“And Zacharias said to the angel, ‘How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.’” Luke 1:18
Even though an angel appeared to Zacharias to announce the birth of a son who would call God’s people back to repentance and faith in the coming Messiah and Savior, Zacharias questioned the truthfulness of God’s words. God’s promise was beyond possibility in his eyes. How quick we, too, are to discount God’s promises as impossible and doubt them!
Grant that I consider the source of the Bible’s promises, O Lord, and trust that what You have promised me in Christ Jesus You are also able to do. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:1-2
The people of this world — including those considered wise and successful — offer much counsel and advice, but true blessing comes from delighting in the Word of God and meditating day and night on what God reveals and teaches in the Bible. Rather than walking in the ways of this world, God would have us hear and heed what He teaches us in His Word.
Grant that I hear and learn Your Word, O God, that I may be blessed through faith in my Savior. Amen.
“He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:17
As prophesied some 400 years earlier by Malachi, John the Baptist would go before the LORD “in the spirit and power of Elijah” to turn God’s people back from their idolatrous ways to the true God, from living in sin and disobedience to God’s commandments to living by faith in God’s Word. Today, followers of Christ Jesus carry on the work of John the Baptist by calling upon all people to repent of their sinful and evil ways, looking to Christ Jesus and His cross for pardon and forgiveness, and seeking to walk in the ways of the LORD.
Forgive my sins for Jesus’ sake, O God, and move me to walk according to the truth of Your Word. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
“No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” Matthew 9:16-17
The gospel of forgiveness and life through faith in Christ cannot be used as a patch for a religion of rituals and traditions, nor is the true Christian faith compatible with a system of outward works and rites. Combining them destroys both. Rather, God’s offer of pardon and forgiveness for the sake of Christ Jesus and His cross moves believers to faith and joy in God’s grace and mercy in Jesus.
O gracious and merciful God, grant that I trust in Christ alone for forgiveness and life and glory in Your grace rather than trying to be pleasing and acceptable in Your sight by man-made rituals and traditions. Amen.
“For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.” Luke 1:15-16
The angel told Zacharias that the child to be born of Elizabeth — John the Baptist — had an important role to play in God’s plan of salvation for lost mankind. He would be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb and “turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God” by calling upon them to turn from their erring and sinful ways to the Lord God for mercy for the sake of the promised Messiah and His atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. Followers of Christ continue this great work today (cf. Luke 24:46-47).
Grant that I be found ready for Christ’s return, O God — that I turn from my evil ways to You for pardon and forgiveness in the shed blood of Christ Jesus, my Savior, and continue in this great work of calling all to repent and trust in Him. Amen.
