Month: December 2023

Luke 1:38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Teenage Mary has just had A LOT laid on her. The angel told her that she is highly favored, the Lord is with her, she has found favor with God, she will conceive and give birth to a son that she must call Jesus, He will be great, will inherit the throne of David, and His kingdom will have no end. As I said, it’s a lot.

Luke 1:39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 

Mary is a teenager who just found out that she is about to be an unwed teenage mother carrying the Christ child, and her response? “I am the Lord’s servant….May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then she goes to see her cousin Elizabeth, the one person on the earth she is pretty sure can understand the magnitude of what’s just happened.

Luke 1:40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 

Precious Savior, Help me to have the trust of Mary. And thank You for the people in our lives who can comfort and encourage us in challenging times, like Elizabeth for Mary. We were not meant to go through this life alone, we need community, and that’s by Your design. Thank You. Amen.

Luke 1:41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 

Have a blessed day.

Luke 1:34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

I’ve been talking with my pastor this week about all my questions about this passage. He had some interesting questions of his own: “Maybe [the choice of Elizabeth or Mary] is supposed to lead us to reflect on why we might think someone else would be a better choice or not? What is the “right” or “best” choice? Who are the “usual suspects” when picking royalty? Does God choose the same or different kind of people, and what does that say about God?”

Luke 1:35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 

God is definitely up to something, and it is something different, something outside the norm. He is shaking up expectations and assumptions. He is not choosing the “usual suspects” and there is a reason. And I truly believe he wants us to ask questions, that asking questions, pondering, will lead us closer to Him.

Luke 1:36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for not leaving us in the status quo, for shaking up the normal order of things. Thank You for questions and suppositions and conversations with other curious minds. Draw me closer to You through it all. Help me to shine Your light. Amen.

Luke 1:37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

Have a blessed day.

Luke 1:30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 

God is up to something. That’s the only thing I’m truly sure of in this passage. He is sending hope into the world, sending His Son to be born a defenseless baby and to grow up and disrupt the entire religious order with the ultimate goal of saving us all.

Luke 1:31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 

God is up to something, and He’s pretty much breaking all the rules of propriety to do it. He’s not picking the most influential people (a lowly priest and his wife. An unwed teen and her betrothed) He’s not choosing the most powerful route for His Son’s entrance (a defenseless baby). And yet, through this act, the Savior of the world is born, and we are given a chance for eternal life.

Luke 1:32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 

Precious Savior, Thank You for giving me new eyes to see the Christmas story. Thank You for allowing me to wonder what You are up to with Your choices and Your actions in this story that we know by heart. Open my eyes to Your compassion, sovereignty, and love. Amen.

Luke 1:33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

Have a blessed day.

Luke 1:21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 

I guess what strikes me about today’s verses is the normalcy of life after Zechariah talks with the angel of the Lord and is struck mute. That seemed incredibly momentous, while what comes next (verses 21-23) seem utterly mundane.

Luke 1:22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.

I’m not entirely sure what I am supposed to make of that. Miracles are so…miraculous. It seems like everything should change–be brighter, clearer, more special. But nothing is different except Zechariah can’t speak and Elizabeth eventually becomes pregnant.

Luke 1:23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home.

Lord, Today feels like a head-scratcher. What am I supposed to take from this miracle in the mundane? Perhaps the lesson is that Your miracles are spread throughout the mundane in our lives and we need to keep a sharper eye out? Perhaps the lesson is that even with the joy of a miracle, life goes on and we need to go on with it? All I know is that You were present with Zechariah and Elizabeth long past the ending of their dream. You never forgot, and You made it happen in Your time and according to Your plan. Thank You. Amen.

Luke 1:24-25 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

Have a blessed day.

Luke 1:11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 

To have an angel of the Lord appear to you and say that your prayer has been heard (v13). How wonderful that reassurance would be. But even without the assurance of an angel appearing to let me know, I’m pretty sure that God of all creation, who knows every hair on my head, who collects my tears in a bottle, who loves me more than the sparrows, hears me. Always.

Luke 1:12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 

I’m still not sure what to do when His answer is not yet or not in that way. Those answers are painful, yet God is a loving, sovereign, merciful God, so while a not yet or not in that way is hard to take, I am learning–slowly, painfully, grudgingly–that I can trust Him, even in my sadness and disappointment. He has a plan for my good and His glory.

Luke 1:13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for hearing our prayers. Thank You for loving us fiercely. Thank You that even when we are sad, even when we don’t understand, even when we are disappointed and confused, You are still in control. You are sovereign and loving and we can trust You. Even then.

Luke 1:14-15 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 

Have a blessed day.

Luke 1:5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 

Elizabeth and Mary are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Elizabeth is old, barren. She’s probably spent a large portion of her life wishing for a child only to make some sort of peace in her old age with the fact that she would never have them. Yet now she’s expecting.

Luke 1:6-7 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old. 

Mary was so young, still a teenager, never had relations with a man, was looking forward to her wedding, not a child. And yet, God called on her and she said yes. Now, during what will be a time of great anxiety of the unknown, they have each other for strength and comfort.

Luke 1:8-9 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 

Precious Savior, You know us so well, what we need, what we want, who can best support us, who we can support well. Help us to pay attention to the gentle nudges when you place someone on our hearts. Help us to reach out, to encourage and support others as we journey through this life. Amen.

Luke 1:10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

Have a blessed day.