Weekend, December 10, 2022
A Godly Girl from a Godless Place
“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.” (Luke 1:26-27 NLT)
Parents have named more daughters after Mary, the mother of Jesus, than after any other woman who has ever lived. Mary was such a special woman for so many reasons. She was the only person who was present at both the birth and death of Jesus Christ.
Jesus entered the world as Mary’s Son and left the world as her Savior. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb and then came into her heart.
Mary was living in Nazareth when the angel Gabriel arrived with a message for her. Now, Nazareth was renowned for its wickedness. Cities have a reputation for certain things. For example, we sometimes refer to Rome as the eternal city. We know Paris as the city of lights. New York is the city that never sleeps. And people call Las Vegas sin city.
In Mary’s day, they could have used the same nickname for Nazareth. Roman soldiers stopped in Nazareth on their way to somewhere else. And because they spent a lot of time there, more than one young woman in Nazareth found herself pregnant.
In fact, when Philip told Nathanael that Jesus was from Nazareth, Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1:46 NLT).
So, there in that godless place, Mary was a godly girl living a godly life. Her example serves as a reminder that it’s possible for us to resist sin. The Bible tells us, “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT).
Maybe you find yourself surrounded by nonbelievers, and you’re wondering how you can live a godly life amidst them. You can do it with God’s power, just as Mary did.
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