Christian Reflection and Prayer

Read Luke 1:76-80. TEXT: (Zechariah said) "And you, child,
will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go
before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of
salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins"
(Luke 1:76-77).

Advent     Now Zechariah turns to his little son John. In
excited tones he sets out God's grand purpose for his young
life. John's mission is to teach people why they need the
Savior to come for them. He will teach what they need to be
saved from. As chapter one of Luke's Gospel concludes,
John is growing, preparing for the day when his ministry will
begin.

It's hard to enjoy the full celebration of Christmas and the
coming of the Christ Child if you have no idea why you need
Him to come. John made that clear years later when he
began preaching in the wilderness around the Jordan River.

"... 'You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the
wrath to come? ... Even now the axe is laid to the root of the
trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut
down and thrown into the fire'" (Luke 3:7b, 9).

All the evils that happen in the world clearly show mankind
has failed God's perfect plan. And our own sins and the hurts
we have inflicted on others shout out to God for vengeance.
But the Christ Child has come to step into the breach and
take the full impact of that wrath in our place.

That's why His earthly life, which begins in a lowly feeding
trough, will end on a rough wooden cross. But as John points
out--there is salvation from that wrath in the forgiveness of
sins Jesus wins by that sad suffering and death.

THE PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us sufficient warning
of the wrath to come. We flee to Your Son Jesus for
protection and salvation. Thank You that for His sake we
need fear no evil. Amen.

( Wayne Palmer Lutheran Hour Ministries)

A SONG OF PRAISE

Read Luke 1:64-75. TEXT: And immediately his (Zechariah's)
mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke,
blessing God (Luke 1:64).

Advent       The long months of silence are over. Without a
word, Zechariah has had to watch everything transpire--
especially those wondrous three months when Mary came
to visit with the promised Christ growing in her womb. Now
the silence is over. The last time Zechariah spoke, words
of unbelief came from his lips. Now they are words of profound
praise to God--inspired by the Holy Spirit Himself.

Zechariah chiefly says two things about the Child of Mary--the
Christmas Child. He has been raised up as a horn of salvation
for us from our enemies. In the Old Testament the horn was a
symbol of strength and power. God has raised up Jesus to be
our strength and power. He saves us from great and terrible
enemies: Satan, sin, death and hell.

Secondly, having been saved from these fearful enemies, we
are now able to serve God without fear, in holiness and
righteousness all our days.

That means because of Jesus' coming at Christmas we can live
without fear. No more do we have to worry about upsetting God
or receiving His wrath because we didn't do something exactly
right. Freed from our fear of God and confident in His provision
for our needs on earth, we are free to focus on other people--and
how we can serve them. And we can serve them best by sharing
the freedom and fearlessness Christ has brought us.

THE PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, in Your Son, Jesus Christ, You have liberated
us from the fear of life, death and hell itself. Enable me now to
serve You with joy and share the salvation story of my Lord Jesus
Christ. In His Name I pray. Amen.

( Wayne Palmer Lutheran Hour Ministries)

Read Luke 1:57-63. TEXT: Now the time came for Elizabeth
to give birth, and she bore a son (Luke 1:57).

Advent    Finally Zechariah and Elizabeth's prayers are
answered, and John is born. Their neighbors and relatives are
especially joyful, coming together on the eighth day for their
son's naming and circumcision. As the ceremony begins, they
are about to name the child after his father. Unless Elizabeth
speaks up, it will prove difficult for Zechariah to intervene.

But immediately Elizabeth breaks with tradition. She
emphatically declines to name the child Zechariah, "No; he
shall be called John." The people are puzzled. Why would she
want to go against the tradition of naming the child after
someone in the family? No one among their relatives is named
John.

They aren't ready to accept her answer. Instead, they turn to
Zechariah and make signs to ask what he wants to name the
child. I always find it amusing to recall that the aged priest
doesn't need them to make signs to him--he can hear just fine.
He simply can't speak.

If Zechariah had any fear of peer pressure, he didn't show it.
Still unable to talk because of his unbelief nine months before,
Zechariah asks for a writing tablet. And as everyone looks on
expectantly, Zechariah writes, "His name is John."

God chose a new name for Zechariah and Elizabeth's son
because He was doing a new thing, sending His own Son to
save the world. He likewise had wonderful plans for John. He
would be Jesus' forerunner, preparing the way for the new
covenant or testament that Jesus Christ would bring.

THE PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, thank You for doing something new, for
sending Your Son to save us from our sins. Bless us this
Christmas season to receive Him who makes us new. In
Jesus' Name. Amen.
( Wayne Palmer Lutheran Hour Ministries)