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25 Days God's Gift of Giving
by turtle30c
Luke 1:1-23 KJV
(1) Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a
declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,
(2) Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning
were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
(3) It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of
all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent
Theophilus,
(4) That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein
thou hast been instructed.
(5) There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain
priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the
daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
(6) And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the
commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
(7) And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and
they both were now well stricken in years.
(8) And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office
before God in the order of his course,
(9) According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn
incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
(10) And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at
the time of incense.
(11) And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on
the right side of the altar of incense.
(12) And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell
upon him.
(13) But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer
is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt
call his name John.
(14) And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at
his birth.
(15) For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink
neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy
Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
(16) And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their
God.
(17) And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, 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.
(18) And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this?
for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.
(19) And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand
in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew
thee these glad tidings.
(20) And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the
day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not
my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.
(21) And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he
tarried so long in the temple.
(22) And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they
perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned
unto them, and remained speechless.
(23) And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration
were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
As we start toward Christmas I began to think what is one of the most
meaningful things about the holidays surrounding the birth besides the
obvious gift of God’s son Jesus. God gives us many things. His plan of
Salvation is on the top of the list, but we working from 25 backwards
down to number one gift. 25 gift is the gift of visions. The gift of vision
first was realized in the story of both Noah and Abraham. God spoke
a vision into the life of Noah to build an ark of safety. God spoke a
vision to Abraham of a promise land that would be for His people.
Zacharias was given a vision of something he longed for and that was
a son. Zacharias was old and his wife passed child bearing years. The
impossibility was foretold by the angel Gabriel and Zacharias believed
not. The inability to have a child was will marked by the passage of
time and years of the couple. Yet the angel said it would be. An angel
from the Lord declared it, who spoke the word of God.
One would think this site alone would be enough for Zacharias, but he
wanted to know how could this be? Zacharias and his wife were
righteous people, believers in God and yet they questioned God. To
question God is not unusual for a believer. If God is going to grant you
an impossible gift then it has to be done by the power of God.
Our human comprehension of God’s power is often short lived by
yesterday news to the point we forget the power of God is relevant
today. That God can do the impossible. Noah vision of upcoming flood
seemed very unlikely to the world around Noah. Abraham looking at
two fields with Lot, could only imagine God’s promise coming to pass
in a field not so green. Yet he still gave Lot first choice, trusting in God’
s impossibility. As human we often trust God in what we can see, not
what we can not see. My husband and I went to see my parents
almost ten years ago and on our road trip, the clouds from the fog just
encompassed us to where we could not see a foot in front of the
vehicle. As I began to pray the fog began to allow us to see about a
foot in front of us. We travel almost all the way to the half way point in
a fog. One has to learn to trust God in the fog so one can get further
down the highway of life He has for you. No doubt Zacharias knew
upon loosing his voice, that those things spoken to him about a child
was so.
God has a vision for each of our life, if only we will choose to follow
Him. The vision might not always be clear like Abraham, but more like
foggy road like Noah and Zacharias. Noah believe God enough that
for hundred years he worked on the ark, the people snickered and
jeered at him, only to find themselves drowned in water that reach to
the top of Mount Ararat. Zacharias, found his lack of faith causing his
muteness and inability to communicate. It could have been Noah and
his family drowning but they were saved. Zacharias muteness, spoke
to the people and they believed he had a vision from the Lord.
Where are we standing, are we believing God for the vision He
speaks to our hearts about, or do other see that vision being foretold
in our life, that they know it must be from the Lord. That vision has
witness as it comes to pass. Zacharias muteness would be just one
sign to the people something happened that day as Zacharias, he
continued to fulfilled his duties as a priest, and when he was done he
went home to be with His wife and she conceived. That pregnancy
would be seen by friends and family alike. No way to hide a
pregnancy.
Dear Heavenly Father thank you for the gift of vision in our life that
takes us on the journey before us, to perform your will for our life. In
Jesus precious name, Amen.
http://www.turtle30cshell.com
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