Graced with Grace

I found this little story in an old devotional book (written in 1925) called “Streams in the Desert”. It blessed me and so I thought I would share it with you so that you also might be blessed by it. I once met a poor colored woman, who earned a precarious living by hard daily labor; but who was a joyous triumphant Christian. “Ah, Nancy,” said a gloomy Christian lady to her one day, “it is well enough to be happy now; but I should think the thoughts of your future would sober you. “Only suppose, for instance, you should have a spell of sickness, and be unable to work; or suppose your present employers should move away, and no one else should give you anything to do; or suppose…..” “Stop!” cried Nancy, “I never supposes. De Lord is my Shepherd, and I knows I shall not want. And, Honey,” She added, to her gloomy friend, “it’s all dem supposes as is makin’ you so mis’able. You’d better give dem all up, and just trust de Lord.”

            The book of Luke, believed to have been written by Luke a gentile, was probably written around A.D. 60 Luke begins his book with an introduction (Luke 1:1-4). He is writing to Theophilus, about Jesus, so that he will believe and know the truth. The life is of Christ is indeed true and we should believe it with our hearts not just our head.             (Luke 1:5-2:52) He then goes on to tell us the account of Gabriel, the angel, appearing before Zacharias and Mary and bringing the good tidings that each will be given a son. Yet Zacharias does not believe and is therefore struck dumb until his son, John, is born, while Mary does believe and is greatly blessed among women, bearing the Messiah, Savior of the world. When we believe the truth, we are blessed, yet disbelief comes with great consequences. When Jesus gets to the age of about twelve He is then seen in the temple listening and learning from the teachers, thus, setting the example for us to listen and learn from thos