Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Some Facts About Mary

MARY was one of the most greatest women of the bible.  She was the mother of Jesus!  She was chosen by God out of all the women on earth to carry His one and only son.  I am sure Mary at some point questioned why her?  Why would God choose her to be the mother of Jesus.  I just can not fathom how she felt when the angel appeared to tell her what her next few years would be like.  I thought that during this Christmas season, I should share about one great woman!  She was the one chosen by God to be Jesus's mother.  It is a pleasure to be a mom, but to be the mother to Jesus!  WOW!  God knew that she would be the right woman to help in His plan for the world! 

I found these facts at www.biblestudyplanet.com and found them to be interesting, so I thought I would post them on the blog.


SCRIPTURE
- Matthew 1; Luke 1-3.


BIOGRAPHY

Of the seven women named Mary in the New Testament, none has a more central role than Mary the mother of Jesus Christ. The genealogy of Mary is given in Luke 3. She is shown as the daughter of Heli (Luke 3:23), descended from Nathan the son of David (Luke 3:23-31). At the time of the conception of Jesus, she was engaged to Joseph who was also descended from David, through Solomon (Matthew 1:7-16). Through his parents Jesus was legally entitled to the throne of David. Living in Nazareth (Luke 1:26). Mary visited a close relative, Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist (Luke 1:39-56), before traveling to Bethlehem to be taxed under the orders of Augustus.

In Bethlehem, Jesus was born (Luke 2:1-20). After the visit of the Magi , when Jesus was about 18 months old, Joseph, Mary and Jesus fled into Egypt until the death of Herod the Great (Matthew 2:20,21). Joseph led his family to Nazareth because Archaleus, a very cruel king, was reigning in Judah (Matthew 2:22,23). Joseph is no longer mentioned, but Mary appears at the marriage of Cana (John 2:1-12); then later when Jesus was challenged by the Pharisees (Matthew 12:46-50); and at the cross (John 19:25-27). On the cross Jesus committed His mother to the care of the disciple John. Mary was with the disciples in the upper room after the ascension (Acts 1:13,14).


EVALUATION

a) Mary was one of the few people prophesied in the Old Testament, as the woman from whose seed the Savior would come (Genesis 3:15).

b) Her state was amplified in Isaiah 7:14 that she would be a virgin

c) Since the sin nature is passed down through the father, Mary received a sin nature from Heli

d) Because Jesus was born of a virgin however, conceived by the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ was born without a sin nature (Matthew 1:20).

e) Mary was highly favored in grace by God (Luke 1:28,30), being called "blessed among women".

f) Mary accepted the miracle of this birth as outlined by Gabriel (Luke 1:26-38).

g) Mary praised God for His goodness (Luke 1:46-55; cf. 1 Samuel 2:1-10).

h) Mary recognized that the child she was to have would be the long awaited Savior (Luke 1:46-48).

i) Joseph was noble by protecting Mary from public stoning as an adulteress (Deuteronomy 22:23,24).

j) Mary and Joseph arranged for Jesus' circumcision on the eighth day (Luke 2:21) and His presentation to the Lord after the purification of Mary (Luke 2:22-24). They offered turtle doves and pigeons, showing they were not wealthy (Luke 2:24).

k) Jesus never called Mary mother, but always woman (John 2:4; 19:26), to ensure that Mary was never to be thought of as the mother of God. 

Love in Christ,

Alicia

Sunday, December 18, 2011

The Light

"In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it." - John 1:4-5 (NIV)

Jesus is life, and He will be your guiding light. Just as a flashlight or lighthouse shines bright and helps guide your way in the dark, so will Jesus. Fortunately, the light of Jesus shines brighter than any flashlight or lighthouse and the darkness(sin) of the world will never over take Him!

Love in Christ,

Alicia




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Saturday, December 3, 2011

Sacrificial Love

I have an acquaintance from high school that has spent her whole life dealing with a bad kidney. I will be honest and say that I didn't know about her struggle until a couple of months ago (gotta love Facebook). Her twin sister set up a page on Facebook telling of her sister's story. I was shocked! I went all 4 yrs of high school with this girl and never knew anything was the matter. Apparently, over the past couple of years her kidney became worse, to the point were she needed a new one. Everyone in her family immediately stepped up to the plate to see if they were a match. One by one they were told they were not a suitable donor; that is until it was her mom's turn to be tested! Her mom was a perfect match!! Ok, seriously, how awesome is that to be able to give your child a second chance. Anyway, through the magic of Facebook I have been able to keep up with her journey. Yesterday was the day(12-2-11)! She received her "new" kidney! Her mom never thought twice about it when they said she was a match. The first thing that her mom said when she was coming out of anaesthesia was, "did it work?" Talk about sacrificial love! Everyone sacrifices something in there lifetime, maybe a friendship, because you know it isn't the best "fit" for you or a job offer, or maybe even something as small as the last piece of pie, but there is something about a parent's love that makes you not think twice about do something for your child no matter the cost!

God gave the ultimate sacrifice, His son, Jesus! He brought Jesus into this world to demonstrate the ultimate sacrifice of love. Jesus died for our sins so that we may have enternal life. When everyone turned their back on Jesus and God; God could have stopped His ONE and ONLY son from being hung on the cross and dying for our sins. But, thankfully He didn't, because by showing the ultimate sacrificial love, we are forgiven of our sins.

One of my favorite verses comes from John 3:16 (17,18)
"This is how much God loved the world: He gave His son, His one and only son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go through all the trouble of sending His son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trust in Him is aquitted; anyone who refuses to trust Him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to Him." (MSG)

If you have a Facebook account and would like to follow the journey, you can search for Kristi's Kidney and continue to see how she does. If you don't have a Facebook account, I can tell you that both mother and daughter are doing well and the kidney is functioning as a healthy kidney should. The doctors seem very hopeful.

Love in Christ,

Alicia





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