In the last days of King Herod the Great, all the world was at peace beneath the well-ordered rule of the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus.  In the town of Nazareth, which lay high up in the hills, there lived a young lady named Mary.  She was lovely and daily came with the other women to get water in her pitcher from the fountain that supplied the town.  All who met Mary loved her for her pleasantness and tenderness of heart.

Now Mary was engaged to Joseph, a carpenter of the town and it was soon to be time for their wedding.  Mary and Joseph were poor people who lived in humble stone homes among the workers of Nazareth.  And yet, both were descended from David, the dearly beloved King of Israel.  Mary loved to sing and would often wander in the green hills covered with wild flowers beyond the town walls.

One fine day, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to Mary.  The angel appeared to her and said, "Greetings!  You who are highly favoured!  The Lord is with you and you are blessed above all women."

Mary must have been surprised and amazed.  She was just a simple village girl and wondered what this greeting could mean.  The angel then spoke again saying, "Fear not, Mary, for you have found favour with God and will give birth to a son and call Him Jesus.  He will be great and be called the Son of the Highest.  And God will give Him the throne of His forefather David and He will rule over the house of Jacob for ever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."

"How shall this be," Mary said to the angel, "Seeing that I am not married and have no husband?"  The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of God will cover you.  And the child that is born of you shall be holy and be called the Son of God."

Mary then bowed her head and replied, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, so let it be to me as you have told me."  The angel then left her and Mary took into her heart all the glory and splendour of the vision that she had seen.  Rising, she packed in haste and left immediately to share her joy with her cousin Elisabeth (to whom a child had also been promised).

She made her way through the hill-country of Judea until she came to the house of Elisabeth and her husband, Zacharias.  As she greeted her cousin, Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried out, "You are blessed among women, and the child you shall bear is blessed.  But why has the mother of my Lord come to me?"

Mary replied, "I praise the Lord and rejoice in God my Saviour, for He has blessed me, His simple handmaiden.  From now on, all people in the future will call me blessed, because God has done great things for me, and holy is His name!"

Yes, Mary was filled with joy, and sang and praised the Lord, and then stayed with Elisabeth for about three months before returning to her home in Nazareth.

When Mary got home, she went and told Joseph what had happened and that she was going to have a baby.  He was very cross, and because he was a good man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he decided to immediately end their engagement.

After he had thought about this, an angel appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the baby in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because He will save his people from their sins."

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.  Both Mary and Joseph listened to God and believed what He told them and trusted that He would do what He had said.  They then obeyed and this pleased God and so He blessed them.

God always keeps His Word and does what He has promised.  And so we must also listen to what God says in the Bible and believe Him.  And when we trust God and do what He says, we will please God and He will bless us too!

God bless.