08-13-2009, 04:58 PM
:heartbeat:Hello folks! Our bible verse today is from Luke 1:33 -
Jesus' Birth Foretold
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,
27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
28 And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."
29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.
30 The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.
31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
32 "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."
34 Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"
35 The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
36 "And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.
37 "For nothing will be impossible with God."
38 And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
I can't help but wonder - what would I do if confronted by an angel with news of this sort? I only hope I would be as willing and able as Mary was to carry out her part of God's divine plan - what an unequaled honor! I wonder if the truth of the situation struck her immediately or sunk in slowly - did she know the prophecies about the Messisah?
2 Samuel 7:13, 16
"He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
"Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever."'"
Psalm 89:36, 37
"His descendants shall endure forever
And his throne as the sun before Me.
"It shall be established forever like the moon,
And the witness in the sky is faithful." Selah.
Daniel 2:44
The Divine Kingdom
"In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.
Daniel 7:14
"And to Him was given dominion,
Glory and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations and men of every language
Might serve Him
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.
Daniel 7:18
'But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come.'
Daniel 7:27
'Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.'
Oh yes, I think she did know -
Luke 1:46 And Mary said:
"My soul exalts the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 "For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
49 "For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
50 "AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION
TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM.
51 "He has done mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
52 "He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has exalted those who were humble.
53 "HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS;
And sent away the rich empty-handed.
54 "He has given help to Israel His servant,
In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and his descendants forever."
Mary did her part in God's plan "just so" and gave birth to God's own Son and chosen Messiah. Jesus was born to be the King of his true Father's Kingdom in the coming age; who had a spectacular future ahead of him - and who lived and died and rose again to give all who believe in him a spectacular future as well! May all our souls "exalt the LORD"!
:heartbeat:Much, much love from
Your sister in faith,
Willa:heartbeat:
Jesus' Birth Foretold
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,
27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
28 And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."
29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.
30 The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.
31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
32 "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."
34 Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"
35 The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
36 "And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.
37 "For nothing will be impossible with God."
38 And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
I can't help but wonder - what would I do if confronted by an angel with news of this sort? I only hope I would be as willing and able as Mary was to carry out her part of God's divine plan - what an unequaled honor! I wonder if the truth of the situation struck her immediately or sunk in slowly - did she know the prophecies about the Messisah?
2 Samuel 7:13, 16
"He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
"Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever."'"
Psalm 89:36, 37
"His descendants shall endure forever
And his throne as the sun before Me.
"It shall be established forever like the moon,
And the witness in the sky is faithful." Selah.
Daniel 2:44
The Divine Kingdom
"In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.
Daniel 7:14
"And to Him was given dominion,
Glory and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations and men of every language
Might serve Him
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.
Daniel 7:18
'But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come.'
Daniel 7:27
'Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.'
Oh yes, I think she did know -
Luke 1:46 And Mary said:
"My soul exalts the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 "For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
49 "For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
50 "AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION
TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM.
51 "He has done mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
52 "He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has exalted those who were humble.
53 "HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS;
And sent away the rich empty-handed.
54 "He has given help to Israel His servant,
In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and his descendants forever."
Mary did her part in God's plan "just so" and gave birth to God's own Son and chosen Messiah. Jesus was born to be the King of his true Father's Kingdom in the coming age; who had a spectacular future ahead of him - and who lived and died and rose again to give all who believe in him a spectacular future as well! May all our souls "exalt the LORD"!
:heartbeat:Much, much love from
Your sister in faith,
Willa:heartbeat: