Luke 1:57 - 80

In this passage, John the baptist is born, much to the joy of his parents and Elizabeth's relatives and neighbors. When asked the name of the child, she told them John. However since there were no "Johns" in the family, people were confused. So they asked Zechariah to write the child's name on a tablet, and he wrote "his name is John". At that moment, Zechariah was allowed to speak again, and he praises God for his redeeming strength of salvation for his people Israel. He also tells of how his newborn son will be called a prophet of the Most High, and will give "his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins".

There is no mention of John's childhood after this... only that he grows up strong in the spirit and eventually lives in the Desert, before his public ministry begins.

Luke 1:39 - 56

In this passage, Mary visits her relative Elizabeth to share in her joy. As Mary enters the house, the baby in Elizabeth jumped for joy.

I'd like to stop here and make some oberservations. First off, I feel that this is one verse that supports the fact that the unborn are alive and human well before birth. How can something that is not alive be reactive? Secondly, not only is the fetal John alive, but has the Holy Spirit to react to the presence of his Lord. Now John is blessed by the God and the previous verses do say that he was to be given the Holy Spirit, even from birth. However I also belive that his shows us that having faith is not something to be earned, accepted or completely understood. God can create faith by grace even in a fetus as he did with John. Back to Luke...

Elizabeth too exclaims in the sprit of how blessed Mary and her child are, and wonders why she is so honored to have them in her home. Even her baby lept for joy at their presence. She finishes by saying, "Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

The rest of the passage is known as the Magnificat, how Mary praises God through poetry and/or a song. It tells us that God is merciful, mindful, faithful and does great things for us. He is powerful and scatters and brings low those who are proud and powerful. To those who are humble and hungry he feeds and raises up.

Luke 1:26 - 38

Shortly after visiting Zechariah, Gabriel returns to visit Mary, a Nazarene, virgin girl, who was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. He greets Mary warmly it seems by saying "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Of course this troubled Mary, but Gabriel again consoles saying that she shouldn't be afraid and that she had found favor with God. He announces to Mary that she will bear a son and that his name was to be Jesus. He would become great and be called Son of the Most High, given the throne of David to reign over the house of Jacob forever, his kingdom having no end. Unlike doubtful Zechariah, Mary only asks in wonder of how this was to be, since she was a virgin. Gabriel informs her that the Spirit of God would overshadow her and conceive Jesus, so that he will also be called the Son of God. He also tells Mary that Elizabeth (her relative) was also expecting a child. So that in both women (a virgin and a barren womb) both would achieve the unthinkable. But as Luke 1:37 says "Nothing is impossible with God." In response to this news, Mary shows her faith by saying in verse 38, "I am the Lord's servant... may it be to me as you have said."

Perhaps this phrase is the only prayer we really need.

I am your servant Lord, may it be as you say it will be.

Luke 1:1 - 25

In Luke's letter to his friend, Theophilus, we read about how the purpose and reasoning for the letter comes from "things which have been fulfilled" or believed about Christ. Information that was "handed down by eyewitnesses and servants" of God. Luke, being a physician, was a very scientific and exact man. He "carefully investigated everything from the beginning" to create an "orderly account" of Christ's life and death. For what reason did Luke write these things? Luke 1:4 states "That you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught".

Luke starts with the preparation before Christ's arrival in the form of John the Baptist. John's parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth, were descendants of Aaron and Zechariah himself was a priest. Both were upright people, "observing all the Lord's commands and regulations". However, they were both old and Elizabeth was barren. During his time at the temple, Zechariah was chosen by lot to burn incense inside the temple of the Lord. While there, an angel appeared to him at the right hand side of the altar, scaring Zechariah. But the angel assures him and tells him "your prayer has been heard!" He announces that Elizabeth will bear a son, John. He will be assigned a great mission of bringing many to the Lord and "make ready a people for the Lord." He will even be born already with the Holy Spirit and in the spirit and power of Elijah. Unfortunately, like many of us, Zechariah has a moment of weakness. He doubts the message of the angel because he "is an old man and [his] wife is well along in years." The angel then tells us he is Gabriel and that he stands in the presence of God and is sent by God with good news. As punishment for his lack of faith, Zechariah is struck dumb and unable to speak until John is born at the proper time. John leaves the temple and the other priests can tell he has seen a vision. Elizabeth does become pregnant with John and enters seclusion for 5 months. She is quoted in verse 25 as saying "The Lord has done this for me. In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."

I wonder if I would be any different than Zechariah. I try to imagine the things I pray for, and if one day an angel would pop down from heaven and announce that, not only had God heard my prayer, but will answer it with something more miraculous and glorifying than I had dreamt of. We have such little faith sometimes that God will answer our prayers in greater and more glorifying ways than we can think of. Let us trust that he will and rejoice always in the graciousness of our Lord!

Matthew 7:1-6 (The Sermon on the Mount, Part XIII)

Judging Others
This section of the sermon, Jesus addresses our attitude towards others' sin. Of course, as Christians we should be sensitive to how others are acting and behaving, especially if they are fellow believers. Encouragement and rebuke are fine things that we can do for each other to stay on track with God. However, we should never put ourselves on the judgment tone of God and declare who is condemned and who isn't. Only the Lord knows the heart and when and how he might send the Holy Spirit to them. Christ looks down on those who play God and says to them that they will be judged as harshly as they judged others (verse 2). Before we go about even rebuking others or helping fellow believers on their walk, we must make sure that we aren't in worse shape ourselves. Our words might fall short to someone about a particular sin if we are in far worse shape. It would be as if someone got drunk one night and was rebuked by a brother who was an alcoholic. We must tend to our own affairs first, then assist others (verse 5).

Tied into this is also the tendency to give our time and energy to situations where the Lord hasn't called us. To people and places that just absorb all that we have and never sees fruit. This would be as throwing something valuable into the pen of pigs to trample. We should serve the Lord, but he will direct our steps to those he entrusts to us and places where we are needed most. If you find yourself being unproductive with certain people or in a certain place, perhaps you too are throwing your pearls to the pigs (verse 6).

Matthew 6:25-34 (The Sermon on the Mount, Part XII)

Do Not Worry
This passage is one of my favorites in the New Testament. It is full of reassurance for us in our Earthly life. I'll admit I've had to come back to it time and time again when under stress over the little things in life. Here, Jesus tells us not to worry for life is more important than what we eat or wear. He is control, he loves us and considers us very valuable to him (verse 26). He also points how the utter futility of worry, and now it is not productive and does little to help us in this life. Christ points to nature and how God provides for all his creation, so why shouldn't he provide even more for his dear children? At the end of verse 30, Christ points to what the real issue is here. Worry is a direct result of a lack of faith. You cannot completely trust Christ and worry! You either believe that he loves you and will care for you, or you worry that everything rests on your shoulders alone. Should we be responsible for our lives? Should we make plans and act on them? But of course! But to lose hours of sleep, have declining health and being generally unruly over things that we don't control shows us that our hearts are not trusting God to provide. He knows what we need (verse 32) so all we need to do is focus our energy in serving him and his kingdom and God will provide all our necessities in many ways. Finally, Jesus closes this topic by again commanding us not to worry, because by worrying we might miss out on things that we need to work on today. Each day has its challenges and we need not add more to it by needlessly worrying over the future.

Matthew 6:19-24 (The Sermon on the Mount, Part XI)

Treasures in Heaven
The Lord says in verse 19 what we all know, things don't last. Fashion changes, fads come ago, things break, wear down, or even are stolen from us. There is little in this world that lasts the test of time. But in verse 20 we are told what does last... heavenly treasures! Now heaven isn't exactly a place where you can Fed-Ex your favorite gadget or pair of shoes. What we can "send ahead" is faithful, loving service to our Lord. Not service to serve ourselves, or service to show off how good we are. It's those secret deeds, those done in private, only for the Lord to know, and only for him. These are things that go before us and join in the glory of God. We do them in celebration of our salvation and the victory that is ours through Christ. Not for our gain, but for our love of God. This is what is mentioned in verse 21, that our hearts will be there as well if our focus lies in God. If this world gets us confused and tempts us with it's shiny trinkets, then our hearts turn toward the worldly, the temporary and corruptible. These will never fulfill and never last. This is what the Lord refers to in 22 and 23, that if your eyes are fixed on the light of God and truth, then everything you are will be in that light. But if you are fixed on the darkness of this world and it's lies, then all you are will be in that darkness. What is worse are those who trust in the darkness of this world and think it is light... how much worse will it be for them in the end? Finally, Jesus puts it bluntly to us, there are no two ways about it. You can either serve God or serve Money. Money capitalized is the constant worry, striving and service to have money and things. God blesses us richly with so much comfort and provisions far beyond our basic needs. God blesses some even more so that they might contribute to ministry and education. He is the one that decides these things... and we must be content with his choice. Let our eyes and our hearts be set upon seeking his kingdom and he will generously provide for all our needs.