of God\u2019s favor for her, His presence with her. Mary doesn\u2019t understand what Gabriel\u2019s message means, becoming disturbed. Once again, Gabriel reassures Mary, telling her to fear not because she possesses God\u2019s special honor. Then Gabriel tells Mary she will become pregnant with the world’s Savior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we think of God\u2019s favor in our lives, I doubt we think of virgin births. I can only imagine how Mary must have felt at this moment. God\u2019s favor in her life meant total upheaval from a worldly perspective. Unwed and pregnant, she would become a social outcast. I wonder if Mary ever questioned God\u2019s favor in her life because it doesn\u2019t seem favorable from an earthly view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Favor unfolds.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n God\u2019s favor in Mary\u2019s life unfolded over time. Mary\u2019s fianc\u00e9, Joseph, wanting to get out of the upcoming marriage, encounters an angel in his dream who tells of Jesus\u2019s birth. As a result, Joseph marries the pregnant virgin, protecting her from disgrace. As their journey unfolds, God provides for them every step of the way, evidence of His favor in their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Receiving God\u2019s favor in our lives comes in varied forms. Mary and Joseph found favor when they found a warm place to rest in the manger. God\u2019s guidance kept them from the persecution of King Herod. One day at a time, God\u2019s favor unfolded in their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God\u2019s favor exists in our lives. Born in America, I experience God\u2019s grace living in the land of the free. Religious freedom allows us to worship however we want. Unlike other countries, we get to gather corporately and worship God together. As we seek our Maker, His favor unfolds in our lives, one day at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Experience God\u2019s favor in your life as you submit to Him. Special honor comes to those who give their lives to God like Mary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [i]<\/a> Strong, J., & Strong, J. (2010). The New Strong’s expanded exhaustive concordance of the Bible<\/em>. Greek Dictionary of the New Testament<\/em> (p. 270) Thomas Nelson<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2 minute read. Daily Reading: Numbers 21:1-22:20 ESV, Luke 1:26-56 ESV, Psalm 57:1-11 ESV, Proverbs 11:9-11 ESV Daily Verse: \u201cAnd he came to her and said, \u201cGreetings,\u00a0O favored one,\u00a0the Lord is with you!\u201d (Luke 1:28 ESV) CHARITOO (5487): \u201cTo grace, i.e., indue with special honor, make accepted, be highly favoured.\u00a0 To make graceful or gracious,… Continue reading FAVORED<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5528"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5531,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5528\/revisions\/5531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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