What Did Mary Do?

 What Did Mary Do?   (WDMD)                      

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 Luke 1:34-35 (KJV)

34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?  And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Several years ago, Mark Lowery's "Mary Did You Know" raised thoughts about Mary. My thoughts were not so much about what Mary knew but what she did raising Jesus, an awesome responsibility!  Was she the perfect mother?  Did she ever fuss at Jesus?  What did she do when Jesus gashed a knee or leg?  Did she have to sooth him when he scratched his skin?  Just What Did Mary Do  (WDMD)?  We may not know much, but we do know she must have set a good example for Him.  Children learn so much from their parents.... when the parents least expect it, an awesome responsibility!  A parent's lessons teach for a lifetime.

Imagine, after reading the Torah (*1), WDMD when Jesus came in one day saying, "Mother, I just figured out that I am The Son of God!  My birth fulfilled scripture!".  She could have responded, "We are all God's Children." But, that could reduce Jesus' confidence, maybe causing Him to have doubts.  Maybe a better answer was, "Yes Jesus, I know, the angel told me when you were placed in me by the Holy Spirit."  One can only imagine what came next, likely a 1000 questions, including, "Why?"  It's What Children Do.

Being divinely human could makes one wonder if Jesus had to learn patience.  Being Perfect... His perfectness could lead to frustrations when other friends would not listen to him.  Or, how was Mary's patience  tested? WDMD when he was having fun with friends?  Did Mary have to say, "Jesus! Git in this house RIGHT NOW!"  But, Mary had to have patience, for certainly Jesus, being human, probably had to learn patience too.  We see patience when Jesus saw His Disciples not understanding His mission.  He had patience perhaps learned from His mother.

WDMD to teach discipline to Jesus.  One can only imagine as Mary and Joseph began to tell Jesus of their faith and discipline in following what God told them to do.  It demonstrated to Jesus discipline as he matured.  The discipline of a prayerful life was likely lived by His parents, which is the best teaching method by a parent.  Then, as Jesus learned of His driven purpose, what patient discipline He showed as he visited the Temple during Passover in those years of maturing. He saw abundant carnage, it stank of the dead animals, blood everywhere, the Temple moneychangers were stealing from His flock, and sellers of sacrifice animals inflated prices.  Maybe he asked, "Why is Worship so perverted?"  His patience came to an end during his last week, he had to have held His tongue and perhaps temper? ... for years.  In the definition of meekness of the time he held his tongue and temper? until just the right time (*2).

In everything written about Jesus in the New Testament, Jesus sets the behavior He wants us to follow, some behaviors Mary taught.  In His perfectness maybe He had those characteristics at birth.  But, if you follow that he was human, maybe He had to learn some of His behaviors as we do.  Since He learned behaviors, perhaps that makes Him even more of an example to us to live our lives.  He not only talked how to love our neighbors, he lived the talk by loving His enemies, what an example!

These are but a few ideas on WDMD.  but, just like Mary, we must always show disciplined Faith to our children, for our children are always watching us even as they are adults too.  Setting the example for our children is a lifetime event, our example lives on in the mind of our children for their lifetime.

We must seek and believe in Jesus for living our lives and then continuously live in His Will. 

As Mary smiled at Jesus, 
          when we Live in His Will, maybe she smiles at us too. 
                 That is certainly something Mary Would Do.

Let us give thanks for God's Mercy and especially His Patience.

To God belongs all the Glory for all we do in His Name.
Amen.

© lonnie coggins

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*1   Torah - the first five books of the Christian Bible Old Testament
 
2-    Meekness, Mildness, and  Boldness


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© Lonnie Coggins

ldcoggins@gmail.com

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Please email me if you find any broken links in this message.

lonnie

Publication  000

Intro-
Have you ever considered the role of Mary in Raising Jesus, such as, when he hurt His knee?  How did sh tell him to go clean his room.  Here are some thoughts to consider.  Share on your fb page as you feel led to do so.

http://lonnieadailythought.blogspot.com/2011/08/what-did-mary-do.html

Sports, What if Jesus was a Professional ?

Sports, What if Jesus was a Professional?

               boring?

John 14:6 (KJV)

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way , the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

When Jesus returns, He has a plan on drawing 

people to Him.  This is a whimsical look at one 

unlikely possible plan:

If Jesus returned today.....

Perhaps Jesus would play Major League baseball

     If he pitched, it would be 9 balls pitched

               and the inning would be over.... boring.

     If he hit, a home run on every pitch... boring.

Perhaps Jesus would play American Football

    If he played Quarterback,

         a TD on every throw.... boring.

    If he were in the back field,

        a  TD on every run..... boring.

Perhaps Jesus would play American NBA Basketball

    If he played Center,

        every shot would be blocked.... boring.

    If he played guard,

        every shot...three points....  boring.

As good as He would be,

     He would be fired just because of boring.

Then, some dumb Judge would still  find the way

     to call Him Out, Ejected, or Rejected with a Technical

        just for making the game boring.

But, 

give Jesus a microphone

     And He would fill
      every Diamond, every Stadium, every Court, every day.

Because Wise People would Still Seek Him.

Are you a Wise person? 

Are you actively seeking

      A  Personal Relationship with Jesus Christ?

Remember,

     It is not boring, it is Salvation.... for Eternity.

Thanks be to God.

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Sharing these messages

You are welcome to share these messages.  You can send the links to your friends,  copy and insert the link on FB or Christian.com or you can print the message and share it with your friends.

You can print the message only for your friends for non-profit.  You will have to copy and paste the message to a word processing document.   After you copy and paste add the following at the end of the message:

© Lonnie Coggins

ldcoggins@gmail.

If you desire to use any of these messages in a For-Profit manner you must contact me (email) for permission.  Typically, I will most likely give permission.

Extraordinary Encounters of The Closest Kind

Extraordinary Encounters of The Closest Kind ©                   

Lonnie Coggins

In April of 2009, my 92 year old mother slumped in her dining room chair and fell to the floor.  In doing so, she broke her hip.  I was called and went to the hospital.  The hip ball was screwed together the next day and healed slowly.

In 1^st Thessalonians 5:16-21 we read:

¹⁶Rejoice evermore.  ¹⁷Pray without ceasing.  ¹⁸In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.  ¹⁹Quench not the Spirit.  ²⁰Despise not prophesying.  ²¹Prove all things; hold fast to that which is good.” (KJV)

Sometimes it is difficult for us to be thankful in all things.  But, if we try, even in tragedy we can certainly find some good, maybe extraordinary good, and in that be thankful.  The good that came from mother’s fall was the first day when I was leaving the hospital.  A lady was just barely in front of me as we left the emergency room.  Something, nudged me to speed up abreast to her side.  Something told me that this is where God wanted me in this, His time.  Being continuously in a thankful attitude in all our circumstances, we are prepared to help others according to our talents and gifts.

She was crying.

"What's the matter?"

To a total stranger, she opened up to me and told me of a family friend, a six year old boy whose best friend was her son's friend.  This young man named Ethan was laying in the pediatric wing deathly sick, getting weaker and weaker, and the doctors did not have a clue to Ethan's illness.  "He has rashes, sores, the illness saps his strength, and is getting progressively worse," she said.  It was easy to see why she was distraught and in pain.

I did the customary kindness, "I am so sorry, what is the boy's first name?”

When she told me "Ethan", I responded, "I will pray for Ethan," and that started her opening up to me even more.  As she talked about Ethan and how he was a close friend of the family, it was easy to feel the love she had for him.  I was amazed she started giving me all the details she spoke, as she continued to cry.

It was at this point the conversation turned theological.  She said, "Sometimes, it is hard to understand the will of God, I believe that some how this is God's will, but I just do not understand."  That was an opening to continue the conversation.

"Do you have a church?"  She responded, "Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte."  Understanding a little of the basis of her beliefs made it easy to start talking about what I feel is the best guide of understanding the Will of God.  In midst of war in England, 1943, Leslie Weatherhead gave five sermons to his church concerning The Will of God.  In the midst of horrible war, he explained that he believed there were three fundamental concepts wrapped in the words "The Will of God".

Mr Weatherhead defines the three parts of this statement:

The Circumstantial Will of God

The Intentional Will of God

The Ultimate Will of God.

As the lady and I talked, I quickly explained the Intentional and Ultimate Will of God which is more easily understood; but, then focused on the Circumstantial Will of God.  Not understanding the Circumstantial Will is what had her questioning God’s Will.

Mr. Weatherhead in his book, "The Will of God", explains that the Circumstantial Will of God often seems to conflict with the Intentional and Ultimate will.  God does not want his children to be sick, it is not His intention or ultimate will for this and other bad things to happen; and by the logic of being the Good Parent, he does not directly and purposely cause bad things to happen to people.  We may be tested by the devil, but are always loved by God.

Within the confines of the Circumstantial Will of God, Weatherhead explains that God set up the physical rules of the universe, and we are still trying to determine what those rules are.  The rules are constant as God created the rules, but we as humans can take a long time to learn what they are.

Humanity tends to violate those rules as we go about our daily lives.  We find ourselves driving to an event, we realize that we will be late, and what do many people do, speed up, breaking man's and God's laws.  And when someone wraps their car around a pole, some will say, it must be God's Will.  This does a disservice to God.  It is God’s Intentional Will not to drive so fast we lose control of our car.  However, it is God’s Circumstantial Will that if we drive too fast for conditions, we can lose our way and tragedy will occur.

While it is true that speeding and bad accidents will hurt and kill people; that is not what God intends for us in our life.  The rules are in place.  Without going into the physics of speed, momentum, and reactions to it, suffice it is to say, speed hurts and kills.  We find ourselves in events we do not want to happen because of wanting to be on time, selfishness, wanting to make life easy, and wanting to take the cheap way out.

In Ethan's case, maybe the root of his sickness was the drywall in his house that came from China with all the toxins that were allowed in the product.  The contractor building the house took the cheap way out.  <  put more possibilities here  >.  All of these problems may not be the problem with Ethan, but something like this is likely to be a contributory to his illness.

As we talked about these things of God’s will, she wanted to know if the book was available and where to buy it if possible.  I told her that the book had been in continuous printing since 1943.  Just go online to Amazon and you will find it.

As we talked, I could see the change coming over her.  In her taking this model of God's Will into her thinking processes she could better understand and with that the flow of tears stopped and she begin to smile.

As Christians we are ministers, we must call upon the Holy Sprit to help us help other people when we see and feel the need.  We must be bold like Peter.  In the words I spoke with her I know it was not my words, but it was the Holy Spirit using me as as His instrument to minister to this lady.  I claim no credit for helping her.  I was prepared to help her because I pray continuously for God to make me an instrument of His will.

In the time after the crucifixion of Jesus, the disciples totally forgot their training.  When Jesus came to them in the upper room, the first thing He did was to anoint them with the Holy Spirit, John 20:21-22.  In one moment, they were as frightened "little boys" and in the next they totally understood His mission and ready to follow what Jesus had taught.

Within weeks, they were out preaching the Faith on the Temple grounds and getting into trouble with the Jews of Jerusalem.  Not long after the coming of the Spirit, Peter was before the Temple rulers, the Sanhedrin.  In Acts 4:8 we find powerful words:  "And Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit..." tells the Sanhedrin, the very people who were responsible for Christ's death, in so may words, "You just do not get it, you idiots put the Son of God to death,  you will pay for this sin ......"  There is only one event that could cause the disciples change of attitude and the strength of Peter’s certainty; the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Because of God’s Grace, we have the Holy Spirit available to us we can better minister to people we find around us.  Just like the lady I met, when the Truth is spoken the proper manner, it rings true.  This is why we believe in a risen Jesus; "Because he lives, we can face tomorrow" and because He lives, we have the Holy Sprit to guide us and be with us.  We must pray, pray and pray..... everyday for the continued presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  In our American society, if something does not work, we throw it away.  Our God is not a throw away god. God Works, His promises are being fulfilled, and the promises of Jesus and the Holy Spirit have never been disproven and continue to this day.

As this lady at the hospital and I ended our conversation, she was dry eyed and smiling.  She told me as she started to shake my hand, hesitated, and then embraced me a "total stranger" saying, "You have made me smile and stop crying, and you have been a blessing to my life."  It was then I knew, but failed to tell her, "No, you have been a greater blessing to me."  I regret this omission.  My hope is to one day be able to tell her of her blessing to me.

This moment in my life was truly a blessing to me.  I had never done this before.  It was only recently that I truly understood the "filling" of the Holy Sprit and how to keep it coming.  Now, I can look back over my life and see the Holy Spirit at work through me.  In fact, the great achievements of my life were preceded by prayer.  As my pastor spoke in January, 2009, "To have the Holy Spirit in our lives we must pray, pray, and pray some more.... everyday."  Reviewing my life, I recognized the Truth in her sermon.  God has been nudging me for a long time.

Through the Holy Spirit and my prayers to be filled by the Holy Spirit as I have the need, the Holy Spirit through me was able to minister to this lady and help her through this storm in her life.  Maybe this lady was not talking to a "total stranger", maybe she subconsciously felt the presence of the Holy Spirit through the words spoken by me but inspired by the Holy Spirit.  This event clearly demonstrated to me the importance of lay ministry.  Ministry is too important to be left to the professionals.

Pray, pray, and pray for the Holy Spirit to be in your life so that you too can be nudged and have that "Extraordinary Encounter of The Closest Kind".

If you have comments please send them to:

Ldcoggins@gmail.com

© 2009