MARY CHRISTMAS TO YOU! 
The intricate and complex construct of God becoming a human was all about His infinite, eternal abiding love for you (fill in your name) just the way you are. He demonstrated His love for you in that while you were yet a sinner (as we all are), He came and paid the price for all of your sins, past, present, and future, so that He could have you with Him forever because He loves you that much!!!
“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Listen carefully, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will call his name Immanuel God with us.”
(Isaiah 7:14)
Zachariah, the High Priest, had just called BS on Gabriel, the Messenger of God. Gabriel told Him that His prayers had been answered and that his very old and presumed barren wife would become pregnant with John the Baptist.
The unbelieving Zach asked the messenger from God how he could know that he was telling the truth, which made Gabriel so angry that he shut Zachariah’s mouth until after John was born.
Here is the mind-boggling and complete opposite interaction between Mary and God’s personal messenger, the angel Gabriel:
“Now in the sixth month of the pregnancy of Elizabeth, the wife of Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist, (One of the most powerful miracles in the History of the world, as Elizabeth was barren and well advanced in years, think seventies)
The Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee named Nazareth, To a girl never having been married and a virgin engaged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.
Think about all of the meat in this report — first, the miracle of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. Second, God sent Gabriel, the same angelic messenger that had visited Zachariah, the unbeliever, to Mary, the ardent believer. Third, God chose the most humble of all people to parent Himself as a human child. Fourth, God chose the city of Nazareth as the beginning of His earth visit.
Nazareth was a tiny village of fewer than two hundred people. It was a village of farmers and fishermen in the area known as Galilee. Nazareth was very near the coast of Lake Galilee. Galilee was the poorest part of Israel.
In today’s world, there is a wide disparity between the humble area that God chose and the ridiculously ornate megachurches, private jets, and mansions of their leaders.
With all respect for my many Catholic friends, compare the garish gold-plated Vatican, the home of the Pope, to the lowly village of Nazareth Galilee that God personally selected. How many mouths could that gold feed?
“And he came to her and said, Hail, O favored one! The Lord is with you! Blessed are you before all other women!”
“But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled and disturbed and confused at what such a greeting might mean.”
Here comes the comedy, every time I read where a messenger of the Lord says do not be afraid or fear not, I laugh. “Whoops, Mr. Angel, it’s too late. I already soiled my clothing.”
“And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found grace (God’s willingness, ability, and power, that has done those things for us, that we can not or will not do for ourselves. I.e., be saved.) with God.
“And listen! You will become pregnant and give birth to a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His forefather David, And He will reign over the house of Jacob (Everyone who worships the one true God. Meaning God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) throughout the ages, and of His reign, there shall be no end.”
“And Mary said to the angel, How can this be since I have no intimacy with a man as a husband?”
Contrast the vast difference between how Mary responded to this astounding declaration from Gabriel and the unbelieving Zachariah”s response.
Zachariah called BS on Gabriel. Mary asked him how they were going to make it happen. Extreme belief and Extreme unbelief!
Zachariah’s unbelief almost aborted his son John the Baptist. Mary’s belief caused a virgin to become pregnant with God in the flesh.
“Then the angel said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you like a shining cloud, and so the holy Thing which shall be born of you will be called the Son of God.”
“And listen! Your relative, Elizabeth, in her old age, has also conceived a son, and this is now the sixth month with her, who was called barren.”
“FOR WITH GOD NOTHING IS EVER IMPOSSIBLE, AND NO WORD FROM GOD SHALL BE WITHOUT POWER OR IMPOSSIBLE OF FULFILLMENT!”
Those Words are precisely why we must learn and meditate day and night on the great and precious blood-bought promises of Jesus. They are all true regardless of whether we believe them or not. They are alive and powerful! But, they do us no good if we don’t know them, believe them, and practice them.
“Then Mary said, PAY ATTENTION, I AM THE
HANDMAIDEN OF THE LORD, LET IT BE DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO WHAT YOU HAVE SAID.“
Stunning belief!!! That profound statement of absolute belief impregnated Mary and began the greatest act of love the world will ever know.
What if we all responded to the promises of Jesus with the same passionate, unshakeable, fervent belief that Mary did?
Here are a few of the promises of Jesus. Ask yourself if you believe them without a doubt, as did Mary.
(John 14:12-14 or John 3:16 or John 6:28-29 or Mark 11:22-24 or Luke 6:28 or John 15:6 or Isaiah 53:4 or Matthew 8:17-18 or Psalm 103:3 and 12 or Hebrews 8:12 or Hebrews 10:10-12 or Zephaniah 3:17 or Romans 10:9-10.)
Because of Mary’s profound statement of belief, she is one of my heroes of faith. She and Caleb are the role models I try to follow. Both believed God without question and were willing to risk everything, including their lives to serve Him.
Isn’t it amazing that Mary didn’t think to herself or say to Gabriel: “But what will Joseph and the other people in my life think?” But, unfortunately, today, the fear of what other people think, known as correctness, drives most people’s lives, including the decision of whether or not to accept and acknowledge Jesus.
Mary was indeed blessed above all other women; why? Because God knew that she would believe Him, and she did, no matter how outlandish the message He sent her.
Think about what she was asked to believe and act upon. First, the messenger of God came to her and told her that she, a young teenage virgin, would become pregnant because the Holy Spirit would hover over her.
Then He said to her that her ancient barren post-menopausal relative Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy. Then she was charged to believe that the child in her womb was the offspring of and, in fact, was God in the flesh and that He would rule the world forever, and of His reign, there would be no end.
AND SHE DID.
A VERY MARY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL
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Jesus Ain’t Gonna Do Nothin’ because He already did everything. The book explains the program. It is available on Amazon. Barnes and Noble, Walmart online, and wherever books are sold online.
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