The Christmas Story
Zechariah receives a visit from Gabriel
We all know why we celebrate Christmas, but there are many distractions that try and keep us away from the real meaning of this Holiday. We know that December 25th is not the actual day that Jesus was born, but I praise God that a time has been set aside to celebrate our Savior’s birth. Satan has thrown in a lot of distractions to keep the real meaning at bay, so this week we are reading the story of Jesus’ birth. I pray that as you read, the words will attach themselves to your soul and God will bring a deeper revelation of himself to you. So sit back, snuggle up with Jesus and read aloud his story. We begin with the story of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ written by Luke.
My story begins with a Jewish priest, Zechariah, who lived when Herod was king of Judea. Zechariah was a member of the Abijah division of the Temple service corps. (His wife, Elizabeth, was, like himself, a member of the priest tribe of the Jews, a descendant of Aaron.) Zechariah and Elizabeth were godly folk, careful to obey all of God’s laws in spirit as well as in letter. But they had no children, for Elizabeth was barren; and now they were both very old.
One day as Zechariah was going about his work in the Temple—for his division was on duty that week—the honor fell to him by lot to enter the inner sanctuary and burn incense before the Lord. Meanwhile, a great crowd stood outside in the Temple court, praying as they always did during that part of the service when the incense was being burned. Zechariah was in the sanctuary when suddenly an angel appeared, standing to the right of the altar of incense! Zechariah was startled and terrified.
But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! For I have come to tell you that God has heard your prayer, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son! And you are to name him John. You will both have great joy and gladness at his birth, and many will rejoice with you. For he will be one of the Lord’s great men. He must never touch wine or hard liquor—and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from before his birth! And he will persuade many a Jew to turn to the Lord his God. He will be a man of rugged spirit and power like Elijah, the prophet of old; and he will precede the coming of the Messiah, preparing the people for his arrival. He will soften adult hearts to become like little children’s, and will change disobedient minds to the wisdom of faith.”
Zechariah said to the angel, “But this is impossible! I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.” Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to you with this good news! And now, because you haven’t believed me, you are to be stricken silent, unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly come true at the proper time.
Meanwhile the crowds outside were waiting for Zechariah to appear and wondered why he was taking so long. When he finally came out, he couldn’t speak to them, and they realized from his gestures that he must have seen a vision in the Temple. He stayed on at the Temple for the remaining days of his Temple duties and then returned home. Soon afterwards Elizabeth his wife became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. “How kind the Lord is,” she exclaimed, “to take away my disgrace of having no children!”Luke 1:5-25,TLB
This reading reminds us that God sees everything that we are going through (The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. Proverbs 15:3). He hears our prayers (And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 1John 5:14) and there is nothing impossible for God. (But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26)
Affirmations; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
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