The 8th Chapter of Genesis begins with the words “And God remembered Noah…”  What a wonderful thought to consider!  After all Noah had been through, in his loneliest moment, God remembered him in the ark.  Not only did God remember him, but He also remembered all of the lives with them upon the ark.

God remembered Noah, but Noah also remembered God.  The first thing Noah built when he got off the ark was a place to worship God.  He offered up a sacrifice upon that altar and showed us a picture of the sacrifice God would provide for man thousands of years in the future when He sent Jesus Christ to be our propitiation and salvation.

God’s promise to Noah was that he would never again destroy the world through a flood as long as the Earth remained...

“A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance…” (Proverbs 15:13)

Have you ever wondered if God wants you to be happy?  More than a few times the enemy of our souls tells us that we shouldn’t do something because God doesn’t want us to be happy.  The same enemy tells us we should sin and go against the will of God because he surely wants us to be “happy.”

So which is it?  Does God want us to be happy or doesn’t he?

The truth of the matter is that God does want us to be happy.  Much in the same way a good dad wants his son or daughter to be happy.  Most of the time the dad knows better about what will make them happy over the long run than they do.  This is always the case with God.

True happiness, or joy, is a matter of the heart and not dependent on circumstances...

It is hard to imagine all of the emotions that were going through Mary as she pondered in her heart all God was doing through her.  She was going to be the mother of the Christ child!  She may have been filled with anxiety…maybe even a sense of dread.  When she expressed the feelings of her heart in the form of a hymn, however, she expressed the main thing on her heart was praise.

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.  For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.” (Luke 1:46-48)

By “magnify” she meant she was ascribing greatness to the great and glorious God of heaven.  She was but a humble servant, but He is worthy of all praise...