 In last week's entry, we were given the reminder to not be afraid because we are highly favored as children of God. Because of that, we can freely answer the call to serve and love in whatever God sets before us. This week, I am continuing in our passage of Luke 1:26-38, starting at verse 31- You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” Did you catch that? "You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end." Mary was just told that her son was going to be the most amazing son in the whole world (literally), a mothers dream. He was going to be perfect. Her son was going to sit on the throne and rule forever!!
Props to Mary and the trust she had. I would have sarcastically said "Yeah, right!" I believe that Mary completely accepted the foretelling as truth. In faith she simply believed that God could and would do what the angel said. Her only question was a really good one. She obviously understood the birds and the bees and was curious as to how this was all to take place....you know, the actual part of getting pregnant so that the Savior could be born. She was, after all, a virgin. Probably, the most amazing part of all of this is that even before knowing all the details, she was already ALL IN! Sounds like a great example to follow. When we are given a call that we know has been placed on us by the Lord, it's ok to ask questions. But let us ask the Lord to turn our hearts so that the logistical questions we ask are asked in faith, knowing that He will do what He says He will do. Let's ask questions from a posture of being ALL IN. Sometimes, the vision that God lays on our hearts is SO BIG that we cannot fathom how He will accomplish it, especially, through us. But that is the marvelous thing....He is God, He is in the business of marvelous, He's in the business of using us because He loves us. Today, dear friend, trust God. He has done marvelous things. Let's praise Him and watch His plans unfold as He enfolds us into His heart for His glory! I love you in the Lord, Mia Check back next week for Part three!
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 Christian Denominations handle Mary (the mother of Jesus) in different ways. In some denominations, she is given a lot of play, many props and huge kuddos while in other denominations she is given a mere high five and an "atta girl" and "by the way, thanks, for birthing the King of the world." Wherever you are in the spectrum, let's meet in the middle and just stand in awe of the example she was and is to us as Christians today. I am going to chew this passage apart in three (but, I feel an itching for more) segments. So come back each week as we take time to simply marvel at our Great God through the woman He chose to be the mother of His only begotten son. "In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” There is a lot going on here, but I will just share with you a few of the elements that jumped out at me.
"Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be." She was greeted with the title of being highly favored by God. In her humility, I can only imagined this young girl wanting to turn around and check to see if anyone else was in the room. Maybe the angel was talking to someone else and got confused. How many times do we as redeemed Christians walk around thinking the same thing when a call is placed on our lives and a task is placed directly in our path.... "God? You call ME favored? You are with ME?" then we look over our shoulder convinced He is talking to someone else because we feel unworthy and we convince ourselves that there is someone more qualified and better suited to do the task at hand. The key is not in what we incorrectly think about ourselves, but in the truth of what God knows about us. He is with us. And if He is for us WHO can be against us?!?! Just as Mary was troubled, wondering about this greeting and call on her life, she was immediately comforted by the words of the angel...words which we still hear today...words that can calm the storm...."Do not be afraid" Guess what? He is not calling you to the mighty task of birthing the Savior of the world. It's already been asked and answered, done and accomplished. But, He may be calling you to other Kingdom building work. "Do not be afraid." These words come straight from the heart of God. Know today that He speaks this truth over you. Do not be afraid. The Lord, your God is with you. He goes before you, He is beside you, He is in the rear guarding your ways. Do not be afraid. You, as a child of God and follower of Jesus Christ are highly favored. You are a friend of God. Take the example that Mary gave and be comforted sweet friend. I love you in the Lord and I look forward to week two with you. Feel free to leave your comments and insights. Mia  Welcome! My weekly blog will now be hosted here, on my new website and I am, oh so, excited to introduce you to the new format. Ok, in reality, not much has changed... a bit of the website content, the fact that my blog will be integrated into the website and a new web address. All of those things are fine and dandy, but the name change for my website is probably the biggest factor for me. Close to ten years ago, back in Chicago, when God first called me into ministry, my life and resources were much different. I barely used the computer and had not even heard of Facebook, Twitter or social media. I think I had a cell phone but all I used it for was making occasional phone calls. Imagine that, a phone used solely for the purpose of phone calls. It seems so foreign to me now as I conduct so much of my work via my smartphone. My former website address was based off of Acts 16:25-26. "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose." It was powerful passage in my life at the time and became the foundation for the music I wrote and the ministry God entrusted to me. Naturally then, when I was thinking of names for my website, www.aboutmidnight was it! Today, the mission and vision have not changed. But the reality that I now have facebook accounts, twitter accounts, Linked In, Pinterest and Instagram accounts all under the name of Mia Koehne, I thought it was time to be consistent. Hence, the new website under address, www.miakoehne.com. Acts 16:25-26 continue to be the foundational verses that propel me forward in ministry and fuel me to press on to make Him known. Sometimes change is hard even over things that seem quite trivial. In the grand scheme of life, changing one's website is not a big deal, but sometimes little changes give us an opportunity to reflect on what was, what is and what is yet to come; a chance to re-evaluate, refine and confirm one's call in life. That's what it did for me. I fought the name change for a while (for a couple years, at least), but God has used the struggle to give me tender moments with Him, reminding me why I do what I do. #SoliDeoGlori Ten years....It's been amazing. Today looks nothing like I ever would have dreamed and I can only imagine what the next ten years will bring. What I do know is that God is continually making all things new in me and in you.
Will you embrace the new things to come in your life with open hands and un-clenched fists? A name change is minor, but what God will do through the little changes in our lives is a pretty momentous thing. Hold on and enjoy the ride. I love you in the Lord, Mia  There are times when I look back to the places where I clearly see the victory that God has done in my life and then there are the times when I get stuck looking back to places where I have been weak. Times that I have talked harshly to the people I love, times when I have totally messed up worship leading, times when I play all the wrong notes while playing in the band are the moments where I do not see the victory, only the failure. Today, this verse is a blatant reminder for me to forget those past mistakes and trust in the grace and forgiveness of a God who loves so deeply that he sent His only son to be the remedy for my sin, a God who can take my blunders and mask them by the power of the Holy Spirit and use them for His glory. Today, I am reminded to forget what is behind and move forward to what lies ahead. And what lies ahead is good in Jesus Christ. "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14 Today, won't you stand with me as we press on toward the goal, the wonderful prize that God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus? Whatever tempts you to peak backwards, lay it down at the foot of the cross…daily. I pray that whatever it may be, that it would be would lighter each day until you are able to forget it with ease. Blessings, brothers and sisters! I love you in the Lord, Mia |
The BlogA collection of writings from a life based on the truth that about midnight anything can happen. 
AuthorAs an imperfect servant of the Lord, I often feel I am fumbling my way through life, looking upward for guidance and outward to love. So, I write about it, to break up the noise in my head. Categories
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