THE CHURCH OF ANNUNCIATION
THE CHURCH OF ANNUNCIATION
I am so excited to stand on the square in Nazareth where Lord Jesus Christ walked on and with the same excitement, I am on my way to the site where was the House of Virgin Mary and where Archangel Gabriel appeared to her, announcing that she would conceive and bear the Son of God, Jesus – an event known as the Annunciation.
In Luke’s Gospel, Nazareth is first described as ‘a town of Galilee’ and home of Mary (Luke 1:26). Following the birth and early epiphanial events of chapter 2 of Luke’s Gospel, Mary, Joseph and Jesus “returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth”.
It was here that Lord Jesus Christ spent his boyhood, living with his mother and father, and here that he faced the sceptical townsfolk of Nazareth.
Аlthough we have few particulars of his life during those early years, yet there are certain features of nature which meet our eyes now, just as they once met His.
Exactly here, where Archangel Gabriel appeared to Virgin Mary, the Church of the Annunciation was established by the Catholics. Another tradition, based on the Apocryphal Protoevangelium of James, holds that this event commenced while Mary was drawing water from a local spring in Nazareth, and the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation was erected at that alternate site.
I am entering the Church of Annunciation and my heart is racing, as all I want to see is the Grotto where Archangel Gabriel announced this most beautiful event for humanity – the birth of the Son of God!
It is a hot summer day, full of tourists and I am entering the church with deep excitement within my heart and the moment I am inside I start feeling peace and the Divine Light of God deep within my Soul. On my way to the Grotto, I am facing beautiful mosaics and architecture.
The Grotto of Annunciation is on the lower level of the Church where the tourists are just passing by. This is a very good opportunity for me to sit in peace and to pray and meditate with my Soul Energy Noosphere Regulators.
I am on my knees in front of the Grotto of Annunciation purifying and charging my Energy Centers through the Divine Light of Soul Energy Noosphere Regulators, who resonate with the Energy of this Holy Place and feeling the Divine Light of Holy Mother Mary and Archangel Gabriel!
A VISIT FROM AN ANGEL
A VISIT FROM AN ANGEL
As you can see from my Spiritual Practices, Praying and Meditating on Scripture is something I found extremely important for increasing our Divine Light Energy and God’s Grace in our lives.
Exactly here is the place I am meditating on the Scripture about the Annunciation.
“MARY looked up, wide-eyed, as the visitor entered her home. He did not ask for her father or her mother. He was there to see her! He could not be from Nazareth; of that she was sure. In a small town like hers, strangers stood out. This one would stand out anywhere. He addressed Mary in a way that was altogether new to her, saying: “Good day, highly favored one, Jehovah is with you.” Luke 1:26-28.
Thus the Bible introduces us to Mary, daughter of Heli, of the town of Nazareth in Galilee. We meet her at a crossroads, in a sense. She was engaged to marry the carpenter Joseph who was, not a man of wealth, but a man of faith. So her course may have seemed to lie neatly mapped out before her – a simple life of working supportively as the wife of Joseph, raising a family together with him.
Suddenly, though, she found herself faced with this visitor who brought her an assignment from her God, a responsibility that would change her life.Many are surprised to learn that the Bible does not tell us much about Mary. It says little of her background, less of her personality, and nothing at all of her appearance. Yet, what God’s Word does say about her is revealing indeed.
What the Bible actually reveals gives us priceless insight into Virgin Mary faith and how we can imitate it.
Virgin Mary’s visitor was no mere man. It was the Angel Gabriel. When he called Mary “highly favored one,” she was “deeply disturbed” by his words and wondered about this unusual greeting. (Luke 1:29) Highly favored by whom? Virgin Mary did not expect to be highly favored among men. But the Angel was speaking of the favor of Jehovah God. That mattered to her. Still, she did not proudly presume that she had God’s favor. If we strive for God’s favor, never haughtily assuming that we already have it, we will learn a vital lesson that young Mary fully understood. God opposes the haughty, but he loves and supports the lowly and humble.—Jas. 4:6.
Virgin Mary would need such humility, for the Angel held out to her an almost unimaginable privilege. He explained that she was to bear a child who would become the most important of all humans. Gabriel said: “Jehovah God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule as king over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end of his kingdom.” (Luke 1:32, 33) Mary surely knew of the promise God had made to David more than one thousand years earlier—namely, that one of his descendants would rule forever. (2 Sam. 7:12, 13) So her son would be the Messiah whom God’s people over the centuries had been hoping for!
Although she was a faithful servant of God, Virgin Mary was an imperfect human. How, then, could she produce a perfect offspring, the Son of God? Gabriel explained: “Holy spirit will come upon you, and power of the Most High will overshadow you. For that reason also what is born will be called holy, God’s Son.” (Luke 1:35) Holy means “clean,” “pure,” “sacred.” Normally, humans pass on their unclean, sinful state to their offspring. In this case, though, Jehovah would perform a unique miracle. He would transfer the life of his Son from heaven to the womb of Mary and then use his active force, or holy spirit, to “overshadow” Mary, shielding the child from any taint of sin.
Did Virgin Mary believe the Angel’s promise? How did she respond?
As Archangel Gabriel put it, “with God no declaration will be an impossibility.” (Luke 1:37) Virgin Mary accepted Gabriel’s words as truth, for she was a young woman of great faith. However, that faith was not gullibility. Like any reasoning person, Virgin Mary needed evidence on which to base her faith. Archanhgel Gabriel was prepared to add to her store of such evidence. He told her about her elderly relative Elizabeth, long known as a barren woman. God had miraculously enabled her to conceive!
Her words, so full of simple humility and obedience, resonate for all people of faith. She said to Gabriel: “Look! Jehovah’s slave girl! May it take place with me according to your declaration.” (Luke 1:38) A slave girl was the lowliest of servants; her life was entirely in the hands of her master. That is how Virgin Mary felt about her Master, Jehovah. She knew that she was safe in His hands, that He is loyal to those who are loyal to Him, and that He would bless her as she did her best with this challenging assignment.—Ps. 18:25.
Virgin Mary in her humility was prepared to receive God the Word, calling herself a servant to God even after anticipating that she will have Him dwelling in her. With her faithful heart, she was willing to yield and trust in the process of having Him dwell within her.
We can benefit from this aspect during the fast and prepare for His dwelling within us that is to come by practicing humility and faithfulness to however God chooses to get us there, and trusting the process.
Sometimes God asks us to do what may seem difficult, even impossible, in our eyes. However, in His Word He gives us reasons to trust Him, to place ourselves in His hands, as Virgin Mary did. (Prov. 3:5, 6)
Will we? If we do, He will reward us, giving us reasons to build even stronger faith in Him.
Praying and Meditating at the ancient energy vortexes as this place is, with your Soul Energy Noosphere Regulators allow you to increase your Energy on a level, at which you feel ready to conquer every negative obstacle in your life, lead by pure faith in Lord Jesus Christ!
THE CHURCH OF SAINT JOSEPH
THE CHURCH OF SAINT JOSEPH
I think that we do not pay enough attention to Saint Joseph!
His role was enormous as he not only accepted Virgin Mary pregnant, but he traveled to Egypt where he had to start feeding his family from the very beginning. Than when they came back to Israel and to Nazareth, he had to start all over, once again. And he was not as young, as Virgin Mary was.
So I want to let you know that I feel how important it is we to give our love and respect for what Saint Joseph did in his life, as the one who raised our Lord and took care of Holy Mother Mary!
The Church of Saint Joseph is build over the land where used to be the carpenter workshop of Saint Joseph. Some of the tradition also claim it was the house where the Holy Family lived after returning back from Egypt.
The church is very close to the Church of Annunciation and has two levels again. Exactly on the lower level there is a mosaic with baptism bath from the time of our Lord where he baptized people.
NAZARETH VILLAGE
NAZARETH VILLAGE
Nazareth is the village in northern Israel where Lord Jesus Christ lived until commencing His ministry at about 30 years of age. Nazareth Village is an interactive open air museum that transformed a hillside in central Nazareth into an authentic first century Israeli village.
I am walking inside this beautiful village and feeling every detail of the environment that surrounded our Lord. The village’s Biblical accuracy and attention to details is impressive. Nazareth Village also is unassuming, reasonably-priced, and perhaps the only site in Israel that hands every departing visitor something – a miniature but functioning souvenir oil lamp – for free.
Nazareth Village has shepherds tending sheep and a weaver who spins the wool into yarn, exactly like my granny Sofia was able to do this. So it is not something very new for me, but as a feeling it is, for being where my Lord lived – exactly this is what moves me in a very deep way. It also has authentic first century wine and olive oil presses, and a threshing floor where women weave straws into baskets.
I am impressed by the first century synagogue whose rabbi is a Bible scholar.
There are also carefully reconstructed homes and terraced fields from the same era, and the most authentic Roman cross on display in Israel, if not in the world.As an example of its attention to historical authenticity and accuracy, Nazareth Village correctly explains that the Bible identifies Saint Joseph’s occupation as “tektonos,” a Greek word that means “builder.” Two thousand years ago, builders in Israel built with rocks and stones, not wood, so they were not carpenters. However, there was some carpentry involved to create and hang doors, etc., as demonstrated at the village.
The three decades Lord Jesus Christ spent in Nazareth are commonly called “the silent years”, with the Gospels telling us close to nothing about that long period in his life. Over the centuries, Christians have sought for sites suitable for commemorating events from Lord Jesus Christ’s life in His home village.
LORD JESUS CHRIST BACK INTO HIS HOMETOWN NAZARETH
LORD JESUS CHRIST BACK INTO HIS HOMETOWN NAZARETH
There’s a story in the Gospel about a time in Lord Jesus Christ’s ministry when He returned to His boyhood stomping grounds of Nazareth.
The reception was less than stellar, because He didn’t look like the hope anyone expected.
I want to share this story with you for this is extremely important lesson for your Soul’s Salvation.
There is no place like home
Apostle Mark tells us that Lord Jesus Christ and his disciples visited his hometown on a Sabbath. He went into the synagogue and started teaching in a way that stunned His listeners. People were shocked that this man they had known since childhood had the audacity to say the things He did, as if He had the authority and credentials to do so. It was offensive.
That reception impacted Christ’s work outside the synagogue:
He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith. (Mark 6:5–6)
It’s a little jarring to read that Lord Jesus Christ was unable to perform any miracles that day. What happened? At face value, it sounds as if the people’s lack of faith was his kryptonite, as if it weakened Him or robbed Him of His power. The incident reads like a sad footnote to a day gone wrong, where Christ couldn’t do what He really wanted to do. Here is a cautionary tale against the dangers of unbelief.
Granted, faith is essential to the Christian life (Heb. 11:6). It’s difficult to receive anything from Christ if we don’t believe he can offer it in the first place. But is that all there is to this story? Is this nothing more than a warning about what happens when faith is subpar? If so, the unbelief of the people of Nazareth (or us) replaces Christ as the main character.
That includes this passage. Despite appearances, it is not primarily about followers and their role in making miracles happen: It’s about Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And it is about His strength—not His weakness.
When Apostle Mark says Lord Jesus Christ “could not” perform any mighty works there, he isn’t suggesting the Lord was incapacitated in some way. The “could not” is one of principle more than power. Working miracles in the absence of faith was impossible because it would have directly contradicted Christ’s message.
In fact, Christ’s choice to do nothing in this story embodies a bigger truth. Instead of indicating failure, his inactivity told the world exactly who had arrived.
Think for a moment about the people of Nazareth. They could not bring themselves to accept Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God. The whole notion of Him being special was offensive. It did not fit their understanding of the world.
And why would it? Important people have money. They have good looks, the right schooling, impressive resumes, connections to other influential individuals. Lord Jesus Christ was just a local boy no different than anyone else who had a sketchy origin story and a blue-collar skill set. Humanly speaking, He didn’t have the credentials to merit paying Him much attention. Isaiah had spoken to this fact centuries earlier: “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him … and we esteemed him not” (Isa. 53:2–3).
In the face of that skepticism and outright hostility, Lord Jesus Christ chose not to do miracles. If we were in His shoes, I think We would have gone the opposite direction. Given our tendency to want everyone’s approval and acceptance, We would have thought, “Here’s an opportunity to win these people over. We must give them what they want. They don’t believe now, but if we do something impressive, it will convince them once and for all that I really am the Son of God.”
Praise God that Lord Jesus Christ does not share our insecurity. People were always asking Him for a sign, some evidence of His claims. It took tremendous inner strength to not act in an effort to prove Himself. That strength came from being firmly grounded in the love and delight of His Father (Mark 1:11). He was the only assessment that counted, and He was thoroughly pleased with His Son before He had even begun His public ministry.
That unshakable love was the foundation that freed Christ from the compulsion to scramble after the crowd’s approval. He could stay focused on his singular mission without getting caught in the trap of satisfying everyone’s expectations. He came to save, not to sell.
It is Him revealing His character in a manner that far exceeded any validation He could offer through a miraculous display. Here is the Son of God, suffering injustice and bearing iniquity without defending himself. Here is the Lord of heaven willingly embracing helplessness.
And we catch a glimpse of the Lamb who stood silent before his shearers (Isa. 53:7).
THE ONLY BATH FOR BAPTIZING IN NAZARETH
THE ONLY BATH FOR BAPTIZING IN NAZARETH
I am in a hurry as I am so looking forward to seeing the only bath for baptizing in Nazareth. And this one is very special as exactly there Lord Jesus Christ baptized very often.
Imagine you are here where our Lord baptized people and how He is baptizing you personally for a new beginning in your life!
Spiritual Practice with Soul Energy Noosphere Regulators
Tell God that you are in His hands and that you are willing to faithfully maintain the Spiritual process of Repentance and Prayer throughout this time so that He may fill you with His Grace and dwell within you.
I am leaving the Hometown of our Lord Jesus Christ with uplifted Soul and new knowledge about the deep faith and how precious my life is and will be with Lord Jesus Christ by my side and within me.
Sincerely,
Stella Kamenova
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