Christmas

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Christmas Reading Plan | Week 2 Day 4

Prayer

Take a moment to be silent and still. In order to be fully present in body and mind, take a deep breath in and let it out slowly. Do this three times. Ask God to give you His wisdom today.

Bible Reading: Luke 1:57-66

Read these verses three times slowly.

When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”

They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child.He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

Reflection & Questions

The birth of a baby is always a celebration, but the birth of John the Baptist was that times ten. The whole community “shared [Elizabeth’s] joy.” Afterall, as we read last week, this was a miracle baby. They were far too old to have children. Everyone knew that this was a tremendous act of God.

The angel had instructed Zechariah that the baby would be named John. The people had great respect for Zechariah and thought that should be the boy’s name, and as much as that would have been an honor for Zechariah, the instructions were clear. (Interestingly, they had to make signs to Zechariah, so he was most likely made deaf and mute by the angel). “His name is John,” Zechariah wrote.

As he wrote, Zechariah was suddenly able to speak. In response, “All the neighbors were filled with awe.” They are in a state of holy fear with the realization that God was working amongst them. They knew this child was a special one and it was the talk not just of the town, but the whole region of Judea.

Isn’t it amazing that God has designed us to relish experiences of awe. When we encounter His greatness and our smallness, it leads to wonder and worship. It is something that children do naturally, and adults have to work a little harder at. In our busyness, we need to learn to take time to enter into experiences of awe. Like taking time to step outside at night to see the stars or getting up early to watch a sunrise or taking time to write down lists of gratitude at the many ways God has worked in our lives. There are a multitude of ways God has provided for us to experience his greatness and it is a wonderful heart and mind changing experience.

1. When was the last time you experienced awe in the presence of God? How did it impact you?
2. What is something you could do today or this week to experience awe in His presence?

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?