Every Tuesday I will be having the privilege of attending our local Bible institute. Our pastor's wife is teaching a class called 'Christian Womanhood'. This past Tuesday she taught on Mary, the mother of Jesus and I would like to share my notes with you.
We read out of Proverbs 31:10-11 and Luke 1:27-35, 38, 42.
1. Purity brings spiritual success.
-But, keep in mind, God still uses the Rahabs of this world.
-We all have room to grow.
-Mary was the most spiritually successful of all of the women in the world and that is why God chose her to be the mother of His son. She was not only physically pure, but in order to achieve physical purity, you must also be mentally pure and spiritually pure. I think that is the level of purity that Mary was at when God chose her to be the mother of his only begotten Son.
2. Humility brings success.
-Humbleness is very lady-like.
-It takes humility and strength to be honest. Mary had to be honest with Joseph. He, at first, didn't know that Mary was going to give birth to the Son of God. Could you eve imagine what he thought when he heard that his fiance was with child??? She had to go and tell him that she was with child. Then she must have preceded to explain that it was a miracle of God and that she would give birth to the Messiah who would come to save all of humanity. It was probably a little hard to believe, don't you think?
-What could the neighbors have thought. Mary was a godly, virgin woman who was espoused to the carpenter, Joseph, and then all of a sudden she begins to show and everyone in the village knows that she is 'with child'. I am sure that the first thing that came to mind was not that it was a miracle of God. I am pretty sure of what they thought of her now. She had to wake up every morning to the scorn of her village.
-Spiritual success does not always bring a good reputation in the world. The world back then was not the same as it is right now. It was not as if a teen girl became with child every day. It was most likely practically unheard of.
-Humility was needed when she was giving birth to the Son of God in the barn. I am sure that this was not what she had dreamed of her whole life. She probably had the same ideas in her head that we all have in ours today. White picket fence and tree swing setting, most likely. But, she had to give birth in a barn with all of the animals. We are so blessed by modern technology. Woman today get to give birth to their children in nicely decorated, sterilized, private hospital rooms. Mary did not have that kind of luxury.
3. Faith brings spiritual success.
-Mary had to have had faith in God that the pregnancy would go well and that she would be worthy of carrying Jesus.
-I know that when the angel came to Mary and told her that she would bare a child, she doubted, because in the Bible it says in Luke 1:28-29 "And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be." But, she didn't go and fret to others about this.
- Venting is not for others, it's for God, just be positive. Think of a letter. If the letter inside is written to God, why would you address the letter to someone else? Your problems just need to be given to God. Don't burden down other people with your problems, just pray to him.
4. Sacrifice brings spiritual success.
-Sharing is part of God's plan. Mary had to share her Jesus with the world. You mom's out there, when you first had your baby you didn't want ANYONE holding your precious child. But, Mary had to let everyone be a part of her child's life.
-We, like Mary, are on a mission in life. Mary's mission was to care for Jesus. Our mission is to tell others what he did for us. How he died on the cross and rose again to pay for our sins.
-We must be humble.
-Mundane must be done. Those simple, boring, everyday chores must be done no matter how tedious they truly are. The Bible says in Philippines 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice." That means to rejoice even in laundry. Just remember that God is good, all the time!
-We must have faith in God.
-Do what God wants and he will bless you beyond belief. When Mary first had Jesus, I am sure that she thought that, after this, they would return to their home and just live a normal life. But, she didn't have a chance to return home, immediately following her child's birth, she and her family had to flee to Egypt because of King Herod. I don't think that she wanted to, but she had to.
-Only through sacrifice will spiritual success, or any success, come. After they got to Nazareth I am sure that Mary tried to live a normal life. Although I am pretty sure that she was most likely quite shaken up when the multitude of wise men appearing on her doorstep. Just think of all of the welcoming customs I am sure Mary had to preform for them. The Jewish customs back then were that when a visitor came to your house, you had to wash their feet, make them a meal and give them drink, and make up a bed for them for the night.
I don't believe that there were only three wise men that came. If they came bearing gold, frankincense, and myrrh, they were probably very wealthy. Back then if a group of bandits saw three extremely wealthy gentlemen traveling through the desert alone, they would have been an easy pick of the day. I think that there was a multitude of wise men all going together with their servants and camels and gifts and households all traveling TOGETHER. Oh, my, goodness!
-Eternity is the only thing that counts in life. Just remember to keep in mind that nothing matters of the cares of this world. The only thing that matters is eternity. Share Jesus with the world, and God will bless you more than you can imagine. This is called 'Evangelizing'.
God commands us in the Bible to go tell the world about Him.
In Matthew 28:19-20 says "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. A-men."
Also, it says in Acts 1:8 "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
So, what are you waiting for? Share him with someone every day. Mary did.
We read out of Proverbs 31:10-11 and Luke 1:27-35, 38, 42.
1. Purity brings spiritual success.
-But, keep in mind, God still uses the Rahabs of this world.
-We all have room to grow.
-Mary was the most spiritually successful of all of the women in the world and that is why God chose her to be the mother of His son. She was not only physically pure, but in order to achieve physical purity, you must also be mentally pure and spiritually pure. I think that is the level of purity that Mary was at when God chose her to be the mother of his only begotten Son.
2. Humility brings success.
-Humbleness is very lady-like.
-It takes humility and strength to be honest. Mary had to be honest with Joseph. He, at first, didn't know that Mary was going to give birth to the Son of God. Could you eve imagine what he thought when he heard that his fiance was with child??? She had to go and tell him that she was with child. Then she must have preceded to explain that it was a miracle of God and that she would give birth to the Messiah who would come to save all of humanity. It was probably a little hard to believe, don't you think?
-What could the neighbors have thought. Mary was a godly, virgin woman who was espoused to the carpenter, Joseph, and then all of a sudden she begins to show and everyone in the village knows that she is 'with child'. I am sure that the first thing that came to mind was not that it was a miracle of God. I am pretty sure of what they thought of her now. She had to wake up every morning to the scorn of her village.
-Spiritual success does not always bring a good reputation in the world. The world back then was not the same as it is right now. It was not as if a teen girl became with child every day. It was most likely practically unheard of.
-Humility was needed when she was giving birth to the Son of God in the barn. I am sure that this was not what she had dreamed of her whole life. She probably had the same ideas in her head that we all have in ours today. White picket fence and tree swing setting, most likely. But, she had to give birth in a barn with all of the animals. We are so blessed by modern technology. Woman today get to give birth to their children in nicely decorated, sterilized, private hospital rooms. Mary did not have that kind of luxury.
3. Faith brings spiritual success.
-Mary had to have had faith in God that the pregnancy would go well and that she would be worthy of carrying Jesus.
-I know that when the angel came to Mary and told her that she would bare a child, she doubted, because in the Bible it says in Luke 1:28-29 "And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be." But, she didn't go and fret to others about this.
- Venting is not for others, it's for God, just be positive. Think of a letter. If the letter inside is written to God, why would you address the letter to someone else? Your problems just need to be given to God. Don't burden down other people with your problems, just pray to him.
4. Sacrifice brings spiritual success.
-Sharing is part of God's plan. Mary had to share her Jesus with the world. You mom's out there, when you first had your baby you didn't want ANYONE holding your precious child. But, Mary had to let everyone be a part of her child's life.
-We, like Mary, are on a mission in life. Mary's mission was to care for Jesus. Our mission is to tell others what he did for us. How he died on the cross and rose again to pay for our sins.
-We must be humble.
-Mundane must be done. Those simple, boring, everyday chores must be done no matter how tedious they truly are. The Bible says in Philippines 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice." That means to rejoice even in laundry. Just remember that God is good, all the time!
-We must have faith in God.
-Do what God wants and he will bless you beyond belief. When Mary first had Jesus, I am sure that she thought that, after this, they would return to their home and just live a normal life. But, she didn't have a chance to return home, immediately following her child's birth, she and her family had to flee to Egypt because of King Herod. I don't think that she wanted to, but she had to.
-Only through sacrifice will spiritual success, or any success, come. After they got to Nazareth I am sure that Mary tried to live a normal life. Although I am pretty sure that she was most likely quite shaken up when the multitude of wise men appearing on her doorstep. Just think of all of the welcoming customs I am sure Mary had to preform for them. The Jewish customs back then were that when a visitor came to your house, you had to wash their feet, make them a meal and give them drink, and make up a bed for them for the night.
I don't believe that there were only three wise men that came. If they came bearing gold, frankincense, and myrrh, they were probably very wealthy. Back then if a group of bandits saw three extremely wealthy gentlemen traveling through the desert alone, they would have been an easy pick of the day. I think that there was a multitude of wise men all going together with their servants and camels and gifts and households all traveling TOGETHER. Oh, my, goodness!
-Eternity is the only thing that counts in life. Just remember to keep in mind that nothing matters of the cares of this world. The only thing that matters is eternity. Share Jesus with the world, and God will bless you more than you can imagine. This is called 'Evangelizing'.
God commands us in the Bible to go tell the world about Him.
In Matthew 28:19-20 says "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. A-men."
Also, it says in Acts 1:8 "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
So, what are you waiting for? Share him with someone every day. Mary did.
Take the Quiz here!
Wow, Jess, this was so wonderfully written and inspiring. Thank you ever so much for the encouragement. This is so profound "Spiritual success does not always bring a good reputation in the world.". Truly.
Love you!