Photo by Alex Gindin on Unsplash
By Deusilene Milhomem de Carvalho
Wednesday, December 13, 2023

Advent devotional

Ver versión en español

This Advent devotional comes from Devocionales 2022-2023, a book of devotionals produced by the Movimiento de Mujeres Anabautistas Haciendo Teología desde América Latina (MTAL — Movement of Anabaptist Women doing Theology from Latin America) The daily devotionals can also be found on Facebook.

 

 

“For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed.” Luke 1:48 (NLT)

In Mary's song, the Magnificat, she expresses her gratitude to God. She is surprised to learn how God acts outside of human logic. She says, “Because God has set his eyes on me, his lowly servant girl…” Most of the time, the goodness of God is a surprise to us. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

God is great in wisdom and power. He knows everything about us before it occurs: our path, our actions, and our thoughts. God is an expert in using unusual situations in our daily lives. God's logic is amazing! I always like to say, “God has surprises for us.”

Personally, I have seen God work in surprising ways countless times. I was often afraid — faced with an emergency trip, a major surgery, a public lecture, a seminar or a difficult problem. But to my surprise, God gets ahead of me and solves everything. God is a loving father — only He does great things and works miraculously. God has not changed, he is the same yesterday, today and will be forever. God's will for us will always be good, pleasing and perfect. God's logic is perfect.

Mary acknowledges and glorifies God for having been chosen by Him to be the mother of our Savior, Jesus Christ. She says in her song of praise: “From now on all generations will consider me blessed.”

Glory to God! We are like Mary, chosen by God!

Let us pray:

May we unite with Mary in her prayer, singing together with great gratitude in our hearts.

La lógica de Dios

Escritora Deusilene Milhhomem de Carvalho

“Porque Dios ha puesto sus ojos en mí, su humilde esclava, y desde ahora siempre me llamarán dichosa”. Lucas 1:48

¡En el canto de María, el llamado Magníficat, expresa su gratitud a Dios! Se sorprende al saber cómo actúa Dios fuera de la lógica humana. Dice: porque Dios ha puesto sus ojos en mí, su humilde esclava... La mayoría de las veces nos sorprende mucho la bondad de Dios. En Isaías 55: 8-9 dice: “Porque mis ideas no son como las de ustedes, y mi manera de actuar no es como la suya. Así como el cielo está por encima de la tierra, así también mis ideas y mi manera de actuar están por encima de las de ustedes. E Señor lo afirma”.

Dios es grande en sabiduría y poder. Él sabe todo sobre nosotros de antemano; nuestro caminar, nuestros hechos, nuestro pensar. Dios es experto en usar situaciones inusuales en nuestra vida diaria. ¡La lógica de Dios es asombrosa! Siempre me gusta decir “Dios nos tiene sorpresas”. En mi vida esto ha sucedido innumerables veces. A menudo tenía miedo: ante un viaje de emergencia, una cirugía mayor, una conferencia pública, un seminario, un problema difícil. Pero para mi sorpresa, Dios se me adelanta y lo resuelve todo. Dios es un padre amoroso, solo Él hace grandes cosas y obra de forma milagrosa. Dios no ha cambiado, es el mismo ayer, hoy y será para siempre. La voluntad de Dios para nosotras siempre será buena, agradable y perfecta. La lógica de Dios es perfecta.

María reconoce y glorifica a Dios por haber sido elegida por Él para ser la madre de nuestro Salvador Jesucristo. Ella dice en su cántico de alabanza: Porque desde ahora todas las generaciones me considerarán bienaventurada. ¡Gloria a Dios! ¡Somos como María elegidas por Dios!

Oremos

Que ¡podamos unimos a María en su oración, cantar juntas con gran gratitud en el corazón.

Editor's Note: Deusilene Milhomem de Carvalho es pastora de Igreja Menonita do Gama, Brasilia, DF. También coordina Sister Care Brasil, que incluye los ministerios más amplios de MTAL (Movimiento de Mujeres Anabautistas Haciendo Teología desde América Latina) en Brasil.


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https://www.mennonitemission.net/blog/5017/Gods-logic

​Deusilene Milhomem de Carvalho is the pastor of Igreja Menonita do Gama (Gama Mennonite Church), Brasília, Distrito Federal. She also coordinates Sister Care Brazil, which includes the broader ministries of MTAL (Movement of Anabaptist Women Doing Theology from Latin America) in Brazil. 

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