THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE

^{OLD COVENANT (TESTAMENT)- FOLLOWING THE LAW OR 10 COMMANDMENTS …letter of the law}

^{This is Exodus 34:28 they are speaking of Moses:}

²⁸ And he was there with Jehovah forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

²⁹ And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of the testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses knew not that the skin of his face shone by reason of his speaking with him.

³⁰ And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.

³¹ And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses spake to them.

³² And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that Jehovah had spoken with him in mount Sinai.

³³ And when Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.

³⁴ But when Moses went in before Jehovah to speak with him, he took the veil off, until he came out; and he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded.

³⁵ And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

1.     NEW COVENANT (TESTAMENT) -ANYONE THAT BELIEVES IN CHRIST IS GIVEN THE GIFT OF GRACE. YOU ARE MARKED WITH A SEAL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (EPH 1:13) 13in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation,-- in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God's own possession, unto the praise of his glory.

2.     Definition of SEAL

a : something that confirms, ratifies, or makes secure : guarantee, assurance

Christ living in us. Gal 2:20… Moses did not have the Spirit of God the way that we do today. He had to go to seek God outside of himself.  The time in the presence of Father allowed him to shine, but he had to go to God on a mountain.   Jesus came and returned to the Father as He promised us.  The Spirit now dwells in us rather than on a mountain. Now we can have time in His presence and speak to Him at will. Continual praying without ceasing, and spending time in His Word will cause us to shine with radiance as the SON.  

2 Corinthians 3

American Standard Version (ASV)

3  Are we beginning again to commend ourselves? or need we, as do some, epistles of commendation to you or from you?

² Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men;

³ being made manifest that ye are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in tables that are hearts of flesh.

⁴ And such confidence have we through Christ to God-ward:

⁵ not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to account anything as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God;

⁶ who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

⁷ But if the ministration of death, written, and engraven on stones, came with glory, so that the children of Israel could not look stedfastly upon the face of Moses for the glory of his face; which glory was passing away:

⁸ how shall not rather the ministration of the spirit be with glory?

⁹ For if the ministration of condemnation hath glory, much rather doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.

¹⁰ For verily that which hath been made glorious hath not been made glorious in this respect, by reason of the glory that surpasseth.

¹¹ For if that which passeth away was with glory, much more that which remaineth is in glory.

¹² Having therefore such a hope, we use great boldness of speech,

¹³ and are not as Moses, who put a veil upon his face, that the children of Israel should not look stedfastly on the end of that which was passing away:

¹⁴ but their minds were hardened: for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remaineth, it not being revealed to them that it is done away in Christ.

¹⁵ But unto this day, whensoever Moses is read, a veil lieth upon their heart.

¹⁶ But whensoever it shall turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

¹⁸ But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.

BLUE MOON/ NEAL ARMSTRONG

 

How fitting that Neal Armstrong be laid to rest on August 3, 2012, the day of the blue moon. This particular blue moon was because we had two full moons in August. It is amazing to me that the first man that had so much to do with the history of what we know of the moon, was given a blessing such as a second full moon in one month on his death/birthdate. Thanks God on behalf of Neal.

Credit for this picture goes Real Orbit, your universe online.

Grandma's Flower

I took a picture of this flower that popped up in my Grandma’s driveway right after she passed. The time of picture, Friday 8:21PM on 5/25. She passed at 4:42 PM. The crazy thing is there should not be a flower where this flower is, it was really hot out too without rain, and if you look it is growing out of a crack in the driveway that is right next to a tarp. No way a flower should have looked this fresh, or been able to grow there in the first place. It was not there on Monday before she passed when I went to see Mom who lives with Grandma. When I went back to clean the yard up on Tuesday after she passed, it was gone.  If you look in the center, it looks like cross. Her favorite color was purple.  

When  Piedmeier Florist  made the flower arrangements that Aunt Tina had made, they put birds in them, that are the same colors as her flower. My Grandma loved birds.  

Everyone that I spoke with about the flower, the first thing they seemed to say is it was God’s way of saying she is ok now and at peace.  

If you look the pedals look like hearts, and I found out later it’s called a primrose (first rose) flower and they associate flowers with birth months. This one is Feb which is my Grandma’s b-day month.

I love you Grandma. You are forever in my heart. Until we meet again.

Immaculate Conception-exposing the lie

What is Immaculate Conception? The answer may surprise you, as one may hear the words, and believe it is regarding the conception of Jesus. I know I used to, and I was born and raised Catholic. I have heard several other Catholics say the same thing. If you are Catholic (or not), and your heart yearns for Truth, please get passed the baggage the church has thrown on you, and continue to read on even though the religious voice in your head tells you otherwise. Make a decision for yourself. Please don’t let anyone continue to mislead you. Your salvation depends on what you personally believe. I urge you to pick up your Bible, and read the truth for yourself. Not just the truth about this matter, but all spiritual matters.

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception celebrates belief in the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is universally celebrated every December 8, nine months before the birthday of Mary, which is celebrated on September 8th.

The proclaimed Roman Catholic dogma states "that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin".[1] Being always free from original sin, she was from the start filled with the sanctifying grace that would normally come with baptism after birth.

There is nothing in scripture that supports this belief. There is only one divine person that has walked on Earth, and that person is Jesus Christ. For man to exalt anyone else into the position of Christ is blasphemous against our Lord and Savior. Further, if Mary was divine, why did she refer to the Lord as her Savior? (LUK 1:46) What did she need to be saved from, if not from original, present, and future sin? The fact is she was born into sin, just like all other believers. If she were on Earth today, as a humble servant of the Lord, I am sure that she would be troubled by this behavior. I know this because the angel in Revelation insisted that John not fall to his feet to worship him, because he is a fellow servant of the Lord, just like all of the Believers in Christ REV 19:10 (including me and you, if you truly believe, I do).

If we had to sum up by using Scripture the character of our Lord’s Earthly Mother Mary, what could we say? There is not much said in the Gospels regarding who Mary was as a person, except that she is a humble servant of the Lord. You will find the most information about who Mary was in the book of Luke, chapter 1. It is here that he compares two different birth announcements, the first of John the Baptist, and second of Jesus Christ. It is of no accident that the Lord has arranged Luke’s book in this manner.

Zechariah and Elizabeth- Zechariah from the priestly division of Abijah (tribe of Levi), and Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Luke states, “They were upright in the site of God, observing all of the Lord’s commands and regulations blamelessly.” (LEVI, LAW, RULES, OBLIGATION)

Joseph and Mary- From the tribe of Judah. He did not say anything in the first verse about their character. He only says that Mary was a virgin pledged to be married to Joseph. (JUDAH, FAVOR, KINGLY DIVISION)

Announcements by Gabriel:

Zechariah- praying in the temple is told by Gabriel that his prayer had been heard, and that God was going to give them a son. He tells him that he is never to have fermented drink, and that he will be filled by the Holy Spirit even from birth. REACTION: How can I be sure of this? I am of old age (Lack of Faith) Because of this lack of Faith; Zechariah was unable to speak until the birth of his son John.

Mary- It does not say what she was doing when Gabriel said to her, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” He let her know that she had found favor (a token of love, gracious kindness), with the Lord. REACTION: How will this be, since I am a virgin? (Faithful response) Mary then responded, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said.”

When Mary and Elizabeth get together for the first time after the announcements, Elizabeth makes one of the most profound statements. Luke 1:45...Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished. Notice, she did not say blessed is she who has been holy since birth, or blessed is she that is without sin. It appears the most blessed you can be in Elizabeth’s eyes, is someone that believes what the Lord says.

It is in Mary’s song that we learn she considers herself a humble servant of the Lord. She sings that her soul glorifies the Lord, and her Spirit rejoices in God her savior. This is the most you will see in Scripture regarding any details of the character of Mary.

So who is Mary as a person based off Scripture? She is a humble servant that received a gift of Favor/Love from the Lord. This is the same gift of Grace that He offers to us. So why then are there so many people that glorify Mary as being a divine person? Why is she placed on a pedestal as if she lived a life that was perfect? Why are some choosing to divide their allegiance to the Lord, by believing that Mary can get their prayer answered for a miracle instead of taking their request straight to the Lord? Why are they refusing to believe in the simplicity of The Promise that He is trying to show them, through the story of this very ordinary woman they are committing spiritual adultery (JER 3) with, by exalting her to the same status as Jesus? My bet would have to be that those that believe this, are either clinging to a comfort zone if they have since read the Bible, or that they have not read their Bible, and are trusting their salvation to the traditions, and teachings of mere men.

The adoration of Mary in a divine sense is a lie created by satan, to keep those that would be true believers from accessing the Throne of God, by belief in The Promise that Christ has given us. He has promised us that if we truly BELIEVE in Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are saved. He also promises that once we truly BELIEVE, we will receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and we are His anointed ones considered worthy in His eyes as long as we believe. A believer approaches His sapphire throne boldly with praise. It is this boldness that shows God we truly accept and believe in His Gift of Grace. Grace is unmerited Favor. You do not work for a gift, you simply receive it. All you have to do is BELIEVE. Repentance (a change of mind and heart that leads to changed behavior) born of Faith rather than obligation will naturally come once you truly BELIEVE. Miracles from God are very active in the life of a true believer. If miracles are happening for a person that is praying to Mary, I would be surprised if they are coming from God. Satan masquerades as an angel of light. Praying to Mary, rather than to the Lord is as if to say that He is unable to answer your prayer, or that you do not believe Him when He says, “by the Blood of my Son, you are made pure and worthy.” Please don’t allow the devil put you in the position of believing his lie, rather than the Truth of God. He knows that as humans, we have been groomed to feel as if there is some type of grand task that we need to accomplish, in order to be considered worthy for anything worth having (2 Kings 5:1). That the world is a world of checks and balances, rather than receiving something because someone loves you, and they do not expect anything in return. However, the natural result of an act of love or gift given is reciprocation, born out of love, rather than obligation. Which is exactly what God wants from you. Note, I am not saying that Mary is from the devil. If you are choosing to go there in your mind right now, it is again satan working on your mind and soul. If he is able to get you to tune me out, he wins. What is from the devil, is praying to anyone but God, and not believing in His Promise to consider you worthy, because the Lamb is worthy. It has nothing to do with anything you can do or not do.

Our God is trying to show us in the story of a simple 13 year old girl that the way to get to Heaven is to accept His Gift of Love. That all we need to do is truly believe, and He will do the rest. It is only when this Gift has been accepted, that true repentance will birth in the believer. We must accept His Grace first. A child believes what his parents tell him. He wants us to believe in Him with that same childlike Faith. I believe because you have said it is so, Daddy. The devil tries to plead his case early in our lives. We learn at a young age that you have to have certain special qualities to be accepted. In order to be picked for a team in gym, you have to be good at the sport, or popular in the eyes of your classmates. It is rare that someone will pick you, simply because you are you. Religions will teach you that you have to work your way into Heaven by performing different man-made rituals or acts, but few speak of the relationship your Father wants to have with you, because He loves you. Be someone perfect! Do something for yourself, or no one else will the world screams!! We learn that we are unworthy, because perfection can never be reached by the standards of this world. We learn abandonment, and that promises were made to be broken. We learn that we are unlovable because someone said they no longer love us, or worse they never did. We project the shortcomings of fallible humans onto our Father as if He is not who He says he is. It is ok He forgives us, and understands our hurting hearts.

I leave you with a couple more thoughts to ponder. Here is Jesus’ answer to what may have been the first attempt of Mary worship:

Lk 11:27 As Jesus was saying these things; a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” 11:28 He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

In another situation, Jesus is again letting us know that all believers are considered His family, and worthy to be called such:

Mk 3:31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. Mk 3:32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” Mk 3:33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. Mk 3:34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Mk 3:35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

Jesus never encouraged us to worship His Mother Mary.

Worship: 1 : to honor or reverence as a divine being or supernatural power 2 : to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion ‹a celebrity worshipped by her fans› vi: to perform or take part in worship or an act of worship revere

The truest Immaculate Conception is one of your heart and mind, rather than religious dogma.

Im•mac•u•late having no stain or blemish

con•cep•tion the sum of a person's ideas and beliefs concerning something

Choose to BELIEVE in the promise of God that you are without stain or blemish, because of what Christ has done out of Love for you. You are made perfect in His eyes, because He is perfect. Belief in this promise births the savior inside of you, most worthy saint (Rom 8:27). Rest in Him, and find Peace for your soul.

ROMANS 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

This last part will speak to some of you, who I know not:

The prophet Samuel anointed Saul of the tribe of Benjamin (12th son) to be the first King of Israel. Samuel was from the tribe of Levi (3rd son). Aaron and Moses were of this tribe as well. Saul’s son Jonathon would have been next in line to take the crown, however he recognized David of the tribe of Judah ( 4th son, Hebrew meaning gratitude, now I will praise) as the anointed King, and not only saved his life, but stepped down and let David move into his place, when Saul died. He knew that God’s favor was on David, even though by law he should have been the next king. David was a child when he was anointed. A humble Sheppard boy, chosen above his 7 older, and stronger brothers.

Full Definitions:

im•mac•u•late \i-'ma-kyə-lət\ adj [ME immaculat, fr. L immaculatus, fr. in- + maculatus stained — more at maculate] (15c) 1 : having no stain or blemish : pure 2 : containing no flaw or error 3 a : spotlessly clean b : having no colored spots or marks ‹petals ~› — im•mac•u•late•ly adv

con•cep•tion \kən-'sep-shən\ n [ME concepcioun, fr. AF concepcion, fr. L conception-, conceptio, fr. concipere] (14c) 1 a (1): the process of becoming pregnant involving fertilization or implantation or both (2): embryo fetus b : beginning ‹joy had the like ~ in our eyes —Shak.› 2 a : the capacity, function, or process of forming or understanding ideas or abstractions or their symbols b : a general idea : concept c : a complex product of abstract or reflective thinking d : the sum of a person's ideas and beliefs concerning something 3 : the originating of something in the mind idea — con•cep•tion•al \-shnəl, -shə-nəl\ adj — con•cep•tive \-'sep-tiv\ adj

Mk 16:16 whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

The King's Table

In this world, only the best of the best can sit at the Kings table. If anything at all is wrong with you, you are not considered worthy to take a seat in the presence of the King. There was however an appointed time in history where this rule was ignored, a pardon given not just for a day, but for a lifetime. It was a pardon born of a promise made by King David out of love.

You see David was not on the throne due to his ancestry. He was grafted into the Kingdom, by the favor of God, working through the love and devotion of his friend Johnathan. Although Johnathan was the son of King Saul, and heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Israel, he was confident in the fact that David was the Lord's chosen anointed King. He loved David as himself from the moment he heard David speak to his father Saul, and became one in Spirit with him. He made a covenant with David to be his servant out of love, and to step down and allow him to become King when the time would come. Because of Jealousy, and distrust in the heart of King Saul, he wanted to kill David. Johnathan pleaded for the life of David, and reminded his Father of all of the ways that David had served him. He was able to reason with his Father regarding the matter, but while he promised not to harm David, he later tried to drive a spear into into him, but hit the wall instead. David knew that he needed to escape. Michal was the daughter of the King, and the bride of David. She remained loyal to David, and helped David escape. David knowing that Saul wanted to kill him, brought the matter to Johnathan. He did not want to believe him at first, knowing that his Father always revealed any plans he had to him, and he had not mentioned killing David. So Johnathon and David devised a plan, in order that they could see the true intentions of Saul's heart towards David. Johnathan agreed to the plan on the condition that David, once on the throne would show him as well as his entire family, unfailing kindness like that of the Lord until the day that they died. The plan went through without a hitch, and it was confirmed that Saul wanted to kill David. They knew they needed to part ways in order to keep David safe. David bowed down in front of Johnathan 3 times, with his face to the ground. They kissed each other and wept, but David wept the most. Johnathan said to David, "go in Peace for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord, saying "the Lord is a witness between your descendants, and mine forever."

Much time had passed by. David had spent years in hiding, being heavily pursued by King Saul. When they day had finally come that King Saul should die, sadly enough it was also the same day of death for Johnathan, as well as the other sons of Saul. David grieved their deaths, especially Johnathan because he loved him so. Johnathan had a five year old son named Mephibosheth at the time of his death. It was custom for those that wanted to take the throne, to take the lives of any living heirs in the event that a King should die. Because of this his nurse fled with him and in the midst of the excitement dropped him, and he fell causing him to be lame in both feet for life.

It does not say how much time had passed, but it must have been quite some time until David had remember his promise to Johnathan, because his son already had sons of his own. Perhaps David after hiding all of those years was maybe unaware that Johnathan had a son to begin with. It seems David was caught up in the newness, and excitement of becoming King, but finally David inquired about the house of Saul. He asked is anyone still alive of the house of Saul that I can show kindness to? He was told yes, Johnathan has a living son that is lame in both feet, named Mephibosheth. David sent for him right away. Once he was there, he told him not to be afraid, (it was usually not a good thing for a king to call on a possible heir to his throne, and usually meant death). When he arrived David let him know that he would be eating at the King's Table all of the rest of the days of his life. Mephibosheth was bewildered, he knew that a person with two lame feet was not fit to sit at the King's Table. This story can be found across the 1st and second book of Samuel. It makes note of Mephibosheth having two lame feet twice in 2 Sam 9, three times over the course of both books. This is something the author really wants us to pay attention to, and for good reason.

In reading this story, I realized that David is playing the role of Jesus, as we are Mephibosheth. While we may not have the outward appearance as one who is lame, we are broken spiritually in many ways. It is the Spirit of fear that caused the nurse above to drop Mephibosheth, which resulted in him being lame. So we too can become lame and unable to walk towards the Father out of fear that we are not good enough.If the nurse had known the promise that the King had made to Johnathon, she would not have run and they would have entered the rest of King David. They would have known that they were worthy of the Kings favor through no reason other than the promise.  So we too are able to enter the rest of God through His Son Jesus. We are permitted to come and eat at His table, and have fellowship with Him every day through the promise that God has made to us through Jesus.. We are no longer held back for not being perfect. We are accepted because of a promise that was made out of love for us. All we have to do is come when we are called, accept His invitation and believe in His promises. Unbelief in the promises of God is no different than calling God a liar. I suppose I would be upset if I promised my son something and he didn't believe me. Especially since my track record of keeping my promises has proven to be very good. I am fallible however and sure that I messed up a time or two. God is love. He is perfect and will NEVER fail us.

A Father's Heart

In the first week of July 2009, I was walking in a parking lot on my lunch break that I rarely walk in. I was walking in one direction back and forth, and did not stray from this path for the majority of my walk. As I was walking a thought popped through my mind that there was going to be a heart on the driveway, and it was God telling me that He loves me. I knew I had heard these words, but I really did not understand where they came from. I shrugged them off as a random thought, and did not think anything else about it. I continued to walk, and became irritated when a semi truck pulled into the lot, and parked right in the middle of my walking path. I re-routed myself to the other side, I guess I will share I exclaimed in my head. It did not take long for something on the ground to stop me in my tracks.



Here is a close up. I turned up the colors a little bit so it is easier to see:



It was at this moment, there will be a heart on the sidewalk, and it is me telling you that I love you rung through my ears. I had forgotten until that point that they were spoken maybe 45 min before I came across it. There are some that would call this a coincidence, but when is the last time that you heard something like I heard that had nothing to do with anything I was doing, and then see the very thing you heard? Unless someone decided to get cute with their blacktop job, there is no doubt in my mind this driveway became a canvas for my Father to show His love for me, in a physical way that my eyes could see. I did not take the picture the day that it happened. It had dawned on me a couple of weeks later that I should capture this moment so that I could always look on my Father's heart to me.

Thank you Daddy for always making yourself known to your children, and thank you for allowing me to have a heart that will accept your many miracles that are always there for the one that will believe. Thank you for eyes that see, and ears that hear. I pray that you will bless the one that is reading this, as well as everyone else that is ready with the gift of earsight. Please help me to remember that what I sometimes perceive as irritating, or as taking me off my beaten path, could just be You steering me away from my pre-set plans long enough, so that You can reveal Yourself to me.

MARY AND MARTHA A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

In Luke 10:38-42, we become acquainted with two sisters that Jesus was very close with. It seemed as if this was the first time they had met Jesus, because of the way that Luke had worded that Martha opened up her home to Him. In this scenario, Martha is distracted running around preparing everything, and Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus,listening to what He said. When Martha complains that Mary is not helping, Jesus tells her that Mary has chosen what is better, and that it will not be taken from her. It seems whenever you hear the Martha and Mary story, it is always about distracted Martha, and Faithful Mary. Poor Martha goes down in history as someone who could not be bothered to sit long enough to listen to anything that Jesus had to say, or does she? Let's move forward in time. Turn to John 11, to the death of Lazarus who is the brother of Mary and Martha. It says that Mary and Martha sent for Jesus to let Him know that Lazarus was very sick. At that very moment Jesus said, "this sickness will not end in death, no it is for God's glory." It notes that Jesus loved all of them, but He stayed where He was for two more days. What happens in the next couple of verses, may give you a different perspective on "busy" Martha. It says when Jesus arrived, Martha ran out to meet Him before He could even get into the village, but Mary stayed home. If you can picture this scenario in your mind. Why did Martha run to meet Jesus, and why did Mary just stay home? Mary the one that was always right at the feet of Jesus. If I had to guess, I would say it was because she lost hope, and maybe a little bitterness. She seemed to be so sad, she did not care that Jesus was on His way. Maybe she was a little hurt and upset that Jesus chose to wait for a couple more days before coming to Bethany. Whatever the reason, Mary remained at home, and ignored the fact that He was coming. Why did Martha rush out to Jesus? Is it possible that some of the the things that Jesus had been speaking to Mary, had actually sunk into busy Martha's Spirit, before it got into Mary's? Let's see why she ran out....

Martha said to Jesus, "Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died, but I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask." Jesus then said to her,"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will never die. He asks her, do you believe this? Martha tells Him that she believes He is the Christ, the Son of God who was to come into the world. Notice she did not say anything about the fact that if she believed in Him, Him she would never die? After this Martha ran to get Mary, and told her that the Teacher was there, and was looking for her. Mary then in obedience (but not belief) got up quickly, and went to Him. When Mary reached Jesus her words were almost identical to those of Martha, however there was one big difference. Mary said,"Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died." Do you notice the difference? There is no but at the end of Mary's statement. She can only see that Jesus did not come, and now Lazarus was dead (because this is all she could see with her natural eyes), Then Mary began to weep. When Jesus saw this, it says He was moved in Spirit, and troubled. It also says that He wept, and the Jews said, "see how much He loved him!" Why was Jesus weeping? It said He was moved in Spirit. I believe He was moved with compassion for the pain of Mary, and the other Jews that were crying. What about the troubled in Spirit part? He would not have been troubled that Lazarus was dead, for He knew that Lazarus would live. This word troubled stood out to me, so I looked to see the context of how these words were used in the Bible in other verses, because I knew that I had seen them before. After seeing the words in a few different passages, I came to the conclusion that troubled in Spirit, was similar to alarmed or discernment of a potential problem, or hurt by the actions of another. Could it have possibly been the fact that Jesus was troubled at Mary's lack of belief in Him? She had a front row seat to the teaching of Jesus. How He must have taken His time explaining everything He was going to do. If Martha was able to say that she KNEW that Jesus could ask for whatever He wanted, and have it, it had to have been from things that Jesus had been telling them all along. It could have also been revealed to her in Spirit. Martha was showing belief, where Mary was showing a loss of hope, a lack of belief. Martha however still seemed to fall short of believing, or maybe understanding all of what He had said. She did not repeat the part about not dying if you believe when Jesus asked, do you believe in what I just said, and her actions next show that this part did not sink in. Jesus told them to remove the stone that was in front of the tomb of Lazarus. Instead of moving it, and expecting Lazarus to be alive, she believed there would be a bad odor of a dead man. Jesus said to her, "did I not tell you if you believed you would see the glory of God?"

So there you have it, Martha at least believed some of what Jesus had been trying to tell them, where Mary shows a lack of belief. We must stop judging by appearances and make a right decision. Yes, Martha was not sitting at the feet of Jesus at the dinner party that Luke describes, but in no way shape or form should we ever utter words regarding a lack of Faith or relationship that Martha had with Jesus. Let's remember each other's good qualities rather than the bad. Let's speak of strengths rather than short-comings, and most of all let's always remember that everyone is on a different path to Christ (though there is only one path to God, through Christ). Everyone will receive Him differently, and just because it is different, does not mean it is wrong. Whatever we magnify will multiply. Let's magnify love rather than judgement. Jesus did.

Both sisters needed to truly BELIEVE in Jesus in order to have eternal life. Perhaps this is what troubled Jesus the most. He knew that neither of them truly believed. Do you believe?