Valuable Lesson from Mary the Mother of Jesus

Fellow Believers,

       I have always been impressed with Mary the Mother of Jesus. As I have read and meditated on a few scriptures I think there is something valuable we all can learn from her which will help in making our own lives more in tune with God. First, let's take a look at Luke 2:19 (NCV), "But Mary treasured these things and continued to think about them." This verse comes at the end of the very familiar story of the birth of Jesus that even Linus shares with all the world in their version of the Christmas show. All too often we breeze by this passage as an afterthought, yet we should pause to consider everything Mary has gone through to get to this point.

- The angel Gabriel tells her that even though she has never been with a man she is going to have a child, and not just any child, but the Son of God. Mary calmly response she is the Lord's servant and ready to do His will (Luke 1:38).
- Mary had to endure the threat of a secret divorce of Joseph (Matthew 1:18-21) and the embarrassment of others talking about her being pregnant without even being married.
- She had to travel a long way on a donkey to be counted with her fiance, Joseph, in the census and upon arrival found there was nowhere for them to stay (Luke 2:1-6).
- While there she gave birth to the Savior of the World in a smelly animal stable just as scripture had predicted long ago (Luke 2:6-7)
- If this wasn't enough a entire heavenly host appeared as a bright light to shepherds tending their flocks in the fields that evening and told them of the good news of Jesus birth and they rushed to see what they had been told (Luke 2:8-20).

This is the setting for the first time I can find in scripture that Mary cherished all these things in her heart. She did not just stop to think about them for a moment, but she continued to ponder them. How wise would we be if simply stoped to reflect and meditate upon Jesus more often as Mary did. One of my favorite passage in scripture comes from Psalm 46:10 (NCV) which says, "God says, Be still and know that I am God. I will be praised in all the nations; I will be praised throughout the Earth." God commands us to take time out of our busy days no matter how busy they are and reflect and meditate on Him. It is only when we are able to be still that we are ever able to hear his voice as both Mary and Joseph did.

Yet this is not the only time scripture records Mary pausing to reflect on things. In Luke 2:51b (NCV) it says, "But His mother kept in her mind all that had happened." This comes after twelve year old Jesus stays behind in the temple to talk with the priest and it takes four days after His parents have left the city to find Him. Even though scripture is clear Mary was very frustrated with Jesus and didn't understand His motives at all. She still took it all in and remembered and mediated on what had happened. I can assure you if are a Christian Jesus will surprise you in ways you never expected just as Mary was surprised.

What it all comes down to is this, what are you going to do with Mary's son Jesus Christ? Are you going to cherish and honor Him? If so, stop saying you are going to do it and act. I challenge anyone who reads my blog to trust fully in Christ, meditate upon His word daily, and never lose hold of it as we have learned from Mary. Her son Jesus learned as much from His Earthly mom I bet in His early days as He did from God the Father. Others are watching all you do, so strive to be the only Jesus some may ever see.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike 

Lessons Learned from the Feeding of the Five Thousand

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, 

         The feeding of the five thousand found in Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-44, Luke 9:10-17, and John 6:1-13 has always been a story that has caught my attention. It is the only miracle other than the resurrection of Jesus to be found in all four gospels. This fact alone shows me just how important this story is to our faith. I've read the story many times and a few key points jump out at me that I'd like to share with you.
         First, the story starts out with Jesus seeking to get away and get some rest to recharge his batteries so to speak. Far too often I've just blown past this part of the story to get to the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, yet Jesus actions here are important for me to follow in my daily life. Jesus realizes the importance of creating both time and space to commune with God. No matter how busy my life becomes I must remember to find time during the day where I pull away and talk with God. It is in this quiet time where I am able to refocus on His priorities and not mine.
         Next, we see the disciples getting caught using worldly logic to try solving the problem. They have quickly forgotten the power Jesus has given them and resort to only considering worldly solutions. I can easily relate to the disciples. It is so easy to try to do something on my own only to run into problems or challenges along the way. When I stop and realize, as the disciples did, that I've left Jesus out of the equation completely I realize my mistake. He alone makes the impossible possible.
          As the disciples quickly ran through the crowd looking for food they ran across a young boy with five loaves of bread and two fish. I've often wondered how many others in the crowd that day had their lunches with them, but when they were asked to give them to the disciples refused to part with their food. It is in this boys willingness to part with what he had that Jesus shows us how much He is able to do with so little. If I trust in Him and give him all that I have He is powerful enough to make my ordinary life an extraordinary life capable of reaching many with His message of hope and salvation.
          Finally, it is amazing that once everyone has finished eating there are exactly twelve baskets of food remaining. This was not a mistake at all. There was one basket left for each disciple to eat. What a powerful way to remind the disciples in a not to subtle way God's way always works. The beginning of this story starts with prayer and right before Jesus passes out the food He ask God to bless everything.
          My prayer is this: God let me daily set aside time to spend with You, may I always look for a heavenly solution first instead of relying on my own abilities to get it done, allow me to give what I have no matter how small it is and allow it to be multiplied to enrich Your kingdom, and my I pray and follow your leading all the days of my life.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike