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

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




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Don't Take Christ out of CHRISTmas

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I just wanted to send a reminder not to forget the true reason for the season. It is easy to get caught up in all the shopping and parties. Sometimes the true meaning of Christmas takes a back seat to all the other activities that we have going on. Just remember that without Christ it's just "mas". It's not about the presents or the parties or trimming the tree, its about sharing Christ with the ones you love and know!! So don't put Jesus in back, he is far to great for second place!!!

Jesus Is The Reason for the Season

Love in Christ,

Alicia



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Refreshing The Soul

Proverbs 27:9
The Message (MSG)

9 Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight,
a sweet friendship refreshes the soul.

Friendship, Friend, Amigo and BFF are all words with meaning. A friendship is not to be taken lightly. Friends are good for the soul. They allow you to have a different view of the world around you. Friends provide you with support and a social network. You can never have too many friends! True friends will give you their shoulder to cry or lean on and they also push you to do your very best! A friendship is like a blanket that you wrap around you to keep you warm. True friends will stick with you until the end.

I have a lot of acquaintances but only a few true friends. These friends I know I can count on no matter what. God places certain people in your life on purpose and He knew who you needed in your life even before you were born. I am so thankful for the friends God has placed in my life. He knew exactly who needed to be placed in my life. I know with out a doubt that these friends will always be there for me no matter what.

"A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be." --Douglas Pagels

Love in Christ,

Alicia





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Golden Rule

We have all heard the "golden rule" before.  In fact, I am sure that we all have it memorized, being that we heard it since we could walk and probably still here it every now and then.  The "golden rule" is a good rule to live by.

Did you know that more than 8 different religions have and teach a form of the "golden rule."  If you are interested in viewing the religions and the "golden rule" you can go here:  http://www.teachingvalues.com/goldenrule.html  I am going to use the scripture from The Bible, Matthew 7:1

Matthew 7:1-5,  from the The Message Bible:
^1-5 "Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbor's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, 'Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by contempt? It's this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.

I love coupons and I have "liked" a few coupon pages on facebook, and one of these sites posted on facebook today, a great deal on an item!  The item was on sale for a $1.00 when it is regularly $20.00.   I started reading all the comments under the post and man oh man, I couldn't believe what I was reading.  People were literally fighting back and forth through their comments.  I read were some people picked up 20 of this said item, just because it was 1.00.  Some people had a purpose for having that many, but some people just bought as many as they could just because.  Now, that my friends is wrong, at least I think it is.  This is where the "golden rule" comes into play.  Think about how many people could have used one, just one of this said item, but in greed someone chose to take more than they needed just to say that they did.  I don't think, if the tables were turned, they would have liked that being done to them.  My point is, in the moment we sometimes do not think about "doing unto others as we would like them to do unto us", but we should.  This applies to everything that we do.  The words we speak, our actions, etc.  We should always treat people with respect, because we all know we want to be treated with respect.  Jesus, would have not been greedy with this said item, nor would he go and bash people.  He gives us the utmost respect, so in turn we should do the same to Him.  We should always think before we do and ask ourselves, WWJD (what would Jesus do)?


Love in Christ,

Alicia

Reason for the Season

I have tried to write this post at least three times.  I was trying to figure out how to put into words what I read and to make sure I didn't say the wrong thing.  I then decided that I just need to put it out there.  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and belief, but parts of a letter that I recently read on the Internet just hit me wrong.  So here it goes:

The letter was written by a mom to her daughter regarding the subject of santa.  I am not going to share the whole letter, because I do not feel it is necessary.  I know that everyone has their own opinion about santa, and I am not here to criticize that in anyway.  In fact, my family does santa, but we also know and talk about the REAL reason for the season.

The part of the letter that I would like to share is this:

"Santa is bigger than any person, and his work has gone on longer than any of us have lived.  What he does is simple, but it is powerful.  He teaches children how to have belief in something they can't see or touch.

It's a big job, and it's an important one.  Throughout your life, you will need this capacity to believe: in yourself, in your friends, in your talents and in your family.  You'll also need to believe in things you can't measure or even hold in your hand.  Here, I am talking about love, that great power that will light your life from the inside out, even during its darkest, coldest moments.

Santa is a teacher, and I have been his student, and now you know the secret of how he...all the people whose hearts he's filled with joy.

With full hearts, people like Daddy and me take our turns...that would otherwise be impossible.

Santa is love and hope and happiness.  I'm on his team, and now you are too."

Now,  I would like you to go back and reread the section of the letter above, but this time replace the word santa with Jesus.  Replacing the word santa with Jesus makes much more sense, don't you think?  Jesus is the one that can provide every need for you and Jesus is the one that is love and hope and happiness.

It surprised me how many people commented back on the letter.  Some people were even moved to tears over the letter that they had read.  Only one person out of the comments that I found mention  God.  The other comments were encouraging and thanking this mom for the letter idea. 

It is just sad the reaction that was given over this letter.  Jesus is the Alpha and Omega!!! Plain and simple!

As the holiday season approaches remember the TRUE reason for the season!!

Note: Parts of the letter were left out as to not divulge certain information, as I do not know the ages of who reads this blog!  Thank you for understanding.

Love in Christ,

Alicia