In today’s scripture we see and hear Zechariah being filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesying about Jesus.  This is often called ‘Zechariah’s Song’.  After being mute for 9+months, seeing and hearing from the angel Gabriel, realizing his own fears and doubts, seeing his Lord and God perform a great miracle in his life by giving him a child in his old age to raise and knowing he and Elizabeth were part of God’s merciful plan to bring redemption to mankind, Zechariah was overwhelmed by God.  The Lord used him to proclaim about His coming son and what He would accomplish.                                             “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
    because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
 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),
 salvation from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us—
 to show mercy to our ancestors
    and to remember his holy covenant,
  the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
    and to enable us to serve him without fear
   in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.  Luke 1:68-75

Jesus, this savior to come, would redeem His people.  He would be a strong king and save us from our enemies.  He would be merciful and keep the promises made by God the Father.  Jesus would rescue us and enable us to serve Him in holiness and righteousness.  What a wonderful Savior Zechariah was proclaiming.  Jesus fulfilled all these prophesies and more.  Today as you go about your day meditate on Jesus and what He means to you.  What would your own song look and sound like to Jesus?   1 Peter 3:15 ” But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,”   Jesus wants us prepared to tell about Him and the hope He gives.  May you find someone to share this Hope with today in a gentle and respectful way.   Just speak kindly from your heart and let the Holy Spirit do His work in their hearts.  Be a pro-claimer of HOPE  just like Zechariah.

Looking to share about Jesus,

Linda

If you had been unable to speak for 9+ months, what would be the first words you would utter?  Zechariah’s first words were praise to God.  His disbelief in God’s power to give him a son in his old age brought judgement from the angel Gabriel.  Luke 1:18-20.  Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”   The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.  And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

In today’s passage, Elizabeth’s baby boy is 8 days old and was ready to be circumcised.  This would begin his entrance into God’s family and the Old Testament Covenant with God.    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.”  They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”   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.”  Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God.    Zechariah had learned his lesson and knew to follow exactly what the angel had told him to do.  They were to name the child John.   Immediately upon making this declaration, Zechariah was able to speak.  He had waited 9 long months to profess his faith and trust in God.  Scripture tells us Zechariah’s speaking got the whole neighborhood talking about Zechariah, Elizabeth and who this child will turn out to be!

What lesson has God taught you that brought you into and through a time of silence?   Did you emerge victorious and praising God like Zechariah?   We learned earlier from Mary and Elizabeth that obedience brings blessing.  Zechariah learned this too as he came out of his time of testing to blessings.  He had a new son to raise, knew that his son was favored by God and would accomplish great things for God.  His faith was renewed and confirmed as he knew who God was and what He could do in his life.  Ask God to show you His direction and step out in obedience.  You will be blessed.

Looking to Jesus for victory in my life,

Linda

 

Our focus today is one small verse, Luke 1:56  “Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.”  Since John and Jesus were cousins, Elizabeth and Zachariah must have been Mary’s Aunt and Uncle.  They were older and earlier in the chapter Luke described them,  “Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.”  Mary was a young virgin probably about the age of 16.  Zachariah had been struck mute for his disbelief at the news of their coming child so this was a quiet household.  We were told in verse 26  ^“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy,” the angel came and gave the news to Mary that she was to be the mother of the long awaited Messiah.  A few days after receiving the news Mary went to see Elizabeth. 39 “At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, ⁴⁰ where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.”  Mary would have stayed with Elizabeth until she was about ready to deliver and then returned home.

What does this tell us about these women?  Elizabeth was Mary’s confidant.  They shared the joy and expectations for their coming children as to what life would be like for them, their families and what the children would accomplish for God.  These were things that they could not share with anyone else.  They comforted one another as Mary helped Elizabeth in her last months of pregnancy and talked with her as Zachariah was mute.  They enjoyed a friendship and companionship as women.  Elizabeth was undoubtedly a mentor, a wise adviser, teacher and coach.  Mary had gone to Elizabeth for comfort and understanding and she gave support and love in return.

What about you?  Do you have friends that you confide in?  Do you seek their comfort and help in times of stress or confusion?  How do you support one another?  God calls us to be in relationships with others just as He desires we are in relationship with Him.  There are many places in scripture where we are commanded to love and support one another as friends.  In John 13:34-35 Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  Who do you have in your life that you call friend that you can share your hopes, dreams, problems, confusions and faith in God?  Mary had Elizabeth to turn to at this time in her life, what about you?

Friends are a true gift from God.  I have a dear friend, Joan, who God brought into my life when we were young married women.  We have worshiped, studied, prayed, played and enjoyed one another’s company over the years.  When hard times came, we supported one another, stood by each other’s side as we cried and shared a hope found only in Christ.  I know that no matter what,  I can call on her and seek her help, comfort and support.  I think this is the kind of love and support Elizabeth and Mary gave to each other as ‘sister’ in Christ.   If you have a supportive sister or brother in Christ, let them know how much they mean to you today.  Give them a call, send them a note or have a cup of coffee with them and share.  God has given them to you just as He gave Elizabeth and Mary each other.

Praising God for His provision of friends,

Linda 

 

Luke 1:46-55 is called the Magnificat and is Mary’s confession of praise to God.  Think of this young girl,  chosen to be the mother of Jesus, and her amazing faith in God.  She knew who God was and what He can do.  She knew the character of God and trusted it completely.

⁴⁶ And Mary said:

The angel Gabriel told Mary in Luke 1:36 that her cousin Elizabeth was pregnant in her old age- an impossible miracle of God.  A few days after hearing what God had planned for her future, Mary went to see Elizabeth.  ^“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!   But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?   As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.   Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”  Luke 1:41-45

Elizabeth greets Mary with a sense of wonder and awe that she was blessed to be chosen of God to bear the Messiah.  She proclaims her faith in God and revels in the expectation of what God will do within Mary.    Her expectation is affirmed by her own baby leaping within her.

When was the last time you were filled with expectation for God?  Do you pray expecting God to answer?  Do you anticipate with joy the things God will do?  Hebrews 11:1 tells us “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”   Elizabeth was sure that God could and would accomplish His purpose and that Mary would be blessed for her obedience.  Seek to capture some of Elizabeth’s joy and conviction in your life today.  Know that God’s will will be accomplished in your life and that He cares for you.  Cling to Jeremiah 29:11  For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.   God has good things, a purpose and plan for you just as He did for Mary and Elizabeth.  With faith, Trust Him in expectation today.

Seeking to walk with expectation and hope,

Linda

I wanted to take another look at Mary’s Obedience today.  We saw from scripture yesterday that Mary’s response to Gabriel’s message was one of wonder, submission and obedience, however, scripture also teaches that God’s response to obedience is blessing.  How was Mary blessed?   Gabriel spoke to Mary and elaborated on her mission.   Luke 1:30-33 “And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,  and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”     She was to be the mother of the long awaited Messiah, the Son of God,  whose kingdom will be forever.  After Mary asked her question as to how this was possible, Gabriel graciously gave her more information to reassure her.  “And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born  will be called holy—the Son of God.   And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.   For nothing will be impossible with God.”  And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (verses 35-38)   She was to be visited by the Holy Spirit,  her child would be the Son of God and her cousin Elizabeth was going to bear a child a child in her old age.  All of these things are impossible for man but possible with God.  

Mary was open to God’s will in her life and willing to trust God with her future.  Her willingness to follow where God was leading caused her to be mightily blessed.  She is revered as the Mother of our Lord and Savior, had the joy of raising Jesus and teaching him in their family, watching him grow and develop into a man of purpose and direction fully obedient to God.    Jesus spoke to his disciples about love and obedience in John 15: 10-11 “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.  These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.  Obedience or doing as God directs  brings fullness of joy into our lives and brings joy to the Lord.  Mary experienced this love and joy in her life because she was obedient to God. 

Can you remember a time when obedience brought blessing into your life?  God wants to shower us with blessing and the fullness of His joy.  It is a promised result of obedience to Him.  Seek God and ask Him what He would have you do, then move forward with an obedient heart.  Watch out!  You will be showered with blessings and great joy!

Striving to walk in obedience to Him,

Linda 

 

 

Mary’s lesson to us for today is to choose obedience when confronted with confusion, worry or fear not doubt.  Mary faced the crossroad where doubt and faith meet. The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary about 5 months after appearing to Zechariah. She was a young virgin engaged to marry Joseph.

The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”   Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.  You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.  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,  and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”  Luke 1:29-33  After receiving this troubling message, here is her response, verse 38,  “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” 

Mary could have responded to this troubling news, a reputation killer, with anger, disbelief, worry, criticism of the Lord’s plan or doubt in God’s ability to bring this about.  Zechariah questioned God’s ability in Luke 1:18  “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”  He doubted God and wanted assurance.   Look at Mary’s question to Gabriel in verse 34,  “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”   She knew God was able and just wanted to know how this miracle would be accomplished.  Her answer shows faith in God that seeks to understand God’s way.

Mary shows us how we can question God in faith.  Having doubts or fears is not a problem for God and He will reveal to us His truth.  We may have trouble understanding it with our finite human minds but He will tenderly explain when we show faith and obedience.  Gabriel did explain the situation and God’s power personally to Mary after her question in verses 35-37.  And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born^[d] will be called holy—the Son of God.  And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.  For nothing will be impossible with God.” Mary showed her love and obedience for God in her response to Gabriel’s explanation.  Let us seek to be obedient and accepting of God’s work in our lives- embrace it, love it and walk trusting Him for the results.

Seeking to live like I believe in Him,

Linda 

Our story of Elizabeth and Zechariah continues in Luke 1:11-25.  Zechariah was serving in the temple and the angel Gabriel appeared to him and told him about his coming son, John.  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.  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.  He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.  And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Zechariah’s reaction to the angel had been fear but to his message – it was doubt.  Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”   Gabriel was not pleased and sentenced Zechariah to silence as he awaited the birth of his son because of his unbelief.  The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.  And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”   Zechariah reacted in unbelief instead of remembering the miracles God has performed in the past with godly women like Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel, and  Sarah, the mother of Isaac.

Let’s look at Elizabeth’s reaction to the news.   “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.” Luke 1:25   Elizabeth responds with grace and thanksgiving to the favor God showed her.

What about you?  Do you respond with unbelief when God works a miracle in your life like Zechariah?  Or do you respond with grace by giving thanks and praise to God like Elizabeth?  We know from this story that God desires faith not doubt.  James 1:6 “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”   Zechariah’s disbelief left him literally speechless for months.  God desires that we be strong, grounded in Him and filled with faith,  not wavering in unbelief.  Jesus tells us in Matthew 19:25 how it really is, “ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”    Will you step out in faith this Christmas and respond to Him with grace and thanksgiving in your heart for what He has done in sending Jesus or will you doubt?  The choice is yours and it has eternal results.  Unbelief  will result in eternal separation from God, not just 9 months of silence.  Turn to Him in faith today and be like Elizabeth responding in praise with thanksgiving and grace.  God wants to bless us through our faith- be open and responsive to Him today this first Sunday of Advent.

Linda

This year I want to focus on the characters, people, in the Advent story.  God chose them to show us characteristics of our own character that He wishes to develop in our lives.  Prior to Jesus’ birth, his earthly cousin’s birth was foretold.  He was the man who came to be known as John the Baptist.  His parents were elderly and were of the priestly line.   “When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron.”  Luke 1:5  They had no children as Elizabeth was barren.  Luke 1:6 describes them, “ Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations.”    God chose godly righteous people to be John’s parents.  God wanted John to have training in the Law of Moses and grow with respect and love for Him.  Zachariah and Elizabeth carefully obeyed God’s laws and sought to please Him in all they did.  God knew they would train young John in the same way.   Being righteous means to be in right standing with God, virtuous.

What about you? Would God choose you for a special project because he needed someone who was righteous?  How do we become righteous?  Jesus told the crowds in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”   Jesus told us to seek His righteousness first.  Romans 3:22 tells us “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”  Through faith in Jesus is how we obtain right standing (righteousness) before God.  The method of righteousness that Zachariah and Elizabeth used to attain righteousness was by keeping the Law.  That way no longer applies to us as Christ provided a better way thought faith in His death and resurrection.  Philippians 3:9 “and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—”   Do you have righteousness that comes through faith in Christ?  God wanted to use righteous Zachariah and Elizabeth.  We must have saving faith the brings God’s righteousness to us, then God will use us for His purposes and our good.  Know Jesus today- it is a good way to start the season, wearing His righteousness.   Show others the righteousness of Christ in all you do.  That is the project He has for each one of us.

Linda