The Gospel of IDD

Mary’s Song              And Mary   said,              “My soul magnifies the Lord,   and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,   for he  has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.   Surely, from now on  all generations will call me blessed;   for the Mighty One has done great     things for me,   and holy is his name.   His mercy is for those who fear him  from generation to generation.   He has shown strength with his arm;   he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.   He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,   and lifted up the lowly;   he has filled the hungry with good things,   and sent the rich away empty.   He has helped his servant Israel,   in remembrance of his mercy,   according to the promise he  ...

Mary’s Promise              In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.    And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”     But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.    The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.    And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.    He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.    He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”   ...

Ezra              And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the  Lord  your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.    Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our  Lord ; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the  Lord  is your strength.” So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them. Nehemiah 8:9-13 Correction.    Being told that you are wrong and how to improve have always ...

The Power of Prayer              When our enemies heard that their plot was known to us, and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his work.    From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and body-armor; and the leaders posted themselves behind the whole house of Judah, who were building the wall. The burden bearers carried their loads in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and with the other held a weapon.    And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me.    And I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread out, and we are separated far from one another on the wall.    Rally to us wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet. Our God will fight fo...

Asking Big              In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was served him, I carried the wine and gave it to the king. Now, I had never been sad in his presence before.    So the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This can only be sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my ancestors’ graves, lies waste, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. Nehemiah 2:1-4 Nehemiah is one of my favorite people in all of Scripture.    Perhaps it is because he is an administrator or perhaps it is because God does such amazing work through him, but this book holds a special place in my heart.    Nehemiah was one of the Jews who ...

             Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshiped. He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the  Lord  gave, and the  Lord  has taken away; blessed be the name of the  Lord .” Job 1:20-22 Job has just had the worst day of his life with tragedy after tragedy after tragedy falling upon him.    All that he has left is his health, which is about to fail, his wife, who tells him to curse God, and his friends, who tell him that he must be evil for so many bad things to happen to him.    In the midst of heartbreak and chaos, Job mourns and grieves everything and everyone that he has lost.    But he does not lash out in anger.    He does not curse God.    Instead he worships, acknowledging that God both gives and takes away.    God’s goodness…His holiness…His worthiness to be wors...

The Results of Faith              But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder.    Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren?    Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?    You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. James 2:18-23 Our actions are the results of what we believe.    What we believe about ourselves.    What we believe about God.    What we believe about the way that t...

Sacrificing Isaac              After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”    He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.”    So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him.    On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away.    Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.”    Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So ...

The Promise of a Son              After these things the word of the  Lord  came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”     But Abram said, “O Lord  God , what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”     And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.”    But the word of the  Lord  came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.”    He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”    And he believed the  Lord ; and the  Lord   reckoned it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:1-6 When Abraham was called to...