Christmas

Check out all the previous Rest readings here.

Christmas Reading Plan | Week 1 Day 2

Prayer

Allow some silence for your soul to catch up with your body. Thank God for time to spend with Him and ask Him to meet with you.

Bible Reading: Luke 1:5-7

Read these verses three times slowly.

In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

Reflection & Questions

The account of Jesus’ birth doesn’t begin with Mary and Joseph, but with Zechariah and Elizabeth. This is because before the Messiah came, the Jews knew (from prophecies of the Old Testament) that someone in the likeness of Elijah the prophet was to come. Someone who would prepare the way for Jesus – John the Baptist. John’s parents were Zechariah and Elizabeth.

What is striking about their story, and every part of the story of Jesus’ birth, is how rooted in real life it is. Real people with real struggles. Elizabeth was unable to conceive. They were good people, righteous people even. They had observed “all the Lord’s commands and decrease blamelessly.” But that didn’t give them a rose-colored life. They couldn’t do the one thing God had commanded in Genesis 1: Be fruitful and multiply. And for this they were looked down upon – it would have been a mark of shame and blame in the culture of the time. Now they “were both very old” and any chance of redemption was gone. Or was it?

1. What do you think it took for Zechariah and Elizabeth to stay faithful in the midst of their childlessness? Imagine you were them – how would you have done it?
2. Is there a “shame” in your life that you carry? How does your walk with Jesus redefine that?

Prayer

Talk to God in response to today’s reading.

Worship Song

You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:

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Questions?