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Friday, February 01, 2008

Hey, I'm not planning on posting here too much. I'm posting on my regular blog ( http://julie.marzhillstudios.com ) as much as possible. Things are going really crazy, so I don't have the time that I used to for posting.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Luke 1:26-56

This week's study is more about Mary, though we will touch a bit on Elisabeth as they both are in this part of scripture together.

The Announcement of Christ's Birth to Mary - Luke 1:26-38

The angel, Gabriel, is once again the messenger of a glorious birth. This time it is the birth of the Son of God, Jesus, and to the virgin, Mary. In this time, girls were given to men to be betrothed at a young age. Mary was probably around the age of 14-16. He greets Mary with a title of being highly favored and blessed among women. He also says that God is with her. Mary was troubled at this greeting and confused as to what it meant. Gabriel reassured her again that she found favor with the Lord, so there was no need to be afraid. To a young girl, having all this happen would be so terrifying and confusing, but she was a follower of the Lord and willing to listen to what Gabriel had to say. He told her that she would conceive a Son and name Him Jesus. He told her that the Baby would be the Son of the Highest and would reign over the House of Jacob (Israel) forever, with no end to His Kingdom. I think this is foretelling how His Kingdom is not like an earthly one as we are used to, but instead is the Spiritual one which we have become part of since our acceptance of salvation. In the next question which Mary asks, some have said she was expressing doubt, but I think she was just expressing her confusion. We find things that we don't understand to be confusing and she was just trying to figure things out. With Zacharias, he was expressing doubt when he said, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years." (vs. 18) and we know this because of Gabriel's response. In response to Mary's question of "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" (vs. 34) Gabriel explains how her conception will take place, not with a man, but through the Holy Spirit and the presence of God. I noticed also that he refers to the Child she'll carry as "The Holy One" and that He'll be called the "Son of God". I think this is to emphasize that her Son won't be the same as other children. He also tells her about her relative, Elisabeth, who is pregnant after her barren life then adds that with God nothing will be impossible. I think this is to give her another miracle that has happened to help her think about the one that will happen to her. I don't know though. It may also have been a way of telling her that the prophet who is to come before the Messiah is already on the way through Elisabeth. I love this last part of this section of scripture. Mary says in verse 38, "Let it be to me according to your word." I wish I was as accepting of the Lord's will as she was. I have a hard time with accepting it sometimes. I even fight against it so often. I knew from the first when I heard about a possible job for Jeremy in Chicago that it would go through and that it was God's will for our lives that we should move yet again, but I didn't want to. I just wanted to stay where I was. It took me a while to finally say that I was willing to go where God wanted me to be and to do what He wants me to do, though at the moment, I'm not sure what He wants from me. I'll find that out sometime later.

Mary visits Elisabeth - Luke 1:39-56

Mary went to see Elisabeth. Why? We are not given a reason. Maybe to share the wonderful news she had since Elisabeth would probably be more willing to accept it than any others. As soon as Elisabeth heard Mary greeting her, the baby leaped in her womb and she was filled with the Holy Spirit. She knew about Mary before she was told. How amazing! We know that this made Mary joyful from the song she sang at this time rejoicing in the blessings of God. When I read her song, I can almost see how blessed and joyful she must have felt at this time. Have you ever felt that much joy? Think about the time that you came to realize that Christ is the only way to eternal life and you accepted Him as your Saviour. Did you have a great amount of joy then? I know that I did. It was so awesome. I noticed that in verse 50 she sings that mercy is on those who fear Him. We have felt that mercy every time we have sincerely asked for forgiveness. At the end of this section, we see that Mary stayed with Elisabeth for about three months. That would have put her there right around when John was born. I wonder if she helped Elisabeth with the birth of the prophet. Would that not have been a wonderful experience? My sister, Jill, has been there to help me with the birth of two of my children and I was there to help with the birth of her firstborn. It was such an awesome time for both of us. I can't imagine what it would have been like knowing that the baby was one who had been prophesied about long ago and was also going to be such an important person.

Monday, June 04, 2007

Luke 1:1-25

This is less than half of the first chapter of Luke, but I am going to split it up.

The Introduction - Luke 1:1-4

Luke is writing this to his good friend, Theophilus. He wanted to let his friend know that he had done what he could to make sure his account was correct. See how in verse 2, he mentions eyewitnesses and ministers of the word. He checked with many people to make sure what he had was correct. As we go through this book of Luke, we'll find that it coincides with accounts from the other gospels, so we know that Luke had done his research before compiling his book. In verse 4, he says that he did this so that his friend would know that all he'd been taught was true. Luke did all this just to make sure his friend knew the Truth. Wow! What a way to witness.

Announcement of John the Baptist's birth - Luke 1:5-25

Zacharias was a priest, so he was of the lineage of Levi. It also says that his wife Elisabeth was a daughter of Aaron, so she also came from the same lineage. Why is this important? Because John was a priest himself, but in a different way than that of the temple priests. He was the one who would come before the Messiah, telling the people of the forgiveness of sins, of baptism, and of the spiritual kingdom that Jesus was King of. We'll talk more of that later.

Zacharias had the privilege of going into the sacred place in the temple to pray and burn incense this time. This was a special honor to the priests of the temple. While he was there though, something happened that he did not expect, the angel Gabriel appeared before him. Gabriel told him that Elisabeth would conceive and bear a son, but Zacharias still had his doubts. Have there been times that God has assured you that you are walking in His Will, but you still have doubts? I know that there have been many times that I've had that happen. We are not punished as Zacharias was for his disbelief. He was made unable to speak until the birth of John. That's a long time on not speaking. Personally, I would have a very hard time with that since I really enjoy talking and singing, but I think it would really make me think about how often I have gone without following Paul's advice in 1 Thess. 5:17 to pray without ceasing. I know that I fall short in this and I wonder if Zacharias spent much of his time in prayer while he was mute. In verse 21, it mentions that he lingered a long time in the sacred place and the people outside were wondering what was going on with him. Did he stay in there a while after Gabriel left to pray with all his heart after his humbling experience? Have you ever been confronted with God's glory so deeply that you felt unworthy to be one of his servants? I imagine that is how Zacharias felt at that moment... unworthy. Yet, as we read the last part of this passage, we see that God fulfilled His promise to Zacharias and Elisabeth with a pregnancy. How wonderful is that? Even when we don't always keep our faith, even with our doubts, God is still faithful and always will be. I will never be worthy enough to do what God has planned for me, but because of Who He is, because of His love, glory, and mercy, He has made me worthy because of my salvation through Jesus Christ. How completely awesome is that?

Please feel free to comment on this scripture. I want this to be a place of discussion and growth in our knowledge of the Bible. Also, I wish to learn more through the way others see the same passages. We all see things in different ways because God made us unique. That is why I enjoy fellowship with others. I learn to see the scripture through another's eyes when they say what they find in it. Anything you find in the same scripture that you wish to share, please do. It will be welcome. If you don't have a Xanga account, then feel free to e-mail me and I will put your comments in for you. If you don't have my e-mail, leave a comment on my regular blog and I will give it to you.

Monday, May 07, 2007

Online Bible Study?

Hey, I'm going to start having a Bible study with a friend of mine after my family moves. It will be our way to stay in contact. I was thinking that each week I would post on here the chapters that we're doing and some of our thoughts, I'd love if you all joined in as well with your own thoughts. She didn't go to church much when she was little, so she doesn't know all the Sunday School stories. We've gone over Genesis, so she's learned those and we went over Matthew, but I think we'll be doing the other Gospels, starting in Luke, then go back to Mark, and end with John. Anyone willing to participate will be welcome.

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Theology from Amie

We were talking about Matthew 5:16. “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.”

Her little booklet from Bible Drill asked her to write in her own words what the verse means to her. She asked me to help her, so we talked about what light does (helps us to see) and how people look at us and see what we do. Because of that, we are candles for Jesus and show them His ways by doing good and talking about Jesus and the Bible. Our flame shows the way to Him and sometimes it might not be as bright, but if we realize we aren’t doing as we should and repent, than our flame can become bright again. She ended the discussion by saying, “Then God is the Candlemaker, because He made us and we are His candles.”