Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / December 24 - Luke 1:46-80

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December 24 - Luke 1:46-80 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello, friends, it's Sean. Here it is the 24th of December.
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  Yes, it's Christmas Eve. Oh, I hope that this is a very
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  special time of year for you, and I hope that today is not too
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  mad as you prepare for the celebration and festivities of
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  the day to come. Or maybe your Christmas looks a
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  bit different this year and you're celebrating on a
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  different day, in which case today might be a bit more
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  relaxed for you. But wherever it is, whatever it
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  is, however it is, Merry Christmas Eve, friends, so
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  lovely that you have brought me into your day so that you and I
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  can sit down, pause for a moment, and hear God's word
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  about this incredible story. And we are going to pick up
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  today where we left off yesterday with Mary just
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  arriving at her cousin Elizabeth's home as Mary gets
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  her mind around this incredible thing that's happening and her
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  cousin Elizabeth has her baby John.
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  So let's hear the next part of the story as we read together
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  the second half verses 46 to 80 of John chapter 1.
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  Mary responded, Oh how my soul praises the Lord, how my spirit
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  rejoices in God my Saviour. For he took notice of his lowly
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  servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me
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  blessed. For the mighty One is holy, and
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  He has done great things for me. He shows mercy from generation
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  to generation to all who fear Him.
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  His mighty arm has done tremendous things.
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  He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
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  He has brought down Princess from their Thrones and exalted
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  the humble. He has filled the hungry with
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  good things and sent the rich away with empty hands.
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  He has helped His servant Israel and remembered to be merciful,
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  for He made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his
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  children forever. Mary stayed with Elizabeth about
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  3 months and then went back to her own home.
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  When it was time for Elizabeth's baby to be born, she gave birth
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  to a son, and when her neighbours and relatives heard
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  how the Lord had been very merciful to her, everyone
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  rejoiced with her. When the baby was eight days
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  old, they all came for the circumcision ceremony.
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  They wanted to name him Zechariah after his father, but
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  Elizabeth said no, his name is John.
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  What? They exclaimed.
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  There is no one in all your family by that name.
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  So they used gestures to ask the baby's father what he wanted to
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  name him. He motioned for a writing tablet
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  and to everyone's surprise, he wrote his name is John.
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  Instantly Zechariah could speak again and he began praising God
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  or fell upon the whole neighbourhood and the news of
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  what had happened spread throughout the Judean Hills.
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  Everyone who heard about it reflected on these events and
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  asked, what will this child turn out to be?
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  For the hand of the Lord was surely upon him in a special
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  way. Then his father Zechariah was
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  filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy.
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  Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited
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  and redeemed His people. He has sent us a mighty Saviour
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  from the royal line of His servant David, just as He
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  promised through His holy prophets long ago.
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  Now we will be saved from our enemies and from all who hate
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  us. He has been merciful to our
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  ancestors by remembering His sacred covenant, the covenant He
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  swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham.
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  We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God
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  without fear in holiness and righteousness for as long as we
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  live. And you, my little son, will be
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  called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare
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  the way for the Lord. You will tell his people how to
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  find salvation through forgiveness of their sins.
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  Because of God's tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is
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  about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in
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  darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the
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  path of peace. John grew up and became strong
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  in spirit, and he lived in the wilderness until he began his
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  public ministry to Israel. Oh Father, this is your plan,
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  long organised and long anticipated.
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  Your prophets wrote about this and shared your plans, but we
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  didn't understand. And through all those years, you
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  put things in place so that you could send your son Jesus to be
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  born to live a perfect life and to die and be raised from death
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  so that he could be the first resurrected.
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  That deposit that made the way for all of us to come to you.
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  Oh, we thank you, Father, for this story.
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  We thank you for sending Jesus, and we just praise you for your
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  goodness and mercy to us, your children.
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  And so today, this fervent expectation and anticipation
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  grows in us for the coming celebration tomorrow of what
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  you've done. So we pray all of this in the
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  incredible saving name of Jesus, Amen.