MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/8/2026
10:19 AM
My
Worship Time Focus:
PT-1 “Mary’s
Submission”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: Luke
1:38
Message of the verses: “And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave
of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
We can be assured that Mary not only
knew the story of Abraham and Sarah, as both were in their 90’s and Sarah gave
birth to Isaac. But there is another
story we also can be assured of that that story is seen in 1 Samuel 1:1-2:10,
which of course is the birth of Samuel.
Hannah, the mother of Samuel had no children and so she prayed for a
child as seen in 1 Samuel 1:10-11. “10
She was deeply distressed and prayed to
the LORD and wept bitterly. 11 And she
vowed a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the
affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but
will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days
of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.’”
Like
Hannah, who called herself God’s “maidservant,” Mary also saw herself as
the bondslave of the Lord (cf. v. 48).
“48 for he has looked on the
humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call
me blessed;” John MacArthur writes “The
Greek word rendered bondslave (doule, which always should be
accurately translated ‘slave’) is the same on used in the Septuagint version of
1 Samuel 1:11, thus linking Mary’s submissive attitude to Hannah’s. Her humble response demonstrated Mary’s
willing submission to God’s unfolding purpose.
She saw herself as nothing more than His willing, humble slave, and
responded by saying, “May it be done to me according to your word.” She did not ask about Joseph, who
obviously would know that the baby was not his.
Mary would thus have to face the stigma of unwed motherhood and the
appearance of having committed adultery—the punishment for which was death by
stoning [Deut. 22:13-21; Lev. 20:10; cf. John 8:3-5].) But in humble, obedient faith Mary willingly
trusted God to vindicate her (cf. Matt. 1:19-25).”
(cf. Matt. 1:19-25)
“19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and
unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel
of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do
not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from
the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son,
and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their
sins." 22 All this took place to
fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a
son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the
angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to
a son. And he called his name Jesus.”
John MacArthur writes the following “One of the Roman
Catholic Church’s most egregious errors is its turning of this self-proclaimed
humble slave of God into the exalted queen of heaven. Such worship of Mary, which would have
appalled and horrified her, is nothing less than idolatry. There is no queen of heaven, only the true
and eternal King (Pss. 29:10; 47:8; Dan. 4:37; cf. Matt. 11:25; Acts 17:24),
the triune God.”
(Pss. 29:10; 47:8; Dan. 4:37; cf. Matt.
11:25; Acts 17:24)
“10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the
LORD sits enthroned as king forever. 11 May the LORD give strength to his people! May
the LORD bless his people with peace!”
“8 God reigns over the nations; God sits on his
holy throne.”
“37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and
honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just;
and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.”
25 ¶ At that time Jesus declared, "I thank
you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from
the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;”
“24 The God who made the world and everything in
it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,”
MacArthur goes on:
“Catholicism’s elevation of Mary finds no support in Scripture; the
concept of the ‘queen of heaven’ does appear in the Old Testament in connection
with ancient pagan religion. The idea
derives from Assyrian and Babylonian beliefs and practices prevalent during
Jeremiah’s time in apostate Judah. Their
idolatry caused God through the prophet to pronounce judgment on His people:
“16 ¶ "As for you, do not pray for this people,
or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will
not hear you. 17 Do you not see what
they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood, the fathers kindle
fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven. And they pour out
drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger. 19 Is it I whom they provoke? declares the LORD.
Is it not themselves, to their own shame? 20 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, my
anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, upon man and beast, upon
the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; it will burn and not be
quenched.’”
“The ‘queen
of heaven’ (v. 18) was the pagan goddess Ishtar (also called Ashtoreth and Astarte),
the wife of Baal or Molech. Because
those false deities symbolized fertility, worship of them also involved
prostitution.”
Spiritual
Meaning for my Life Today: I have learned one thing for sure as I
continue to study the Bible each day, and that is to continue to study the
Bible each day so that you don’t fall into traps like worshiping Mary. It’s not in the Bible to do that.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: I am praying that the Lord will give a season
of revival in my heart so that I can get
out of this spiritual funk that I am in, and I suppose that it has to do with
all that is going on with my wife’s cancer.
3/8/2026
11:02 AM
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