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Today’s passage comes from Luke 1:67-80 and centers on another baby who was born about six months prior to Jesus, who would prepare the way for the Lord God.
Read Luke 1:67-80:
Zacharias’s Prophecy
And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,
And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of David His servant—
As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old—
Salvation FROM OUR ENEMIES,
And FROM THE HAND OF ALL WHO HATE US;
To show mercy toward our fathers, And to remember His holy covenant, The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,
To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; For you will go on BEFORE THE LORD TO PREPARE HIS WAYS; To give to His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins, Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
Thoughts
John the Baptist’s Backstory ~
Zacharius (a priest) and his wife, Elizabeth, had no children [Elizabeth wasn't able to] and they were both too old to have any, when God intervened and told them, through His angel, that his prayer had been heard and Elizabeth would have a son. He was told that they should name him, John.
101 is a slang term that means “basic introduction”. Many in our society use the term, especially in academics, when designing short courses to introduce students to the basics of a given subject.
Within Christendom, there are many evangelists, preachers and pastors who are trying their very best to present Christianity and the Bible’s primary message to a lost world and to those who have questions and are seeking to know about God. Sadly, many of these ministers have failed to accurately convey, even the simple facts of the faith. The results are half-converts, living without any sense of purpose, lacking vision, ignorant of God’s plans; they live without a spiritual compass in their life.
One item that the New Testament brings up, many times, is that knowledge about God and Jesus is necessary for salvation. In other words, in order for people to be granted eternal life, they need to understand about God and His Son. Here are some examples of this:
John 17:1-3 (ESV):
1When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,2since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
Our family has a tradition of having a short family devotional time after dinner, while sitting around the table. We have found that this is a great time to have our family’s devotions, because we’re already together, and can be consistent somewhat, with our routine. We also have an advent candle holder, and this year, I thought it would be fun to use an Advent devotional, to add more meaning to our Christmas season. The problem is, most advent devotionals you purchase spend about 25% or more of the lessons, teaching that Jesus is the “eternal godhead”, and other such things that I just don’t believe are Scriptural. So, this desire and need for a more Scripturally-accurate (I hope!) Advent Devotional, led to my blogging on this subject. I have many days to go yet, but I thought I would share Day 7 with you. If you like it, you can find others at my personal website. I’m not sure how many I will get written, [no guarantees I can finish on time!], but this is a start.
Hey all, you may enjoy reading 1 John today during your devotional time. I noticed this morning a common phrase of John that will be helpful for our own lives and as we are discipling others – “by this”. It says a lot of who the children of God are/aren’t as well as gives us some defining characteristics of God. For example:
1 John 2:3-5 -By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:
1 John 3:10 -By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.
1 John 3:16 - We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
1 John 3:18-19 - Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. 19 We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him
1 John 3:24 - The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
1 John 4:1-3 - Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
1 John 4:9 -By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
1 John 4:13-15 – By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
1 John 4:16-17 - We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.
1 John 5:1-2 - Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. 2 By
this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.
I was struck when I watched this again last night. Hit a little too close to home I guess. But isn’t this a sad reality of the (at least much of the American) church? If what Scripture says is true, the believer is infused with next-age, Christ indwelling, power. What does that mean the church is capable of doing in service to our God and Lord? But yet so many remain in their comfort zones, out of fear of being stretched. This isn’t what we’re called to do brothers and sisters.
I know this isn’t my normal day to post - [so fellow bloggers, please excuse my interruption to our daily schedule!] – but I had to share this video of a sermon done by Pastor Mike Slaughter from the Ginghamsburg UNITED METHODIST church – a mega church located in Tipp City, Ohio. What is so incredible about this teaching is that it is not your typical ‘mainstream Christianity’ teaching of what happens at death, but a Biblical teaching of the sleep of the dead until the resurrection. He even mentions Plato’s immortal soul concept and how unscriptural it is. My husband and I viewed this today, and we were pleasantly surprised at not only his belief and teaching, but that he had the courage and boldness, as a senior pastor of a mega church, to stand up on the stage to teach it!
Many are just now returning home after shopping all night long for their Black Friday shopping deals.
Many of you may already know that “on October 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for the observance of the fourth Tuesday of November as a national holiday. Then, in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday to the third Thursday of November (to extend the Christmas shopping season and boost the economy). After a storm of protest, Roosevelt changed the holiday again in 1941 to the fourth Thursday in November, where it stands today.” [www.earlyamerica.com]
Read the rest...(804 words, 1 image, estimated 3:13 mins reading time)
What does the phrase, “I’m only human,” mean? We use these words when someone has just made a foolish mistake. For example, a husband who has forgotten to leave the toilet seat down is awakened in the middle of the night by a rather indignant wife in a fury over such an inconsideration. He replies groggily, “I’m sorry; I forgot; I’m only human.” The phrase is used to express something we feel deeply about humanity in its present condition. We are flawed creatures who often forget, make mistakes, and act selfishly. “I’m only human” means others should not expect too much from me since I am limited and “prone to wander” as the hymn put it. This sentiment is reinforced by the narrative in Genesis 3 about our fall. Through an act of rebellious disobedience, our first parents fell short of the glory of God and in so doing contaminated our species. By noting how the lifespans in Scripture show a decidedly downward trend, we gain the impression that over time humankind has continued its descent as it continues to degenerate from generation to generation. We are sons of Adam and daughters of Eve who tend towards selfishness and rebellion. Holiness and self-sacrificial love are not “natural” for us; we have to work hard to resist our “flesh.” Even with maximal effort, we are complete failures without external help from God through His spirit. Ungodliness, however, comes without effort as if intertwined in our very DNA. When we think of being human, we think of our current fallen state.
Read the rest...(1466 words, 1 image, estimated 5:52 mins reading time)
What does the phrase, “I’m only human,” mean? We use these words when someone has just made a foolish mistake. For example, a husband who has forgotten to leave the toilet seat down is awakened in the middle of the night by a rather indignant wife in a fury over such an inconsideration. He replies groggily, “I’m sorry; I forgot; I’m only human.” The phrase is used to express something we feel deeply about humanity in its present condition. We are flawed creatures who often forget, make mistakes, and act selfishly. “I’m only human” means others should not expect too much from me since I am limited and “prone to wander” as the hymn put it. This sentiment is reinforced by the narrative in Genesis 3 about our fall. Through an act of rebellious disobedience, our first parents fell short of the glory of God and in so doing contaminated our species. By noting how the lifespans in Scripture show a decidedly downward trend, we gain the impression that over time humankind has continued its descent as it continues to degenerate from generation to generation. We are sons of Adam and daughters of Eve who tend towards selfishness and rebellion. Holiness and self-sacrificial love are not “natural” for us; we have to work hard to resist our “flesh.” Even with maximal effort, we are complete failures without external help from God through His spirit. Ungodliness, however, comes without effort as if intertwined in our very DNA. When we think of being human, we think of our current fallen state.