Mary-Mother of Jesus

What can I say about Mary that hasn't already been said?!? Well, for the past couple of months at Florence Blvd. Church of Christ we have been discussing women in the Bible as well and the subject of Mary was one that interested me the most. In the particular Bible lesson that I had, my teacher Ken McKinnon went over three major myths that some have about Mary and the Biblical evidence that tells us that those myths are certainly not true.

Mary Myth #1. Mary is the "Mother of God."
In today's day and age, there are many in this world who believe that Mary is lifted up to a God-like status, and since she gave birth to one of the three parts of the Trinity ,she is therefore the "Mother of God." They believe that since she gave birth to the Son, she acts as an intercessor for us. However, the Bible tells us completely different. In 1 Timothy 2:5-6 is tells us, "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time." Romans 8:34 says,"Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died-more than that, who was raised-who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us." All in all, Mary is not an intercessor for us, Jesus Christ is.

Mary Myth #2. Mary is the "Perpetual Virgin"
Many also believe that Mary was a "perpetual virgin." (virgin for the rest of her life). This too is also a big misconception. In Matthew 13:55-56 it says,"Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? where then did this man get all these things?" Mary did not give birth to only Jesus. Jesus had half brothers and sisters as well. It was not until 533 A.D. that the second Council of Constantinople(part VI) declared that Mary was an "ever-virgin".(perpetual virgin) The Bible most certainly contradicts such beliefs. Mary was able to and did have children with Joseph after she gave birth to Jesus.

Mary Myth #3. Mary lived sinless life.
Finally, many believe that since Mary was "God-like." That she was also a sinless being. However, Mary indeed was not sinless. In Romans 3:23 it says "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." In Galatians 3:22 it says,"But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe." As sinners today we needed Jesus to die on the cross so that we might be saved, and even Mary, Jesus mother needed Jesus in the very same way. The only person who was ever sinless on this world is Jesus Christ himself. In 1 Peter 2:22 it says "He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth." Jesus was perfect, and Mary needed His precious sacrifice just as much as the rest of us. All in all Mary was just as much of a regular person as you and I.

Now that we have busted a couple of myths about Mary, it is important to recognize the tremendous qualities that she possessed. Mary accepted God's role for her in tremendous and humbling ways, In that day and age, the pregnancy of Mary would have been the community scandal. Even though the people around her gossiped about her and scoffed her, she kept the Word of the Lord in her heart and did just as God told her to do. This takes a tremendous amount of faith. Another important aspect of Mary's, was her ability to be humble. Twice in the book of Luke it says that Mary, "kept all these things and pondered them in her heart." or she "kept all these sayings in her heart." (Luke 2:19 and Luke 2:51). Mary intently listened to Jesus and His teachings and learned from what He was saying. This takes a great amount of humility and meekness. Ultimately, Mary was obedient. She did just as God told her to do and was faithful to Jesus until the very end. Mary is definitely a woman to learn lessons from.

LOT'S WIFE

The story of Lot and his disobedient wife is very much an infamous one. Sodom and Gomorrah were two wicked cities. The cities were so wicked that the Lord wished to destroy them. But Abraham reasoned with the Lord and asked him saying, "Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it?" Abraham asked the Lord this because Lot, Abraham's brother, resided in the city of Sodom. The Lord then answered Abraham saying ,"If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes."But the Lord could not find fifty. Abraham then asked the Lord for the same request except only to find forty-five righteous within the city. But the Lord could not find forty-five. This downward cycle continued until Abraham asked the Lord to save the city if only ten righteous were found. But yet again, not even 10 righteous souls were found in the city. Then, two angels of the Lord came to Lot by night and instructed him to take his family out of Sodom.The two angels explained to Lot that they were instructed to destroy the two cities because of the sin that both of the cities had were exceedingly great. Early in the morning Lot took his family and left the city of Sodom. The angels of the Lord instructed Lot "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains lest you be destroyed." Lot did just as the angels instructed him to do and set off away from the two cities. But Lot's wife did not take the word of the Lord seriously. As she was traveling away from the two cities with her family, Lot's wife looked back on the city where she once lived and immediately became a pillar of salt.
How can the story of Lot's wife help us today. Well it's quite simple. Lot's wife could have been saved if only she obeyed what the Lord said. The same goes for us! The Lord tells us we can be saved ."Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."Acts 2:38. But the Lord also says that if we do not obey Him we will also be condemned. "Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Another important lesson we can get from Lot's wife is the lesson of true repentance. Lot's wife had salvation in her midst but turned and looked back at the sinful life that she was once a part of. As Christians we must be different. We must totally leave the sinful life that we had before we were baptized, and live the Christian life that Jesus sets before us. Looking back should never be an option. We must press forward to the ultimate prize, and that of course is HEAVEN.

-Linzee.

HANNAH

Hannah is personally one of my favorite women to study about in the Bible. And each time that I have read her story I learn something that I can apply to my daily walks of life. Hannah was one of the two wives of Elkanah. Unfortunately for Hannah, the Lord shut her womb and she was not able to have children. Depressed by not being able to bear a child, Hannah went to the place of worship in Shiloh and made a vow to the Lord that if He gave her a son, she would in return "give him to the Lord all the days of his life." After she prayed her honest and sincere prayer, Hannah went away and returned to Ramah with her family. The Lord remembered Hannah and her prayer, and gave her a son.Hannah named him Samuel. Soon after, Hannah did just as she told the Lord that she would do. When she returned to the place of worship in Shiloh, she gave her son to the Lord. It was there that Hannah prayed to the Lord one of the most beautiful prayers of thanksgiving and praise. (1 Samuel 2:1-10)So what do we get from Ms. Hannah? Well I think that one of the most important lessons we can get from Hannah is thankfulness. Hannah did not seem to cease to give thanks to God for the blessing of a son. She gave complete credit to where credit was most certainly due. And what can we be thankful for today?!? Well everything of course. Anyone who is reading this has been blessed beyond belief physically. However the greatest gift that we have been blessed with is the spiritual gift of his Son Jesus Christ. The gift of salvation is definately the greatest gift one could ever have. 2 Corinthians 9:15 "Thanks be to God for His incredible gift!" And it truly is incredible. Continue to be thankful, God showers us with blessings.

THE SYRO-PHOENICIAN (CANAANITE) WOMAN

Although we do not know the name of the Syro-Phoenician woman, her faith is what she is most known for. By the time Jesus made his way to the region of Tyre and Sidon, his reputation and miraculous works were well known. However, as my Women's Study Bible states, "few in Tyre and Sidon would cross cultural and religious lines to approach Jesus." The Jews of that day and age did not associate themselves with Gentiles, or Canaanites, and it certainly was not good social etiquite for a woman to approach a group of men as she did. But this particular woman broke all of the religious and social barriers. The Syro-Pheonician(Canaanite) woman met Jesus and his disciples in the street and called out to Jesus to heal her severely demon-possessed daughter. And of course being who she was, the disciples were quick to get rid of her. In my opinion, it seems that the disciples were more concerned about how this woman would effect their reputation rather than the service they could have done for her and her soul. However, Jesus knew the woman's heart and could see her great faith. This woman believed in the name and works of Jesus before seeing any miraculous works. This woman believed in Him and his might before he preached anything. This is the faith that Jesus seeks from us everyday. In Hebrews 11:1 it says "Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." The Syro-Phoenician woman believed before she had ever seen. We as Christians should have the same attitude. Another point that one can get from this is not look past the social barriers of today's day and age and look at the person's soul instead. "Red and yellow, black and white, we are precious in His sight", really does sum up how Jesus views everyone in the world. As Christians, we too should look past how people look or what they do in their spare time, and see the soul that is underneath it all. That is really what matters the most.

THE WOMAN WHO LOST A COIN!

As described by my Women's Study Bible, the woman who lost a coin is "the second of three parables in which Jesus clearly pictured God's loving concern for each individual sinner." Luke 15:8-10 says "Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin,does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together,saying, 'Rejoice with me for I have found the piece which I lost!' Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." How does this parable apply to us today? Well ladies, are there any of us who wouldn't turn our rooms upside to find one of our lost pearl/diamond earrings? Or would we not spend hours in a department store to try and find that perfect little black dress? The same should go for a lost soul. We should be just as diligent when trying to search and save lost souls as we would anything else. Evangelism should be one of our main priorities, because just like the woman was concerned and searched for her lost coin, so should we be concerned and search for our lost brothers and sisters. Matthew 28:19-20 says "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."Amen." What more can I say? Share the gospel, make yourselves disciples, and share the GOOD NEWS. The gospel isn't meant to be condemning but rather uplifting and encouraging. It's the greatest news you will ever share.
-Linzee

ABIGAIL

I have turned over a new leaf with the blog. Since this is a blog about helping girls/women in their daily walk with Christ, I figure it would be beneficial to study the women/girls in the bible who kept God/Christ their number one priority. The lessons that we learn from them are beneficial to even women in today's day and age. Having said that, the first beautiful woman I am going to discuss is Abigail.

Abigail ,unfortunatley, was the wife to the wicked man Nabal. Nabal was said to be, as 1 Samuel 25 describes, a very rich man who "was harsh and evil in his doings." When Nabal was so quick to deny King David's request to dine and relax in Nabal's house, David soon after condemned the house of Nabal to death. Abigail would ultimately be the one to save her household. Forewarned by a servant, Abigail was moved with determination and precision to try to avert the extermination of the entire household. As David and his men were on their way to the house of Nabal, Abigail met and greeted them with humility and warm hospitality. The Bible that I use in study describes this perfectly by saying "She used all her creativity to minimize the damage done by her foolish husband. In going against Nabal's wishes, she acted to save his life." Abigail used her wit and honesty to melt the hard heart of David, and in return save her household. What can we take from this particular part of Abigail's life? In my opinion there are many different lessons we can take from Ms. Abigail. However, the one lesson that sticks out to me the most would have to be the willingness to put others before herself. Even though Nabal was a wicked husband and ultimately sentenced his own family to death, Abigail thought about the safety of her husband before she thought about the safety of herself. It was very dangerous for a woman in that day and age to approach an army of men and ecspecially the king like she did, but it was Abigail's selfless atitude that pricked the heart of David. Abigail teaches us that we need to be selfless in our actions and serve others just as Jesus did in his daily walks of life. Galatians 5:13 says "For you,brethren,have been called to liberty;only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." So how can we be selfless and serve one another? Well, I guess that is really up to you. Volunteer for something. Do something for your boss/mom/friend/etc. without them asking. The options are neverending. Overall do a good deed. These things will not only glorify God, but in the process bring lost souls to Christ. Show others the loving nature of Christ by serving them.

-Linzee