(Luke 1:26-38) Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most 56gh will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. 36 And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
It would have been comforting to know that a relative might be going through something so huge and life-changing as well. Perhaps Mary was told this so she could confirm that indeed God was performing these miracles. Maybe this is why she went to visit Elizabeth. And/or maybe she went in order to give Joseph, her fiancé, some time to think about what needed to be done, since he had some doubts at first. It certainly would have been encouraging to hear Elizabeth recognize that Mary was carrying the Messiah...
(Luke 1:39-56) Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”
And Mary said:
“My soul exalts the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 “For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; for behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
49 “For the Mighty One has done great things for me; and holy is His name.
50 “And His mercy is upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him.
51 “He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
52 “He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and has exalted those who were humble.
53 “He has filled the hungry with good things; and sent away the rich empty-handed.
54 “He has given help to Israel His servant, in remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.”
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 “For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; for behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
49 “For the Mighty One has done great things for me; and holy is His name.
50 “And His mercy is upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him.
51 “He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
52 “He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and has exalted those who were humble.
53 “He has filled the hungry with good things; and sent away the rich empty-handed.
54 “He has given help to Israel His servant, in remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.”
56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.
Today's takeaway: Mary was not perfect, but she was definitely a believer, and obedient to God's calling. She provided the human entity to Jesus! Being the earthly mother to Jesus did not make her super-human - she was born a sinner as everyone else - in need of a Savior. No where are we told to pray to Mary. Or anybody else. Or angels... We ARE told to ONLY worship and pray to God!
Jesus is our High Priest - and we can and are to go directly to Him. It was He who died for us so that through Him we could have a close relationship with the Creator! Thinking that we can or should go to someone else to act as our representative in approaching God - would be something like - asking a neighbor to go say thank you to our parents for all the time and money it took to raise us. Or asking the neighbor to be our parent instead of the parents who raised us. God wants to talk to us through His word, and He wants to hear from us - daily.
(Romans 8:15-17) For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
There isn't a problem to great or too small - for nothing is impossible with God - and we will not wear Him down!...
(Matthew 11:28-30) “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
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