Tag Archives: Mary

Marching into Mark Chapter Fifteen

Marching into Mark Registry,
the collection of these studies
(First 100 days of 2023, day 89, March 30 )

On Facebook, you can join us at Itty Bitty Bible Study Group.

It doesn’t matter which version you choose. It can be digital or paper. You can use one of those fancy coloring bibles and do a page or coloring along with the passage.

I will mostly do Holman Christian Standard Bible because of their copyright freedoms.

The Images that I use are from Knowing Jesus and are available as downloads in every format that I can imagine for screen savers and wallpapers.

Mark 15 ( Cross Referenced with Matthew 27, Luke 23 and John 18 & 19)
- Mk 15:1- 15 Before Pilate and the crowd
- Mk 1:As soon as it was morning, the chief priests had a meeting with the elders, scribes, and the whole Sanhedrin. After tying Jesus up, they led Him away and handed Him over to Pilate.
- Lent Day 31 – Court Affairs
- Pilate – ARE YOU THE KING OF THE JEWS?
- Jesus – You have said it.
- Accusations
- Mk 15⁵But Jesus still did not answer anything, so Pilate was amazed.
- For Passover, Pilate releases one prisoner
- Mk15⁹So Pilate answered them, “Do you want me to release the King of the Jews for you?”
- Pilate knew it was a trumped up charge
- Mk 15¹¹But the chief priests stirred up the crowd so that he would release Barabbas to them instead.
- Mk 15¹²Pilate asked them again, “Then what do you want me to do with the One you call the King of the Jews?”
- Mk 15¹³Again they shouted, “Crucify Him!”
- Pilate – WHY?
- Mk 15:14 But they shouted, “Crucify Him!” all the more.
- Mk 15¹⁵Then, willing to gratify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. And after having Jesus flogged,^[b] he handed Him over to be crucified.
- Crowd bowed to Chief Priests, Pilate bowed to crowd, all for false accusations.
- Mk 15:16-20 The Soldiers
- Lent Day 30 – Mocked and Beaten
- Mk 15¹⁶Then the soldiers led Him away into the courtyard (that is, headquarters) and called the whole company together.
- They dressed him up, crafted a crown of thorns, hit him, mocked him.
- Mk 15²⁰When they had mocked Him, they stripped Him of the purple robe, put His clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.
- Mk 15:21- 32 Crucifixion
- Mk 15²¹They forced a man coming in from the country, who was passing by, to carry Jesus’ cross. He was Simon, a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus.
- Watch the Lamb – Ray Boltz
- Golgotha
- Mk 15²⁴Then they crucified Him and divided His clothes, casting lots for them to decide what each would get.
- NINE am
- The King of the Jews
- 2nd Sunday of Lent – Today in Paradise
- Crucified Between Two Criminals
- Mocked
- Mk 15³²Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe.” Even those who were crucified with Him were taunting Him.
- Mk 15:33-39 Jesus’ Death
- NOON to THREE
- Mk 15³³When it was noon,^[h] darkness came over the whole land^[i] until three in the afternoon.^[j]
- THREE
- Mk 15³⁴And at three^[k] Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lemá^[l] sabachtháni?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”^[m]
- 3rd Sunday of Lent – Father why hast thou forsaken me
- 1st Sunday of Lent – Father Forgive Them
- 4th Sunday of Lent – I thirst
- Mk 15³⁷But Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed His last.
- Temple Veil torn from the TOP to the bottom
- Mk 15³⁹When the centurion, who was standing opposite Him, saw the way He^[o] breathed His last, he said, “This man really was God’s Son!”^[p]
- Lent Day 8 – Believe
- Mk 15:40-41 The Women
- Mk 15⁴⁰There were also women looking on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. ⁴¹When He was in Galilee, they would follow Him and help Him. Many other women had come up with Him to Jerusalem.
- Mary that Annoints – Lent day 3
- Mary the Mother of Jesus – Advent Day 19
- Mk 15:42-47 The Burial
- Evening of the Preparation Day – Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the Body
- Wrapped him in fine linen and put him in a cut rock grave.
- He rolled the rock over it
- Mk 15⁴⁷Now Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were watching where He was placed.
- Lent Day 39 – Good Friday
- Lent Day 40 Holy Saturday

More discussion about these stories in Mindfully Meditating on Matthew Chapter 27

A good place to see the four gospels compared is from Synoptic Gospel Parallels.

Mindful Meditating

choose a verse,
set a timer for 5 minutes, or whatever works for you.
example: Mark 15:39
repeat to yourself, and at each word, enunciate the next word in the sentence starting with the first word…

example:

Mk 15³⁹When the centurion, who was standing opposite Him, saw the way He^[o] breathed His last, he said, “This man really was God’s Son!”^[p]
THIS man really was God’s Son!
This MAN really was God’s Son!
This man REALLY was God’s Son!
This man really WAS God’s Son!

and so on. This will cause you to look at the verse more intently, and may have you memorize it before your five minutes are done.

Songs for Meditation

Then Came the Morning – Sandi Patty and Larnelle Harris

Broken and Spilled out – Steve Green

This is the Kingdom – Elevation Worship

We Declare that the Kingdom of God is Here – Ron Kenoly

Coloring – I use coloring to help me focus on the fullness of a verse.

Mark Coloring page – Ministry to Children – simple enough to finish in an hour or less

Jesus on the Cross by Super Coloring

Jesus on the Cross Coloring pages by ColoringHome

Quick Questions – if you have time, or to think about over the course of the day, and jot down thoughts later. Some thoughts to dig deeper.

Who was Pontius Pilate?
1. Crosswalk goes into all of the history of this man, at this time in Christ’s life.
What was crucifixion like? Where did it come from?
1. GotQuestions goes into the details of this horrific death.
What of the Women of the Cross – who were they?
1. Cross Walk discusses the women, Faithful to the end.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi!
My hope in the midst of despair and my joy in the face of depression is because of my relationship with Jesus Christ. If you do not have one, or are not sure you will join him in heaven, please check out these links:

Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

M. Christine Wildman

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Copyrights and Legal-eze
There are many organizations that support children and families. Here are ones that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

Naomi’s Heart Ministries
Obed’s House Ministries
The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.

Mindfully Meditating on Matthew Chapter 28 or MMM28

Mindfully Meditating on Matthew Chapter Twenty-eight

Mindfully Meditating on Matthew Catalogue , the collection of these studies
(First 100 days of 2023, day 57, Feb 26)

Passage Matthew Chapter Twenty-Eight

It doesn’t matter which version you choose. It can be digital or paper. You can use one of those fancy coloring bibles and do a page or coloring along with the passage.

I will mostly do Holman Christian Standard Bible because of their copyright freedoms.

Matthew 28 He is risen
- Mt 28:1- 10 Mary and Mary head to the tomb
  - After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
  - Earthquake – Angel rolled back the stone
    - ²There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.
    - ³His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.
    - ⁴The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
  - Angel Meeting
    - ⁵The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
    - ⁶He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
    - ⁷Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
  - Jesus Meeting and Mission
    - ⁹Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
- Mt 28:11- 15 Guards told to and paid to lie
  - ¹²When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, ¹³telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’
- Mt 28:16- 17 Another Jesus Meeting
  - ¹⁷When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.
- Mt 28:18- 20 All Authority – The Great Commission
  - ¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
  - ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
  - ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Mindful Meditating

choose a verse,
set a timer for 5 minutes, or whatever works for you.
example: Matthew 28:6
repeat to yourself, and at each word, enunciate the next word in the sentence starting with the first word…

example:

⁶He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
HE is not here; HE has risen, just as HE said.
He IS NOT here; He has risen, just as He said.
He is not HERE; He has risen, just as He said.
He is not here, HE HAS risen, just as He said.

and so on. This will cause you to look at the verse more intently, and may have you memorize it before your five minutes are done.

Songs for Meditation

He’s Alive – Dolly Parton

Was it a Morning like This? – Sandi Patty

Coloring

Matthew the Book coloring page by Ministry to Children

Jesus is Risen – ColoringHome

Quick Questions – if you have time, or to think about over the course of the day, and jot down thoughts later.

What do you think about the guards going to the high priests?
1. The chief priests devised a story to hide the facts.
  1. ²When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money,
2. If they were known to sleep on their watch, they could be killed.
  1. ¹⁴If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”
Have you given your life to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords that rose from the dead?
1. several tools are below to help you if you have not.
2. Call out to Jesus
3. Repent of your sins
4. As for forgiveness
5. and rejoice that you have been given new life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

M. Christine Wildman

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Naomi’s Heart Ministries
Obed’s House Ministries
The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.

Mindfully Meditating on Matthew Chapter Two – MMM2

Mindfully Meditating in Matthew, the collection of these studies
(First 100 days of 2023 day 32, Feb 2)

Passage Matthew chapter Two

It doesn’t matter which version you choose. It can be digital or paper. You can use one of those fancy coloring bibles and do a page or coloring along with the passage.

I will mostly do Homan Christian Standard Bible because of their copyright freedoms.

Matthew Two–
- 2:1
  - After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived unexpectedly in Jerusalem,
- 2:6 Prophecy
  - And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the leaders of Judah:
    because out of you will come a leader
    who will shepherd My people Israel.”^[c]
- 2:9 The star was back
  - ⁹After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was—the star they had seen in the east!^[e] It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was.
- 2:13 Angelic Warning
  - ¹³After they were gone, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to destroy Him.”
- 2:16-18 murders
- 2:19-23 Joseph listens to Angels

Image by Scottish Guy from Pixabay

Mindful Meditating

choose a verse,
set a timer for 5 minutes, or whatever works for you.
example: Matt 1:18a
repeat to yourself, and at each word, enunciate the next word in the sentence starting with the first word…

example:

¹⁸This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about
THIS is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about
This IS how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about
This is HOW the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about.

…and so on. This will cause you to look at the verse more intently, and may have you memorize it before your five minutes are done.

Matthew 2:9 Coloring Page

Quick Questions – if you have time, or to think about over the course of the day, and jot down thoughts later.

How many wise men?
1. CrossWalk about the Three Wise Men
What was King Herod meaning when he said “so that I too can go and worship Him”?
1. this is up to you
why did Herod try to kill Jesus?
1. Billy Graham’s ministry has an idea.
how old was Jesus when the Magi came?
1. Never Thirsty explains the various items in this scenario.
How many prophecies did the birth of Jesus fulfill?
1. Answers in Genesis has some thoughts about that.

~~~~~~~

Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

M. Christine Wildman

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Naomi’s Heart Ministries
Obed’s House Ministries
The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.

Advent day 19 – Mary

Advent day 19
If using an Advent Log – light candles 1-19.

Mary

Holy Family

By all accounts, a young girl, Mary was chosen to marry a man, named Joseph.

But even before her was Elizabeth and Zacharias.
They had been waiting for a child.
Zacharias received a very special message during his service to the Lord in Luke 1:5 and following. This child was going to announce the coming of the Messiah!

What did the Angel say?
Luke 1:28

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.

Thou that art highly favoured – favor and grace
The Lord is with thee: – with – as in WITH? an unheard of position.
blessed art thou among women. – above Rachel and Leah by whom Jews had been blessing their daughters for centuries!
She is one that Loves her God!
She’s told she will have a child…with no male intervention. This means that she will be seen as a harlot. This is punishable by death.

Maybe this is why it’s angel GABRIEL! that came to speak to her! But, her response is a beautiful statement of complete yeildedness to God’s plan, no matter what.

Luke 1:38

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

The Angel sends her on her way to Elizabeth’s – the babe in Elizabeth’s womb jumps for joy, and Mary sings what has gone down in history as her Magnificat.

Luke 1:46-55

She raises the Son of God – her story continues to the day he dies. She was a person, just like me, that said yes to God.

The key to me in this is am I willing to be embarassed at least, persecuted to death at the most for something that God has told me I should do. Now, Mary did get some evidence pretty soon that she was going to have a baby – but she also knew that she hadn’t been with a man. I, on the other hand, just have the strange visions, notions, or thoughts that God might want me to do things…and I often beg out because I am embarrassed. Mary’s reputation was on the line, and it was even brought up to Jesus years later. And she said yes!

A Baby Changes Everything! Sung by Faith Hill

I have often thought about Mary, seeing as how my first name is Mary. yes, named after THE Mary, as well as a woman from the church in which I grew up.
Mary was devoted.
To God! As she understood him.
She was willing to put her life on the line for something so very strange, so unbelievable that her life was in jeopardy.
So often I get a leading…a simple leading like “take more medicine in case you are there longer” and I dont listen. Odd – in that case, I ended up there an extra day, no medicine, and I paid with several says of fibro flare.
This did not put me in the position to be stoned! not even imprisoned! or whipped! And, it was a situation that I could have changed.
Mary – she just said YES – even though she did ask HOW – but she didn’t say NO…

I was raised Episcopalian, so there is a strange relationship between me and the Prostestant and Catholic views of Mary.
On Faith has a wonderful essay on the 10 Things Christians should know about Mary.

I love this song, I’ve never heard it before. Be Born in Me sung by Francesca Battistelli

Breath of Heaven(Mary’s Song) sung by Amy Grant. This is an insight into what may have gone through Mary’s mind!

While I desire to be like Jesus – He is PERFECT – because he is God/man.
Looking at what we know about Mary – I want to be like my namesake! How about you?

Mary did you know Lyrics

More Advent Devotions

Advent Day 20 – Joseph

Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Naomi’s Heart Ministries
Obed’s House Ministries
The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.

HE IS RISEN – a Resurrection Message from me

I’m not sure how this will work, but I want to try to share a message with you that the Lord gave me this morning as I was preparing for a sunrise Bible study on my porch.

https://www.facebook.com/mary.wildman.733/videos/2044181839136970/

For worship, music, and prayers – Please go to my Easter post – and rejoice with me!

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Naomi’s Heart Ministries
Obed’s House Ministries
Project Based Missions, Global
The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.
Compassion

2018 Lent day 3 – 2/24/2023

Lent Week One

We have a facebook group set up to follow and discuss – 40 days of Lent!

Lent Day 3 – What can I give?

What Can I give Him? a sweet version!
Broken and Poured out – Steve Green

Scripture
The Story of “Mary” needs to be seen from all four gospels in my opinion.

From freebibleimages
John

John 12:1-8 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
The Anointing at Bethany
12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was, the one Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for Him there; Martha was serving them, and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. 3 Then Mary took a pound of fragrant oil—pure and expensive nard—anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped His feet with her hair. So the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
(snip)
7 Jesus answered, “Leave her alone; she has kept it for the day of My burial. 8 For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”

Mark

Mark 14:8-9 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
8 She has done what she could; she has anointed My body in advance for burial. 9 I assure you: Wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Luke

Luke 7:36-50 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Much Forgiveness, Much Love
36 Then one of the Pharisees invited Him to eat with him. He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.
37 And a woman in the town who was a sinner found out that Jesus was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house. She brought an alabaster jar of fragrant oil
38 and stood behind Him at His feet, weeping, and began to wash His feet with her tears. She wiped His feet with the hair of her head, kissing them and anointing them with the fragrant oil.

Then, the heart of the pharisee is exposed!

39 When the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “This man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what kind of woman this is who is touching Him—she’s a sinner!”
40 Jesus replied to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”
“Teacher,” he said, “say it.”
41 “A creditor had two debtors. One owed 500 denarii, and the other 50. 42 Since they could not pay it back, he graciously forgave them both. So, which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one he forgave more.”
“You have judged correctly,” He told him.
44 Turning to the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she, with her tears, has washed My feet and wiped them with her hair.
45 You gave Me no kiss, but she hasn’t stopped kissing My feet since I came in.
46 You didn’t anoint My head with olive oil, but she has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.
47 Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that’s why she loved much. But the one who is forgiven little, loves little.”
48 Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

This one is a little different – pouring the oil on his head…and it’s not at the house of Mary, Martha and Lazarus…though, it is at the house of Simon…one who had a serious skin issue…is this the same Simon that Luke tells us is the pharisee that has an issue with her gift?
Matthew

Matthew 26:6-13

Devotion:
1. FORGIVEN! Whether this is two women, or both Mary – the woman was a sinner. Even more important, she was a forgiven sinner!
Jesus talks about how much does one love? Gratitude depends on the value placed upon the gift. Outwardly, this woman was a prostitute, a very outward sinner. Some say this could be Mary Magdalene…I don’t know. That’s not the point of my devotion. Inwardly, she was an adoring follower, and that love demanded action!

2. The cost – Luke 14:25-35, Luke 18 – the rich young ruler, Phil 3:7-8 – Paul.
Jesus tells us to count the cost…to give everything. This woman gave probably her most expensive possession. I think perfumed oil is probably a tool of the trade of a prostitute.(Proverbs 7:17). This woman gave up her livelihood to anoint Jesus in appreciation for what HE had done for her!
This could also be a statement that she was never going to go back into that business again…a statement of a life change. Not easy for a woman in Jesus’ day that has no other options! She gave it ALL!

I’ve been asked “should we tithe now, or is that old testament?” My response?
“Oh, no, we don’t tithe 10%, because yes, that is Old Testament. Now, we have to give 100%! Now we know it’s ALL His!
I thought this verse fit here very nicely!

1 John 2:15-16 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
A Warning about the World
15 Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. 16 For everything that belongs to the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s lifestyle—is not from the Father, but is from the world.

3. Humility and Gratitude.
This woman, known to be a prostitute and used to haveing control over the men, humbles herself before Jesus, not only uses her expensive perfume, but BREAKS the alabaster jar that contains it. She is so intent on showing her gratitude to Jesus, she can’t even wait for the oil to run out! Is she aware of those around her making comments? OF COURSE! She is used to being ridiculed in public (possibly by the very same ones that came to her in secret). She doesn’t care. She just wants to be at Jesus’ feet, and thank Him, and give him all that she has.
Remember that Jesus showed humility by washing the feet of the disciples in the Upper Room. This is the position of a servant, who is considered less than human. This woman, in her gratitude, put herself in this HUMBLE position.

I am drawn to all the women named Mary, because my first name is Mary. One thing that I have drawn from all of them is to say YES to no matter what God calls you to do, no matter how much it costs, and no matter how others respond.

What does this devotion speak to you? Are you a sinner and need to come to Christ? Wiki How gives a very clear understanding of How to Accept Jesus.

2. Are there possessions in your life that are more important than Jesus? I don’t think that Jesus was saying that everyone has to sell all that they have to come follow him, when he spoke to the Rich Young Ruler(Luke 18) – he could see his heart. What is in YOUR heart? Matthew 10:37-39

3. How can you show Jesus Gratitude for all HE has done for you? here’s an idea:

And, here’s a sweet song….
Broken Beautiful by Ellie Holcomb

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Naomi’s Heart Ministries
Obed’s House Ministries
Project Based Missions, Global
The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.
Compassion

Advent – Christmas day

Christmas Day!
If using an Advent Log – light ALL of the candles!

Christmas Eve

Christmas on the Advent Log

If using an Advent Wreath – Light all four candles and the Christ Candle!

Read The story of Christmas:

Luke 2:1-21
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

Here are a few of my favorite Christmas songs!

This may have duplicates, but here are all the songs from the Advent Devotions!

May your celebration of Christ’s birth be full of peace, joy and LOVE!

Advent Devotions

Merry Christmas!

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

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Advent 2015 – days 19 – 26 part 1

In 2016, Advent is 28 days long.
In 2017, advent is 22 days long.

What? 26 days of Advent?,
Isn’t Advent 24 days before Christmas, on the 25th?

The length of Advent changes every year – based on the date of Thanksgiving. Advent is the first Sunday after Thanksgiving, or the fourth Sunday preceding Christmas. In 2017, for example, Thanksgiving does not fall on the last Thursday, but the fourth Thursday of November, and the fifth Thursday is Nov 30. That year, the 1st Sunday of Advent is Dec 3rd – making that Advent only 22 days long.

Thank you Catholic Resources – Advent!

The longest Advent is 28 days.
The shortest is 22(I think).

This blog is going to be about the characters in the Christmas story. Use it however you would like.

Mary, Joseph, Jesus & Bethlehem, then the second half; the Star, the Angels, and the Shepherds

Away in the Manger

Mary
Advent day 19

Holy Family

By all accounts, a young girl, Mary was chosen to marry a man, named Joseph.

Luke 1:26-27

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

Sixth month of what? Elizabeth’s pregnancy!

What did the Angel say?
Luke 1:28

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.

Thou that art highly favoured – favor and grace
The Lord is with thee: – with – as in WITH? an unheard of position.
blessed art thou among women. – above Rachel and Leah by whom Jews had been blessing their daughters for centuries!
She is one that Loves her God!

She’s told she will have a child…with no male intervention. This means that she will be seen as a harlot. This is punishable by death. Maybe this is why it’s angel GABRIEL! that came to speak to her! But, her response is a beautiful statement of complete yeildedness to God’s plan, no matter what.
Luke 1:38

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

The Angel sends her on her way to Elizabeth’s – the babe in Elizabeth’s womb jumps for joy, and Mary sings what has gone down in history as her Magnificat.

Luke 1:46-55

She raises the Son of God – her story continues to the day he dies. She was a person, just like me, that said yes to God.

Joseph
Day 20

Holy Family wood

Joseph.
A Carpenter.
Asked for Mary’s hand in marriage.
we know he is a Godly, compassionate man, for when his bride to be is found with child(and has some cockamammy story about being impregnated by God), he decided to divorce her quietly – so she won’t be stoned. Or would she? Anyway – he’d made his decision, and he got visited by an angel!
Matthew 1:18-25
Joseph was told that he was the stepfather to the Son of God. And he was to name him Jesus, God with us. or was it Immanuel?
The folks over at Christian Apologetics and Research have a great explanation of the two names of Jesus and why. I won’t go into it!

Joseph provides the flesh and blood father that protects Jesus when they have to flee to Egypt. He provides training for Jesus and provides for the family as a carpenter. Apparently, he, also, was chosen for his role in Christ’s life, and by taking Mary into his home as his wife, and not ‘knowing’ her as was his biblical right, Joseph said yes to God!

The angel thing again. But seriously, if I met an angel that told me that such and thus was going to happen, especially if I had been in bed, I would second guess myself. Of course, Mary was with child. Joseph could believe or not believe. but he said yes. I believe.

https://youtu.be/BARVAg0gl6w

https://youtu.be/PytP9XPhP1g

Jesus
Advent day 21

Away in the Manger

The best way to describe Jesus, is through the Word of God:

Is 9:6

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Zacharias prophesied Jesus’ purpose, to which his son John would proclaim in Luke 1:67 and following.

John poetically describes Christ in John 1:1-18 – describing the difference again between Jesus, and the prophet John.

Jesus – Son of God, Son of Man, Savior of the World.

https://youtu.be/MC9cbEHjvPs

Of course, before Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph had to get to Bethlehem.

Bethlehem

Advent day 22

Yes, Bethlehem IS a character in this Christmas story, because it was foretold that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem.
Micah 5:2

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Bethlehem wasn’t a large city…but it was the city of David’s birth.
During the taxing, everyone had to go to the city of their ancestors birth to be counted. Luke 2:1-7

This is where we learn that she had to go, ‘great with child’ and that ‘there was no room for them at the inn.’
They key for Christmas here is the question, is there room for Jesus in MY heart…or does he get left out in the stable?

This gets us almost to Christmas Day.(in 2015)
if you added these four to the previous 18, you are at day 22 – the shortest of the Advent seasons. I will be providing another set – Star, Angels, Shepherds and Magi to make it to the 26th day of Advent next.

Love nativity

My prayer this Advent season was to become more aware of Christ in My life, and to make sure that he dwells in my heart – not on the outskirts of my life. I pray that this is your prayer as well.

For the rest of these, go to Advent 2015 part 2

More Advent Devotions

Merry Christmas!

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here is one that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

Christmas Carols Considerations – Gabriels Message

GABRIEL’S MESSAGE

Alternate Titles:
The Angel Gabriel
The Angel Gabriel From Heaven Came

Words: Basque carol, paraphrased by Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924)
Originally based on Angelus Ad Virginem, Anonymous 13th or 14th Century Latin

Music: Gabriel’s Message, a Basque carol
Sheet Music available from ChristmasCarolMusic.org and Cyberhymnal
Performed by Sting on “A Very Special Christmas”

Also: Angelus Ad Virginem
MIDI / Noteworthy Composer
Meter: 77 77 88 11 6 7 6

1. The angel Gabriel from heaven came
His wings as drifted snow his eyes as flame
“All hail” said he “thou lowly maiden Mary,
Most highly favored lady,” Gloria!

2. “For know a blessed mother thou shalt be,
All generations laud and honor thee,
Thy Son shall be Emanuel, by seers foretold
Most highly favored lady,” Gloria!

3. Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head
“To me be as it pleaseth God,” she said,
“My soul shall laud and magnify his holy name.”
Most highly favored lady. Gloria!

4. Of her, Emanuel, the Christ was born
In Bethlehem, all on a Christmas morn
And Christian folk throughout the world will ever say:1
“Most highly favored lady,” Gloria!

The beginning of Christmas starts with Gabriel visiting Mary.
On Advent 19, I shared some of my thoughts about Mary.

This girl, engaged to be married, in a very patriarchal society, gets a visit from an angel.
Gabriel, no less!
Not only is she told SHE will conceive without a man involved to give birth to God’s own son, she also hears that her barren cousin is going to have a baby in her old age.

The timing…Mary had to be old enough to carry a baby, and Elizabeth had to be able to carry a baby, because they were to be contemporaries. God’s plans are NOT thwarted by our timing! With God, nothing is impossible!

So, knowing that this puts her life in danger, Mary says this:

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

When she meets with Elizabeth, she says:
Mary’s Song

Luke 1:46-55
46 And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”

I spend much time doubting.
Nothing in my life is as monumental as Elizabeth getting pregnant, or Mary carrying the son of God.
But, part of this story is a very precious promise:

Luke 1:37
For nothing will be impossible with God.

A contemporary song is Breathe of Heaven, sung by Amy Grant.

This is a very unique part of the Christmas story. I draw much hope from the story of Mary.

Advent Devotions

Merry Christmas!

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here is one that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

The Wildberry Patch

Be Engrafted into the VINE to produce Eternal Fruit

Tag Archives: Mary

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