Patsy Laycoax

We should rejoice in our sufferings and tribulations because God is using them to teach us perseverance, character and hope. Perseverance is important to our lives to keep us from giving up, we will endure with God's strength which produces in us patience which helps produce character. Character is important because good character is formed through patiently persevering through sufferings and tribulations with the hope of entering a far better place. Hope is important because without hope we will not persevere with patience through our sufferings and tribulations but will instead allow sin to overcome us and we will fail to see God's promises fulfilled.

Abraham's faith shown by his believing all God told him was credited to him for righteousness which justified him before God. Our genuine faith in Jesus Christ and what He accomplished on the cross is what justifies us. Justified is to have Jesus Christ's righteousness applied to our account, our standing before God.

All those verses in Matthew have in common is the gospel was to go all nations,the Gentiles. The relation the wise men's visit have with Matthew's theme of bringing the gospel to the Gentiles is the wise men were Gentiles. That confirmed the gospel was for Gentiles also. We should be applying this mandate in our own lives by giving the gospel to everyone either through personal witnessing,giving to missions or both.

It was appropriate for the Magi to bring gifts to the Christ-child because He was to be a king,royalty,the King of Kings and when coming before a king one always brought a gift. The extragravance of their gifts showed a heart attitude of wanting to give their best and most precious gift from a grateful and humble heart. The kinds of gifts that are appropriate for us to bring are a humble and yielded heart to Him with the giving of praise and thanksgiving to Him.

What we learn from the Magi prostrating themselves before the child Jesus is that we are to humbly submit ourselves and worship the King of Kings,no matter who we are or how rich or powerful. The significance of this for them was they were acknowledging that even though Jesus was still a babe that he was so much more than they,He was the very Son of God and all they could do was bow down before Him. We can emulate this kind of worship by knowing in our hearts how deserving Jesus is of our humble worship of Him,to not be too proud to bow our knees or lie prostrate before Him in worship.

The significance of the Star of Bethlehem that the Magi saw was that it was a supernatural occurrence sent by God to signify the birth of the King of the Jews and it would lead the Wise men to Jesus. The Magi came to find the Christ-child when they saw the star because they knew it signified the birth of the King of the Jews,the King of Kings,the Messiah and they wanted to see him and worship him. But also to present him with gifts that God knew would be very much needed by Joseph and Mary to flee to Egypt to save Jesus life. Prophecy prefigures in this event by it was prophesied in Numbers 24:17 a star would appear to signify Jesus birth,the Wise men knew this and they studied the stars.

All of these are present in my life most of the time except telling others. I want to tell others but it seems I seldom have the opportunity. Joy fills my heart when I meditate on Christ coming to earth to make a way for us sinners to be saved which leads me to praise Him. The birth of Jesus amazes me when I meditate on Him being God and yet humbling himself to such an extent for us. It leads me to curiosity to find out more. What I can do to recover these responses when they are missing is to spend more time in God's Word,reading,studying and praying which will lead to thoughtful meditation,curiosity,amazement,great joy,praise and telling others.

The three titles given to Jesus by the angels are Savior,Christ, and the Lord. Savior means one who rescues,delivers and perserves. Christ means anointed which translates to Messiah. Lord means owner or master. All these titles tell us Jesus was not just an exalted personage but the very Messiah,Yahweh,himself.

The message of Jesus birth came to the shepherds because they were considered the lowest of people and Jesus came to save anyone who trusts in Him even the lowest of the people. You do not have to be from the upper class. Jesus is born in a stable with a manger for a bed because He came here to serve,not to be served,so he was born in very humble circumstances. The point God is making is that Jesus would be a Savior for all people even the poorest and humblest,no class of people would be left out.

Mary's journey would have been difficult because just being near to giving birth is very difficult and uncomfortable. Pleasure isn't any indication of being in God's will. Many people who are in difficult circumstances are in God's will,like Mary. Most of the time when a person does not face any difficulties,it is a good indication they are not in God's will. I am facing difficulties right at this time in my life but I am sure I am living in God's will,I am fellowshipping with him everyday.

Luke is verifing Jesus existence in history and the time of his existence.

Joseph accepting Mary as his wife shows he had a righteous character that trusted in God and was willing to obey what God told him to do. The significance of Joseph as a son of David naming the child is that by naming the child he was adopting him and therefore making Jesus a descendant of David,fulfilling prophecy.

They found their fulfillment by Mary who was a virgin conceiving a child by the Holy Spirit,a son who one of his names would be Immanuel meaning "God with us". Jesus was God in the flesh.

The encouragement that David gives to the brokenhearted is that the Lord is close to them and saves them and delivers them from all their troubles. What it means for God to redeem us is that God will pay whatever price to secure the freedom of his servants,this was fulfilled on the cross when God gave his only Son and the Son allowed them to nail him to the cross to pay for our sins. According to Psalm 34:22 we can avoid condemnation by being found in Christ Jesus,accepting him into our heart,who sets us free from the law of sin and death.

The significance of the name Jesus is that it means Yahweh saves. Jesus would save His people from their sins. The angel told both Mary and Joseph independently that jesus was to be His name because they would have no doubt that is what the angel said his name was to be and that His mission on earth would be to save people from their sins. His destiny was to save from eternal death,He was the Messiah!

Mary's only options were for her Father to let her stay with the family or to get a job as housekeeper for a wealthy family or prostitution. Joseph showed a very kind and loving character to divorce Mary quietly and leniently. After all he was very hurt and disappointed in Mary. He was a righteous man but he showed Mary mercy by handling the divorce in this way.

Jesus as a carpenter would have learned how to work with his hands. He would have learned what it is like to be a common working man. He probably learned patience if he even needed to and how to deal with all kinds of people with different personalities. He would have been exposed to a lot of uncomfortable conditions such as working when the weather is really hot and humid. Working when tired,probably not sick because He had no sin. Some good experiences would have been working along side of his earthly father Joseph with his mother,Mary being near by. Meeting and conversing with those who would come into the carpenter shop.

These titles are appropriate for Mary because God's Word says she will be called blessed and she was a virgin at Jesus conception and birth but later she was no longer a virgin. Giving birth to Jesus does make her God's earthly mother but I do not see her being called that in heaven. We are reluctant to exalt her to blessed among women because there is always those who won't stop at that but would want to make her equal with Jesus. Jesus is God in the flesh but Mary is only human and she was a sinner who needed salvation the same as us. I do think Mary was blessed to be chosen to bare Christ.

We should praise God continually because He deserves it for all he has done for us.And if we don't praise Him then it is very likely we will be complaining about something. Some barriers to continual praise are, having our mind filled with other things,letting circumstances dictate what we do so we don't praise but instead complain. Continual praise will draw us closer to God and cause us to be content with the life God has given us,it also increases our faith so that no matter the circumstances,we trust Him. I am or I am trying to train myself to praise God continually by praising Him always even when circumstances in my life are rough like now. I also will put up little notes to remind me.

The essence of Mary's positive response to the angel is that her life is not her own,she belongs to God and His will be done in her life. She loves and trusts Him and knows He will never forsake her even when others do. We should have the same attitude,one of submission to the one we belong to,He has bought us with a very high price and we can trust Him. We should love Him and want His will done in our life. It was an informed consent in that God told her what was about to happen before He did it so she would have a chance to respond. When we respond to God,we are consenting to His will being done in our life.

The virgin conception teaches us that Jesus nature is sinless even though He was human because He was also divine. He was not made but begotten of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. He did not have a human biological father. He is not similar to God but God in the flesh! Therefore He has a perfect,sinless nature! The doctrine of the virgin conception is very central to the christian message,without it we have no message! That doctrine is what christianity is based upon. Jesus had to be conceived and born of a virgin so as not to inherit man's sinful nature. He had to be perfect and sinless to pay the penalty for our sins. Someone with sins of their own could not pay for sin and the only person who is sinless is God. So Jesus was God in the flesh!

The Messiah is that stone that the builders rejected. Jesus,the Messiah is the chief cornerstine that crowns the building which is the church and the leaders of Israel rejected Him. Verses25-27 are speaking of the Messiah,and His worshippers are welcoming Him with palm branches,shouts of joy and proclaiming Him King of Israel.

Mary's how question differed from Zechariah's how in that Mary was asking in belief anf aith that God could perform the impossible,she wanted to know how it would happen. Zechariah asked in unbelief with an attitude of prove it to me. Mary was rewarded for her faith that God could do the impossible because He said He would. Zechariah was disciplined because he did not believe God would do the impossible even though He said He would.

The predominant emotion in psalm 100 is one of thankfulness. This psalm makes me feel like praising God with thanksgiving in my heart. The reasons for praise given in verses 3 and 5 are; God is our creator,he is good,his love endures forever and his faithfulness through all generations. The commands in this psalm are; to make a joyful noise, serve the Lord with gladness, sing when we come into his presence,we are to know that the Lord is God,he made us and we belong to him.We are to be thankful,to praise him and bless his name.

The angel's announcement said Mary's child would be the Son of the Most High which is God. Her son would be divine! The announcement also said that he was to become the King of the Jews and reign over the house of Jacob forever,there would be no end to His kingdom. He would be their long-awaited Messiah!