Category: Luke

Luke 1:67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

Again what strikes me about today’s scripture, about Zechariah’s reaction to nine months of muteness and a new baby at his age, is that he reacts with songs of praise. He doesn’t grumble about not being able to speak for nine months. He doesn’t complain about the fact that this blessed event would have been appreciated when they were younger and trying to conceive. He is thankful for what is, and he expresses that through a song of praise.

Luke 1:68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them.

I have always said you will find what you are looking for in life. If you look for things to grumble about, you’ll find them everywhere. If you look for blessings, you’ll find them, too. Unfortunately, my default these days seems to be grumbling. I don’t like that about myself. And I know, when I look for the blessings, I see them everywhere in my life.

Luke 1:69-70 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),

Precious Savior, I feel You calling me to task about my grumbly attitude. I don’t like it either, and I know I have the power to change it. Help me to be more like Mary, more like Zechariah, singing songs of praise for the gifts and blessings that are instead of grumbling about the things that are not as I wish. Help me to focus on all the good in my life. Amen.

Luke 1:71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us—

Have a blessed day.

Luke 1:62-63 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” 

Again today’s scripture talks about upending expectations. Babies were named after fathers or families, but both Elizabeth and Zechariah were insistent that this child would be named John. It seems a small thing, but this birth, the babe that would prepare the way for Christ, had been upending expectations since before conception.

Luke 1:64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God.  

Zechariah, too, is upending expectations. He was struck mute back before Elizabeth even conceived–ostensibly because he questioned the angel, but maybe that muteness was so that he would be able to think about the miracle God was working in his life, in his marriage? Because when he was able to speak again, he praised God immediately.

Luke 1:65 All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things.

Precious Savior, I am often way too sensitive to expectations of this world. I am also much too reliant on what I think is expected of me–behaviors, attitudes, etc. Thank You for these examples of the beauty that can come from upended expectations. Help me live according to You alone. Amen.

Luke 1:66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

Have a blessed day.

Luke 1:57 When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 

I was tempted to skip ahead to the birth of Jesus for today’s devo reflection, but last night our Christmas Eve sermon was entitled “When the Timing is Wrong,” and I decided to stay exactly where God has placed me in Luke at the moment. In today’s scripture, we are celebrating John’s birth. On today’s date, we are celebrating Jesus’s birth. The timing seems wrong on so many things in life, but if we look, there are always reasons to celebrate.

Luke 1:58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

Along with wrong timing, these chapters in Luke show us that even when something defies expectations, it can be a blessing. Zechariah was only a lowly priest. Elizabeth was so far past childbearing years. Mary was an unwed teen. Joseph didn’t want to marry scandal. And yet, John was born to pave the way, and Jesus was born to save us all, proving that even when nothing goes according to expectation, life can still be beautiful.

Luke 1:59-60 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”

Precious Savior, Thank You for these crucial reminders that even when the timing is all wrong, even when every expectation is upended, You are working. Help us, as we go through this day where we have so many hopes and expectations, to be mindful of Your presence, of Your blessings, of Your hope. Amen.

Luke 1:61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

Have a blessed day.

Luke 1:50-51 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

If I were to sing of God’s love, His faithfulness–even just as I’ve seen it in my life, I would have an unending song. That is a humbling and grace-filled experience because this season feels so hard, but as I thought about this idea today, I immediately had so much that I am thankful for, so many ways that I have seen God’s goodness, His presence in my life.

Luke 1:52-53 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.

My song would not be all good things, but all the ways that God has shown up, even in the difficult times. That is the beauty of Mary’s song. She has just had a lot of heavy news laid on her–unwed, pregnant, earthly vessel for the Son of God. But she’s also had a lot of positives–she is favored by the Lord, Joseph is going to stand by her, Elizabeth is there for her, she is carrying the Son of God.

Luke 1:54-55 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”

Precious Savior, Thank You for the reminder that You are with us through the good and the bad. Thank You that we can sing Your praises, we can sing about Your presence and Your goodness because You are so very present in our lives. Help us to cling to our songs of praise to You, through sunshine and storms. Draw us closer. Amen.

Luke 1:56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

Have a blessed day.

Luke 1:42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!  

Verse 45 really strikes me today: “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” That is the type of person I *want* to be–the kind who believes wholeheartedly that God will fulfill His promises. And I *do* believe that, but then I worry and fret and wonder if He’ll fulfill them the way *I* think they should be fulfilled.

Luke 1:43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

I do believe that the Lord will fulfill His promises. I truly do. So why is it so hard for me, for many of us, to just trust. Period. No worrying. No fretting. No questioning. No “but this is the way I wanted it to go” -ing. I honestly don’t have an answer. But I want one.

Luke 1:44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for loving me deeply, fiercely, completely, even though I struggle with complete trust. Thank You that I *do* trust You, wholeheartedly, even when I question and worry and fret. Help me to lay all of that baggage at Your feet and to simply trust You. Amen.

Luke 1:45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Have a blessed day.

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.