#Mary’s #Faith: A #Reflection on #Prayer & Courage

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Luke 1: 26-38  Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by #God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in , the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and 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 father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible." Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Coming upon the Christmas season and the thought of our Lord's birth, we tend to forget the importance of the gift that God gave to Mary and the faith that it took her to receive this gift. To be chosen among all the women in the world to bear the Son of God, what a blessed gift to have given to such a young lady. Mary had to have faith because in her time a woman would be stoned if she was to get pregnant out of marriage and the one she was betrothed to would deny her and sentence her to her immediate death. Through this all, Mary trusted God to help her through the blessing that He had bestowed upon her and she believed that Joseph would somehow be shown that this was meant to be.
As you read, while Mary visited with her cousin Elizabeth, she sang a song unto the Lord, as David would have if he would have been there in her situation.

Luke 1:46-55  And Mary said: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever." 

Here, with these words, Mary was praising and thanking God for the blessing that He had given to her, although she had no idea if Joseph would except the blessing or not. I'm sure she had many thoughts going through her mind but through it all she trusted that God was going to protect her and His Son, as any father would protect their child.

You see Christmas is not about how much we spend or what we get each other at the stores, it's about the blessing God gave to us, JESUS. If it wouldn't have been for Mary's willing heart and her faith we may not have been able to partake of the blessing with her. When we are out there this season make it known that you are proud of this blessing and wish everyone a Merry Christmas! Making sure that you remember what Christmas is all about. Give of yourself this season that is more important than anything you could buy in a store.

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I will start the New Year with more prayers and statements of faith.  For the next couple of weeks we need to focus on the blessings of family and friends.  God bless you all!

Scripture to Read:
Matthew 1, Luke 2, Isaiah 9:6
I've been in the ministry since I was a young girl. Have been an evangelist, speaker, youth pastor, since 1988, and part-time pastor of an online website since 2007. I have done individual counseling for those in need of advice and guidance through the direction of the Holy Spirit of God. I enjoy helping others as much as I can or finding them the help they need. Along with others, we are starting to grow this ministry out into the community through Support and Prayer Groups. We are also working with training via the web, some young people in Africa about the Fullness of God and are helping them spread the word of God. I will also be publishing my first book sometime soon. I will post that to the blog and my ministry website at www.iamhomeministry.org. The podcast link to here the mini-sermons/ teachings is: https://iamhomecoffeetime.buzzsprout.com/ If you have any questions, please email me or sign up on the contact me at the bottom of this page. Peace and Blessings to you and your families! In Christ's Love- Pastor Jean Marie

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