"Today's lessons are learned through Yesterday's wisdom which will create Tomorrow's power"

"strengths come after weaknesses, what we lack is at times beyond our control and sometimes we cannot help but live with it, suffer through it, just for a little while... those imperfections that GOD still utilizes to keep us humble for His service, to stay centered on His will and to be passionately in love with Him above all else, for ultimately, His Power creates in us a reflection of His Perfection."- jette v.r.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Lost and Found: Mary of Nazareth and Mary of Magdala; Women of Philippi

Blog about the book: Lost Women of the Bible -by Carolyn Custis James

A teenager who lost her reputation, future marriage (almost) and the trust of her parents and loved ones. We would say that occurence is so common in our modern and post-modern generation. Basically because young girls find themselves in that predicament through wrong choices and/or bad company. In the case of Mary, it wasn't like that. Here was a brave young girl who said "yes!" to the angelic messenger and boldly declared "be it done to me according to Thy word". God knew that Mary was going to be a loving and responsible mother. God knew that Mary was going to be emotionally strong and not go into pieces when she became a witness to the crucifixion of her son. God knew that Mary won't turn out to be a crazy "stage mother" - most of us would! - if you knew your child possesses unbelievable intelligence, can heal the blind, lame and any diseased person he encounters, and can perform outrageous miracles! But whatever God's reason is, Mary showed all of us - men and women alike - one thing. "...Her identity and mission were intact"(book). That the true identity of a woman/man is to follow Jesus. Mary was Jesus' very first disciple. No one can take that away from her.

The other Mary (of Magdala) - was not only lost, she was also demon possessed! Despite being controversial and misunderstood, she was a stalwart disciple after Jesus healed her. And for all her notoriety, the Scriptures stated that she was the first person that Jesus appeared to ! What an honour! Not only that, He commanded her to spread the news to the disciples. This shows the kind of faithfulness that she had to the very end when Jesus laid dying on the cross and her vigil at the tomb where His body was deposited. "Her love for Him and zeal for His Kingdom intensified because He had done so much for her."(book)

This list of extraordinary women in the Bible would not be complete if we do not include the women of Philippi. Paul was able to continue in his ministry to the Philippians with the help of a group of devoted and resourceful women. This wonderful group of women ministered WITH and TO Paul. Amazing!

I will now conclude in the next blog.

1 comment:

Unknown said...: Hi Joon -

The two Mary's are, I think, my favorite people in the Bible (except for the Christ, of course). I once heard it said that Jesus could have chosen anyone to be at the foot of His Cross, but he chose His mother and the Magdala - perfect virginity, and virginity regained!

-Tara; January 16, 2009 at 4:03 AM

Perseverance Quotes

The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't. ~Henry Ward Beecher
The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places. ~Author Unknown
When the world says, "Give up,"
Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."
~Author Unknown
Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves. ~Dale Carnegie
Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain. ~Author Unknown
When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt
Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there. ~Josh Billings
Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did. ~Newt Gingrich
Stubbornly persist, and you will find that the limits of your stubbornness go well beyond the stubbornness of your limits. ~Robert Brault, www.robertbrault.com
The race is not always to the swift, but to those who keep on running. ~Author unknown, in reference to Ecclesiastes 9:11, "I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all."
It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer. ~Albert Einstein
Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another. ~Walter Elliott, The Spiritual Life
Don't be discouraged. It's often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock. ~Author Unknown

Saints are sinners who kept on going. ~Robert Louis Stevenson
I may not be there yet, but I'm closer than I was yesterday. ~Author Unknown
Keep on going, and the chances are that you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I never heard of anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down. ~Charles F. Kettering
Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines. ~Robert Schuller
Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over. ~F. Scott Fitzgerald
With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable. ~Thomas Foxwell Buxton
As a means to success, determination has this advantage over talent - that it does not have to be recognized by others. ~Robert Brault,
When your dreams turn to dust, vacuum. ~Author Unknown
Difficult things take a long time, impossible things a little longer. ~André A. Jackson

A door opens to me. I go in and am faced with a hundred closed doors. ~Antonio Porchia, Voces, 1943, translated from Spanish by W.S. Merwin

A Poem that blessed me...

The Lord painted a picture of my heart’s desire
A picture of which my soul did aspire
He took a thought, planted it ever so small
Letting it grow in me, quite grand and tall
He gave me a promise, a small word
A gift, a treasure from Him, My Lord
One met especially for my need
One on which I could meditate and feed
He opened my heart then and there
Placing His promise with great care
As I dwelt upon this nugget of gold
A pallet of the Master’s colors did unfold
He began to paint a picture so lush
With each bold stroke of His brush
Day by day the colors took shape
Letting hope swell into an open gate
Allowing me to move in an possess
The desire I had long confessed
What once started as a small seed
Born out of a heart full of need
Now stretches across the canvas of my life
Taking solid form in visible light
The desire once small in my heart
The Lord has made into a masterpiece of art

=Brenda Craig, poet=

defining..

this is what I found out about my first name:

Origin: Latin. Meaning: Young. In Roman mythology Juno was protectress of women and of marriage.

and my nickname has a Dutch origin and means "home ruler", " a strong and queenly disposition, she loves to be in command, and have the last word, graceful and calm under pressure, makes for a leader in whom all trust, knowledgeable and witty, she loves to cause trouble and be into everything and anything; one knows her by her ever-present smile (or laugh)

Discovering Divine Design - by Dr O Chambers

As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me . . . —Genesis 24:27

We should be so one with God that we don’t need to ask continually for guidance. Sanctification means that we are made the children of God. A child’s life is normally obedient, until he chooses disobedience. But as soon as he chooses to disobey, an inherent inner conflict is produced. On the spiritual level, inner conflict is the warning of the Spirit of God. When He warns us in this way, we must stop at once and be renewed in the spirit of our mind to discern God’s will (see Romans12:2 ). If we are born again by the Spirit of God, our devotion to Him is hindered, or even stopped, by continually asking Him to guide us here and there. ". . . the Lord led me . . ." and on looking back we see the presence of an amazing design. If we are born of God we will see His guiding hand and give Him the credit. We can all see God in exceptional things, but it requires the growth of spiritual discipline to see God in every detail. Never believe that the so-called random events of life are anything less than God’s appointed order. Be ready to discover His divine designs anywhere and everywhere.Beware of being obsessed with consistency to your own convictions instead of being devoted to God. If you are a saint and say, "I will never do this or that," in all probability this will be exactly what God will require of you. There was never a more inconsistent being on this earth than our Lord, but He was never inconsistent with His Father. The important consistency in a saint is not to a principle but to the divine life. It is the divine life that continually makes more and more discoveries about the divine mind. It is easier to be an excessive fanatic than it is to be consistently faithful, because God causes an amazing humbling of our religious conceit when we are faithful to Him.

May this site be a blessing to you...

Shalom Blessings...

..a covenant, a duty and a decision...Saying shalom means more than a greeting - "Shalom" is an offer of a peace covenant, a sense of duty to serve others, and a decision to seek God’s help in achieving the wholeness that is a reflection of His Glory...Shalom is saying ..."I am complete, whole, healthy, at peace, of good welfare, safe and sound, tranquil, prosperous, perfect, full, at rest, in harmony, without agitation and possesses a sense of stability in the face of conflict, opposition or discord..

Place Your Life Before God

Romans 12:2 (The Message)

1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

The secret is this: I have learned there is little I can do in my life that will make me truly happy. I must depend on God to make me happy and meet my needs. When a need arises in my life, I have to trust God to supply according to HIS riches. I have learned most of the time I don't need half of what I think I do. HE has never let me down.