"But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."
Luke 2:19
The visit from the angel Gabriel...the visit to Elizabeth ...Elizabeth's Holy Spirit-fueled blessing and proclamation...the Magnificat(Mary's Holy Spirit filled response)...the agonizing journey to Bethlehem (Bethlehem means "house of bread" in Hebrew by the way)... The Birth ...the shepherds, Magi, and untold myriads of those came to worship Yeshua (Jesus) ...Simeon and Anna at the Temple...
From the moment the angel Gabriel appeared to her, the teenaged girl knew that she was a vessel that God had chosen to use to His purposes. She knew that it wasn't about her, and she was willing. She believed Gabriel, trusted God, and as these amazing things happened she treasured them in her heart, the Scriptures say, and pondered them. The image I had this morning regarding Mary's life was like one of those 1,000 piece puzzles that had been dumped out in front of her, only she didn't even have an image of what the end result would look like. One by one the pieces fell into place, as their lives moved forward and Jesus matured, His ministry here on Earth, one astounding event after another, right up to the Cross. Finally, there it was , all the pieces complete, when her son gasped "IT IS FINISHED", the portrait puzzle of God's work before her. I'm sure that Mary never stopped treasuring & pondering, just like we ponder and treasure all God has done and is doing, even though right now we only see and understand a very small part.
My prayer is that our thoughts and mindset would be like Mary's, not just during the Christmas season, but everyday.
Today
Luke 2:19
The visit from the angel Gabriel...the visit to Elizabeth ...Elizabeth's Holy Spirit-fueled blessing and proclamation...the Magnificat(Mary's Holy Spirit filled response)...the agonizing journey to Bethlehem (Bethlehem means "house of bread" in Hebrew by the way)... The Birth ...the shepherds, Magi, and untold myriads of those came to worship Yeshua (Jesus) ...Simeon and Anna at the Temple...
From the moment the angel Gabriel appeared to her, the teenaged girl knew that she was a vessel that God had chosen to use to His purposes. She knew that it wasn't about her, and she was willing. She believed Gabriel, trusted God, and as these amazing things happened she treasured them in her heart, the Scriptures say, and pondered them. The image I had this morning regarding Mary's life was like one of those 1,000 piece puzzles that had been dumped out in front of her, only she didn't even have an image of what the end result would look like. One by one the pieces fell into place, as their lives moved forward and Jesus matured, His ministry here on Earth, one astounding event after another, right up to the Cross. Finally, there it was , all the pieces complete, when her son gasped "IT IS FINISHED", the portrait puzzle of God's work before her. I'm sure that Mary never stopped treasuring & pondering, just like we ponder and treasure all God has done and is doing, even though right now we only see and understand a very small part.
My prayer is that our thoughts and mindset would be like Mary's, not just during the Christmas season, but everyday.
Today
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