"RESPONSE TO GOD'S CALL"

Good Evening to All!

Before I publish this post, I want to apologize for the picture not showing up on Facebook. As was the problem last night as well, for some reason the post keeps saying it's "saving" yet it doesn't save, nor will it allow me to post pictures. If all holds true like last night, After I publish, THEN I can go back in and add the pictures. I don't have a clue what is going on, but hopefully I will get it remedied before long. Thank you for your patience.

And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. (31) And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. (32) He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

(34) Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? (35) And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

(36) and behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. (37) For with God, nothing shall be impossible. (38) and Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

No, this is not Christmas in May, (although I have been in some discussions with some very wise people who say that according to how the season is described in the Bible that Jesus was actually born in the Spring. (That's another post).

Anyway, personally I think that Jesus' birth should be taught about or discussed year round. That being said, I have a completely different direction I am intending to go.

I want to discuss Mary's reaction to this news. First of all, from what I have read, Mary was approximately 14 years old, so even talking about pregnancy would have been a shock, let alone it coming from an angel of God and who the father was going to be. That would have been hard for an adult woman to handle.

Another thing was the angel. I would have been so terrified that I wouldn't have been able to concentrate on his message. Angels are definitely not "wimpy" beings.

Even with all of this going on, Mary still had the presence of mind to ask the obvious question, "how can this happen, which the angel answered her. He even gave her a way to confirm what he was saying was true, by letting her know that her cousin Elisabeth was pregnant as well, but she had enough faith to take him at his word and not need the confirmation.

Now I ask you, what would your reaction be? Would you handle it as calmly and maturely as Mary? Men, how would you handle the news if it were your fiancee'? Of course it did take an angel having a talk with Joseph to help him to see clearly, but even still, I can't imagine in today's time if that were to happen how we would react.

Unfortunately, I don't think it would be as positive an experience as Mary had. We have had watered-down versions of Christianity for too long. We have had too many people filling us with the wrong ideas such as baptism isn't necessary for salvation, once saved always saved whether you repent or not, as long as you are a good person you'll go to heaven, that God doesn't really talk to us, and on and on. PEOPLE, we need to WAKE UP before it's too late. We need to STUDY God's Word, and KNOW EXACTLY what He expects from us. His Word says, He ONCE winked at ignorance, but no more. In other words ignorance is not an excuse any more. Being ignorant of the truth will not save you.

God's Word tells us that without FAITH we CANNOT please God. I can be completely honest and tell you that there are times when my faith does not measure up. Oh, I say I believe that God will do this or that, but when it comes down to it, I have a contingency plan, just in case. That my friends is not faith. Faith is when we believe God WILL do whatever NEEDS to be done, whether it is what we have in mind or not.

Mary had that faith. She did not question why or when. The only question she asked was "how" and to me that was a legitimate question. If it would have been me, I would have been all over that angel with all kinds of questions, which would show a lack of faith on my part. We have to know that whatever God does is for good.

To me, Mary is the epitome of a woman full of faith. Most women choose their baby's name, but Mary didn't get that choice. God chose it for her, according to the baby's position, which is Savior (which is what Jesus means) In another verse it said He was called Emmanuel which means "God with us". Mary knew her purpose and remained secure in spite of the threat that Joseph might end their engagement. She agreed to be God's servant without knowing everything about her future or her son's future. We don't need to know the details about our future when we trust our lives to God.

I can't help but wonder how many of us today could stand up to the "test" that Mary and Joseph did and handle it with such dignity.

The answers to last night's Bible Challenge "Town and Country" Part 1 are as follows:

1. b) Jacob wrestled with God (Genesis 32:24-30)
2. c) Midian (Exodus 3:1)
3. a) Ramah (1 Samuel 8:4-5)
4. d) Gath (1 Samuel 17:4)
5. b) Ramah (1 Samuel 25:1, 28:3)
6. c) shadowing with wings (Isaiah 18:1)
7. d) Babylon (Daniel 6:16-23)
8. b) Bethlehem (Luke 2:4)
9. b) Nazareth (Luke 4:16-30)
10. b) to Emmaus (Luke 24:13)

I hope you did well and either learned something new or recalled something you knew long ago, but forgot.

Good Night to All and May God Bless,