"Mary found favor"

[pop james]

The mother of JESUS was blessed. Blessed to be a chosen vessel of GOD....Blessed to be the one to nourish and care for the LORD....and it could even be said of Mary that she put diapers on GOD!!!!!......Mary found favor with GOD. Mary was one of GODs elect, not unlike all true believers.

It is my ocnviction that, outside of the above stated facts, that the greatest contribution that Mary made is/was her wonderful testimony....which I will share with you now:

Mary magnifying the LORD in luke1 46-55:
and Mary said, "My soul does magnify the LORD. And my spirit has rejoiced in GOD my Savior. For HE has regarded the low estate of HIS handmaiden: for behold, from hereafter all generations shall call me blessed. For HE that is mighty has done to me great things, and holy is HIS name. And HIS mercy is on him that fears HIM from generation to generation. He has showed strength with HIS arm; HE has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. HE has put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. HE has filled the hungry with good things; and the rich HE has sent empty away. HE has helped HIS servant Israel in rememberance of HIS mercy; As HE spoke to our Fathers, to Abraham, and to HIS seed for ever."

What a woderful example of a child of GOD.....does your soul magnify the LORD?.....does your spirit rejoice in GOD your Savior?.....will you be blessed in eternity?.....do you fear him with a GODLY fear?.....has HE dealt with your heart?......have you been filled to the point of overflowing with HIS love, grace and mercy?......I pray that you have................regards.....Pop

[FreetoloveGod aka DanV]

What a woman she must have been, to be chosen of God to impart and mold the human nature of His Son!

And how her heart must have thrilled at the angelic message that she was to be the mother of the Divine King of the Ages!

FreetoloveGod

[kreati0n]

You are correct.

And what you cited does not require Mary worship or any other idolatry of her. Finding her image in pieces of toast, etc.

This is about acknowledging her role in history, respecting it, and using her story to give us the same closeness and understanding of Christ's life and God's grace and glory. The same as reading about any other believer in the Bible.

[Wendell]

Amen Pop...

Whether the heartfelt response of the individual God chooses for a special purpose, is.. "behold the handmaid of the Lord", or, "Speak Lord for they servant heareth", or "Here am I, send me", etc. The wonder of it all, is that God should choose to use any of us, weak sinful vessels though we be, to accomplish things of such eternal and infinite importance, simply because it pleased him to do such a thing, that way. Mary saw nothing in herself to boast of, but rather she magnified the Lord. Even as Jesus taught us to pray; For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen.

blue..

[germanJoy]

Hi, pop...I thought it would be a great idea to place here my earlier post in response to Bouncinstar's thread which is related to this topic. God bless ya! :)

Originally Posted by kreati0n
I think you're missing the point.

Acknowledging Mary's role in the gospels is far removed from worshipping her. And I agree with him - I think, as protestants, we do tend to downplay her role in almost a reactionary way against the Catholic faith.

I agree with m.o.m, you are actually missing the point here, kreation. As a former catholic, I can attest to the fact what really is being downplayed here. I knew so little truth about Mary as a Catholic than I have known her as a christian. Mary's role in Catholicism is in fact a downplay and a big shame for Mary's image as a servant of God, a blasphemy to God, and an evil attempt to rob Jesus Christ of His glory which is solely due to His precious holy mighty glorious wonderful Name, the only Name for the salvation of mankind! As a catholic, I called on the name of Mary everyday at all times in prayer, in danger, in turmoil, etc. Some Catholics deny this but the truth of it remains i.e., Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and forever! I viewed Mary as god herself sitting in the throne of heaven. That was how we all believed her to be! What a lie coming directly from the pits of hell! I called her name more often than the "baby Jesus". :cf


Quote:
Saying she was "just another person" is like saying Isiah, Solomon or Paul were "just other people" - that if God had chosen someone else, it wouldn't have mattered. God chose her because of her devotion and any devotion to God powerful enough for Him to bestow His Son onto is worth our noting.

Mary is in fact just another servant or vessel used by God like anybody else. She was not the only favored one, all the elect of God are favored ones including you and me! :) She was indeed the blessed among all women. As a mother myself, I could imagine how much blessed she truly was carrying the Saviour of the world, the Lord of lords and the King of Kings, in her womb for nine months and then raising him up, a perfect-sinless child. Whew, there is nothing greater for a mother than that! (seeing and raising up our imperfect children that makes us :( and :( ). :LOL No words could best describe Mary's favor in her earthly role as a mother of Jesus! It is far beyond all imaginations one could ever comprehend which Mary alone experienced, felt and could relate. Thus, She is blessed among all women! :)


Quote:
Reading Luke from start to finish, you get a very distinct picture of Mary as thoughtful, devout and - really - rather sad. Her discussion with Elizabeth is amazingly telling of the kind of woman she is.

Sad? not at all! She was the happiest mother in the whole wide world! :-)