Here's another blessing of love from God's heart and mine to yours ... expressed in this wonderful article on Mary's heart and her blessing from God that my heart was blessed to read with the Holy Spirit this morning in the December 2010 issue of Charles Stanley's In Touch devotional magazine.
Barefoot Enjoy!!! :hearts::hearts::hearts:
Love,
Steve
Remembering Mary
Celebrating the Mother of Christ
By Cameron Lawrence
As trees shed the last of their leaves and the thermostat dips, my wife and I are in preparation mode. Amid the usual changes of the season, we�re expecting our first child�a Christmas baby. My wife�s belly has grown beyond recognition. I�ve felt the baby�s kick against my palm, only a thin veil of flesh between us. One day soon, we�ll see each other face to face.
Having a child at Christmas brings home the reality of the nativity. God became human in the form of a child, born to a virgin. And this happened for the salvation of humankind and the redemption of all creation. It�s the same story we remember every year. But as I watch my wife around the house�unable to easily bend down or rise from a chair�I�m moved to consider an aspect of the incarnation I tend to neglect: Christ has a mother.
It�s not that I ever fully overlooked Mary in the past, but rather had a tendency to downplay her importance in the story of salvation. Maybe you can relate. Not wanting to take any glory away from the Lord, I swung so far the other way that I ignored the plain teaching of Scripture: Mary was honored by God Himself.
The Bible�s portrayal of the young Mary, barely a woman by the standards of her day, is one of humility and obedience. Consider the annunciation of Christ�s birth. Scripture tells us that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, saying, �Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you . . . Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God� (Luke 1:28-30).
The Scriptures also show that the people closest to her had little trouble identifying Mary�s special role. Just look at her visit to Elizabeth�the soon-to-be mother of John the Baptist: �When Elizabeth heard Mary�s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
She cried out with a loud voice and said, �Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?� (Luke 1:41-43). Luke tells us that, inspired by the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth was moved to proclaim the special honor and blessing bestowed upon Mary by God.
Far from seeing Mary as a passive receptacle or utilitarian vessel, the early pastors and theologians of the church accorded her fuller importance. They noted salient parallels between her life and many Old Testament persons and wonders. For example, like the bush Moses saw burning in the desert, so did Mary bear the all-holy Lord within her womb without being consumed. She could be likened to a basket of manna, for she carried the Bread of Life. Or just as the Ark of the Covenant was the seat of God�s presence in ancient Israel, so they saw in Mary the �Ark of the New Covenant.� She carried the presence of the uncontainable God within her. Those whom she visited were blessed, just like the house of Obed-edom when David brought the original ark to his home (2 Sam. 6:1-11). Parallels abound. But perhaps the most striking correlation of all is one between Mary�known by the early Christians as Theotokos (Greek for �Mother of God�)�and Eve, the mother of humankind.
Ireneaus of Lyons, writing in the second century, explains the connection: �. . . the knot of Eve�s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the virgin Mary set free through faith� (Against Heresies, Book III, 22.4).
If the apostle Paul thought of Christ as the second Adam, Ireneaus thought of Mary as the second Eve. Where Eve through childbirth passed on a fallen nature to humanity, Mary gave birth to its redemption�the promised Messiah.
In a way, this implies a role of spiritual motherhood for Mary, akin to the sort of motherhood we attribute to Eve as our oldest ancestor. Just as women give life to their children, and by extension to generations of grandchildren that follow, so we inherit the benefits of Mary�s faithfulness�life in Christ and eternal rest with Him. Through her faithful cooperation with God, the church was made possible, which is the body of Christ. As Augustine put it in the fourth century, �Plainly (Mary) is, in spirit, Mother of us who are His members, because by love she has cooperated so that the faithful, who are the members of that Head might be born in the Church. In body, indeed, she is mother of that very Head� (On Holy Virginity, 6.6). With that in mind, we have a lot to be thankful for.
We all can be grateful for the people in our lives: parents, friends, pastors, coaches, and even strangers. Others play an undeniable role in our salvation. We could say that through them, by God�s grace, we have found life in Him. And how much more is it true of the woman from whom God took the flesh that would be crucified, laid in a tomb, and resurrected?
There are many lessons we can learn from Mary. For instance, we can learn to respond in faith and obedience when God brings something unexpected into our lives. We can also learn to remain humble, letting the Lord honor us as He chooses, rather than make it a pursuit of our will. Mary was an example of being teachable. Although she was Christ�s mother and an authority figure in His life, she learned from her Son and pondered those lessons in her heart. And as we see at the wedding in Cana, she had unflinching faith in Jesus to provide and work miracles.
Perhaps Mary�s most important example to us is her willingness to become the first Christian. In faith and humility, she received the Lord into her life�her very body. While pregnant, she nurtured the Lord within her, and through her, the Truth was made incarnate in the world. And so it is with you and me. By coming to faith in Jesus, we receive His presence through the Holy Spirit. He makes our hearts His dwelling place, and through us makes Himself known. We are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19), and it�s our job to nurture His presence through right living, prayer, service, and worship. Just like Mary, we are called to make the Truth incarnate in the world through our entire beings.
Beyond learning from Mary, remembering and celebrating her life as the mother of Jesus is a means of protection against heresies that would deny Christ�s humanity.
In her remembrance, we find a way to put the incarnation of Jesus on center stage with the crucifixion and resurrection, where it rightly belongs. Acknowledging the full importance of Mary�s unique role in the story of redemption doesn�t take anything away from the Lord. It only further underscores the truth of who He is, what He�s done and will do. And just as I�ll meet my baby, one day soon we�ll see Him face to face�the flesh, the scars, the glory.
Copyright 2010 In Touch Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved. www.intouch.org. In Touch grants permission to print for personal use only.
I have to tell you that you are walking barefoot on thin ice with this Thread about Mary. Man! None of this is found in Scripture and the Scripture Police will get you!
Here�s more to think about:
For nine months Mary�s Blood coursed through Jesus� Body! Her Heart pumped Blood through His Heart! And vice-a-versa! (BaddaBoom) When God ordered the making of The Ark of The Covenant God Demanded the Finest Virgin wood available and Gold and Silver of The Purest EVER! That Ark had to be Perfect!
How much less perfect would you expect The New Ark of The New Covenant to be?
God Chose Her before she was born. Do you think that God would Allow sin to ever enter Her Body? Even original sin? It�s something to think about and The Early Church gave it much thought and devoted many years of praying and fasting and invoking of The Holy Spirit to finally come up with the answers to these questions.
Also�what would have happened if Mary had said No to God�s request? AND�do you think that the dark one had any inkling as to the fact that something very Important was going on with this young girl? I mean Mary must have had Thousands of Angels constantly around her�ya think?
She was held in the Highest Esteem by The Early Church and when cities make a big deal of being able to claim that �so and so is buried here� or �we have his big toe� or anything that they can claim as a �relic� of any of The Apostles or Saints�No one and I mean not a single city has ever made the slightest hint of having Mary�s body or anything close to that. Makes you wonder�hmmm?
Here is the post I saw on a blog. Apologies for the length.
HAVE A MARY CHRISTMAS
I wish for you to have a Mary Christmas. No, that is not a typo. Mary � as in the mother of Jesus. Joseph�s wife. That Mary.
Mary is one of the central characters in the true Christmas story of the birth of Jesus. Over the centuries she has been lifted up, worshiped, discarded, speculated about, and archtyped. (to coin a word)
I have always seen Mary as the quiet presence, the one who held it together, the one who did what she had to do because someone had to do it and she was that someone. I always thought Mary had great faith. When the shepherds came to them to see the baby Jesus and told her and Joseph about what they had seen and been told, the Bible says about Mary�s reaction, �But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.� (Luke 2:19) I have always identified with Mary, because she reminds me of myself.
The Bible gives us few clues as to the person she was. She was young. How young? I have heard as young as 13. The Bible does not say, but I have always placed her age in my own mind at around 17 or 18. Joseph was most likely older � possibly in his late 20�s. She was, we hope, a woman in love. She was engaged to Joseph and our best guesses are that it was not an arranged marriage, so she must have loved him and sweetly and happily anticipated marriage to him.
She was a Jew, and based on the little the Bible says we can guess she was devout in her faith. She lived in a small town, which means everyone knew everyone else. Their business, what they had for dinner, who argued with who, who was sick, who were the trouble makers, who to go to for help, who everyone�s fathers and grandfathers and great-grandfathers were. Despite the Roman occupation and the fact that Galilee in general was despised by the Jews to the South, I have always pictured Mary�s life as one of peaceful, small town-ish, quietness. She may have been pleased to be marrying Joseph, who was a hard worker and we hope his business was a good one. She may have looked forward to raising children in that town, that area, and living a long time with Joseph there.
And one day, that changed. We don�t know what Mary was doing when the angel spoke to her. We know she listened. We know she obeyed. I can�t imagine how hard the pregnancy was for her. Pregnant! Before marriage! No matter what she said or what Joseph said � no one was going to believe she was still a virgin with a baby growing inside her. In a small town like that it must have set tongues wagging and heads shaking. And then Joseph did not have her stoned. Or even divorce her quietly. They went right on with the wedding plans while she slowly got bigger and bigger. Scandal! Shock! The pressure on her must have been enormous. Joseph could be excused from blame, and he could find another. But Mary would have that baby the rest of her life and would have a hard time getting another man to accept her.
And what was Mary�s reaction to this? What was her response when the angel told her she would be pregnant � would hold God�s very own son inside herself? She must have known what the repercussions of that declaration would be. Angel or no � it was a hard thing to accept. To go out on a limb like that, to face the scandal and gossip and shame. To face family pressures and possibly the loss of friends. I can picture Mary, sitting in the light, absorbing the words of the angel, thinking, contemplating. The repercussions clicking one by one in her head. And what was her response?
�I am the Lord�s servant�, Mary said. �May it be to me as you have said�. (Luke 1:38)
And that is why I wish you a Mary Christmas. We should all be so open, so willing, and so obedient to what God tells us or asks us. Despite the odds and opposition and our own failings and shortcomings --- we should all have that same response to God.
I remember Mary for her ministry as chosen mother of the Lord Jesus Christ. She was young and maybe have elaborate dreams for her wedding, but in obedience she readily accepted something that she never heard of before, great faith. Joseph almost divorced her if not for the intervention of an angel. She is great role model of faith, obedience, humility and maybe that is why a lot are named Mary.
But to pray to her I believe is wrong. Jesus did not teach us to pray to his mother when we think he is busy. Father God and Jesus can hear our prayers anytime in any language.
Our prayers are to be communicated to God alone, not Mary or Peter or Paul or anyone else who is now in Heaven with God, asking them to intercede for us, because no one but our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, God's Son, CAN intercede for us ... the idea and teaching that anyone else, even Jesus' earthly mother, can receive our prayers and intercede and present them to God is not Scriptural and therefore an idea in error and a teaching that is false and each needs to be recognized as such and corrected ... plain and simple ... no "ifs, ands or buts"!!! No arguments!!!
Mercymay�Barefoot�if I were to ask you to �pray for me�, would you say �No�I cannot intercede on your behalf�only Jesus can!�; I don�t think that you two would say that.
Scripture speaks to praying for others. It also speaks to the fact that the Prayers of a Righteous Man are very powerful.
If you agree that there is nothing UnChristian about asking a member of The Body of Christ to pray for you, why would you get upset about asking Mary to pray for us? Do you think that now that she is in Heaven that she has forgotten about us? That she is too busy doing whatever they do in Heaven to not have time for us? Or maybe you feel that she is no longer a member of The Body of Christ and therefore no longer a Christian and therefore she cannot pray for us?
�The prayers of a Righteous Person�� How more righteous do you think the Mother of God is? When Jesus was not ready to show Himself (at the wedding at Cana), His words were �Woman (not mother but Woman)
�Woman, why do you involve me?�. �My hour has not yet come.�
Yet Mary interceded for those at the wedding and knowing what Jesus had asked�she continued and told the servants
�Do whatever he tells you.�
So, again�when I ask you to �Pray for me��to whom do you pray to? I would think to Jesus? I would think that you pray to God to help me? While I am certain that God hears your prayers, what better Advocate to have than The Mother of JESUS?
I can understand why you rebel against this. For over hundreds of years Christians have been Protesting Catholicism and its Doctrines. I get it�and to begin to believe differently than what your parents or family have trained you to believe, is to question your very Reality, but�nowhere in Church History has there been any kind of Outcry against Mary and against Praying to Any member of The Body of Christ (whether here on earth or in Heaven)...until just recently!
Sorry�I just had to say all that�about all that...because of all that.
"nowhere in Church History has there been any kind of Outcry against Mary and against Praying to Any member of The Body of Christ (whether here on earth or in Heaven)...until just recently"
Not sure where you are getting that? I've heard it since I was a little girl from various sources (people, churches, etc.). I guess that would be recently, but still I think that is a pretty blanket statement to make.
Anyone can be an intermediary for us to God. But only God answers prayers. From what I have heard and understand, it is the idea that MARY answers the prayers that people object to the most --- not that she can be an intermediary.
Yes Steve, I am also sorry you had to say it. And yes the "scripture police" have been watching and have chosen to remain silent even after your first post. But you just had to push the envelope and cross the line into heresy land!
*You referred to Mary as our "Advocate" = 'one who speaks on our behalf'. I am not even going to address the absurdity of this statment unless someone requests it. As I am sure you are all ready aware of this is found no where in scripture.and is a invention of the catholic church.
* Your supposition that we may pray to Mary is flawed. You first have to assume that for her to hear everyones prayers and present them to God she would need to be ominpresent.....oops!....you just made her God.
Here is the TRUTH:
The zealous over exultantion of Mary is to blaspheme the mother of Jesus .....even Mary would agree.
@BareFootGuyToLove - absolutely! as you have said... no "ifs, ands or buts"!!! No arguments!!!
@Archimedes - if you were to asks me to �pray for you� �yes I will say yes I will interceded for you. As you know I am still alive and can hear what sins, difficulty, or triumphs you need me to pray for you and I believe some Christians here in the forum are already praying in your behalf. I see prayer as the greatest gift we can receive from one another. It is love in action for we cannot hate a person and pray for him. And if he happens to be a righteous man his prayer is powerful and effective. Imagine if there are a hundred living righteous men and women praying in our behalf...that is awesome!
James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
