Mary, God's Blessing upon

Ryan McClure, reflecting on his experiences starting in a new company, related that he desperately wanted to establish favorable relationships with his fellow employees and God. Relationships are enhanced when one assiduously keeps the Laws of God, loving truth, seeking after instruction, and embracing correction and discipline. When we attain favor with God, we will usually find favor with our fellow man, but not always. We can find favor with both God and man if we value a reputable name rather than riches and wealth, seeking to emulate the family name of God.

We rarely think about the birth of Jesus except during the Christmas season, when it is abused by traditional notions found nowhere in Scripture. To remedy this, Richard Ritenbaugh delves into the Gospel accounts of the annunciation of His coming to Mary and Joseph.

To some, the virgin birth is a major teaching. However, Richard Ritenbaugh shows that it is only one of several signs that prove Jesus is the promised Messiah. Moreover, its major purpose is not to glorify Mary but her divine Son!

The Catholic Church places great importance on Mary—to the point that many Catholics, both lay and clergy, are pushing for Mary to be recognized as "Co-Redemptrix"! David Grabbe points out that the Bible makes no such claims for her. She may be "blessed among women," but she is in no way to be deified!

Richard Ritenbaugh asserts that the world with all its Christmas celebration, has depleted all the precious meaning from the actual event, depriving us of the glory of what really happened in the announcement of Christ's birth. Luke, having incredible literary skills, gives us the journalistic "who," "what," "when," "where," and "why" of Christ's birth in a concise and palatable form. A fresh reading of Luke's account reveals the rich prophetic significance of this event, unraveling some doctrinal heresies of the world's religions (Mary worship, nature of Holy Spirit, and time of Christ's birth) and the comfort of the overshadowing presence of God. Mary's and Joseph's thoughtful, reflective, humble, obedient, and submissive examples provide a sterling pattern for us to emulate.