When God Whispers Over Your Life

  In the previous verses, to fulfill the requirements of the Law, on the 8 th day Jesus was circumcised and He was presented at the temple with an offering. While at the temple, God causes 2 very special people to cross Jesus’ path- Simeon and Anna. Luke 2:25-35 (NKJV)    25  And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name  was  Simeon, and this man  was  just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.  26  And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.  27  So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law,  28  he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: 29  “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; 30  For my eyes have se...

  Luke 2:13-20 13  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14  “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” 15  So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”  16  And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.  17  Now when they had seen  Him,  they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.  18  And all those who heard  it  marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.  19  But Mary kept all these things and pondered  them  in her heart.  20  Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that t...

  Matthew 2:1-12 2  Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,  2  saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” 3  When Herod the king heard  this,  he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  4  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5  So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: 6  ‘But you, Bethlehem,  in  the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ” 7  Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared....

  Luke 2:8-12     8  Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  9  And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.  10  Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  11  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  12  And this  will be  the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” (NKJV)   This scene with the shepherds appears to occur instantly after Christ was born- and wrapped in swaddling clothes.  The greatest thing to ever happen to the Jewish race- nay, the human race! - was heralded to sheep and shepherds. Huh?! In the Old Testament, there w...

  Luke 2:1-7 2  And it came to pass in those days  that  a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.  2  This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.  3  So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. 4  Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,  5  to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.  6  So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.  7  And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. (NKJV)   This is the Christmas story. The one we are always so eager to hear.   But today, read it with fresh ey...

  Luke 1:50-52 50  And His mercy   is  on those who fear Him From generation to generation. 51  He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered  the  proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52  He has put down the mighty from  their  thrones, And exalted  the  lowly. (NKJV)   The consistency of God is amazing!   He is the same, yesterday, today and forever. Those that fear Him (have reverential respect and awe) are shown mercy.   That means that we do not get what we deserve.   We are all sinners, deserving of death and hell.   But if we fear Him enough to submit to His will, He pours out His mercy on us- from generation to generation.   It was not just the first descendants of Abraham who enjoyed this gift, but it is a gift renewable to any generation who calls on His name. In the Old Testament , God set forth blessing to those who obeyed Him and cursing on those who re...

  Luke 1:48-49 48  For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. 49  For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy  is  His name. (NKJV)   As we continue Mary’s song of rejoicing, notice the posture of her heart.   She sees herself as humble and lowly.   Despite God elevating her place in the kingdom to “Blessed Among Women”, she recognizes that before Him, she remains in a lowly state. None of us can boast in ourselves before the Lord.   All we can do, as the Apostle Paul did, is rejoice in Who He is and what He has done! Our boasting is only in Him and in His marvelous excellence. Mary acknowledges that her new state is “Blessed” and that from that day forward, other people would know it as well.   She is indeed blessed!   But it is only because the “Blesser” has come to her.   All her blessings are the Lord’s d...

  An undisclosed period of time had passed from Gabriel’s appearance to Mary and when she arrived to visit Elizabeth.   In the previous verses we saw Mary’s arrival result in Elizabeth and John being filled with the Spirit, and Elizabeth being used by the Holy Spirit to confirm many things Gabriel had spoken.   Mary has had some time to not only be filled with the Spirit, but also with Messiah (prior to reaching Elizabeth’s house).   She has digested all that is to come and now she breaks forth in song: Luke 1:46-47   46  And Mary said: “ My soul magnifies the Lord, 47  And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. (NKJV)   Mary’s response to all the mind-bending, earth-shaking, prophecy-fulfilling events is to worship! When we catch God being God, that should be our response as well.   When He does things, that we do not understand, we worship.   When He fulfills promises and aligns people, we worship. ...

  Luke 1:39-45     39  Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,  40  and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.  41  And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  42  Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!  43  But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  44  For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.  45  Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”   Newly encouraged by Gabriel’s words in the previous verses, Mary decided to ta...

    Luke 1:36-38   36  Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.  37  For with God nothing will be impossible. 38  Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (NKJV)     In previous verses, the angel, Gabriel, had told Mary astounding news- she would give birth to God in the flesh.   As her mind is still swirling with such lofty thoughts, Gabriel seems to run off on a tangent and give her a family news update.   By the way- your cousin Elizabeth is going to be a mom too! This could seem a bit rando- but nothing with God occurs as a happenstance! The miracle going on in Elizabeth’s life is not isolated to her but is very much a part of the story of what is happening in Mary’s life as well.   Admittedly, knowing someone else is w...

  Christmas Advent Devotional Day 20 Luke 1:34-35   34  Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” 35  And the angel answered and said to her, “ The  Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.    How can this be?   Mary did not express unbelief, rather she expressed confusion. She understood the miracle of life and knew that she was yet unqualified to be a mother.   She had not known a man.   She had not been intimate with Joseph. Therefore, she was at a loss to process this news. If you have time, compare this with Zechariah’s angelic appearance when he was told that he would father John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus. (Luke 1:5-23, especially verse 20) In response to her earnest questions, Gabriel offered the following insights: 1-     1...

     Luke 1:26-33 26  Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,  27  to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name  was  Mary.  28  And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored  one,  the Lord  is  with you; blessed  are  you among women!” 29  But when she saw  him,  she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.  30  Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  31  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.  32  He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.  33  ...

    Luke 1:26-28   26  Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,  27  to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name  was  Mary.  28  And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored  one,  the Lord  is  with you; blessed  are  you among women!”   To truly understand any concept in the Bible, you must compare all of the passages in Scripture that pertain to that event. The birth of Christ is no different. Several of the gospel writers captured part His birth story. Their accounts are as different as the men that wrote them, but there are key similarities in each. Together they form a comprehensive account.   Eyewitness testimony always has some variance, depending on what aspect the writer notices and finds important to record. We will look at them all to mak...

  Matthew 1:22-25 22  So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:  23  “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” 24  Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife,  25  and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus. (NKJV)   In this narrative account of how Joseph became a part the Messianic family, Matthew quotes Isa. 7:14. (Covered on Day 3 of this devotional.) It was important to verify all the ways that Jesus’ birth had been foretold.   A whole nation had spent hundreds of years looking for their Messiah.   Throughout the gospels, we see how Jesus fulfills every criterion to be the fulfillment of the Messiah. In this passage we are told t...