Monthly Archives: March 2017

March 8, 2017

08 Wednesday Mar 2017

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Luke 1:14-16
He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.

The angel continues this theme of greatness by adding, He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.

Not filled with wine but filled with the Holy Spirit will John be filled.
This same implied contrast (filled with wine versus filled with the Holy Spirit) is found also in other passages (Acts 2:15-17; Eph. 5:18).

John is not going to derive his strength from earthly means but from the Holy Spirit.

Was John a Nazirite?
For “the law of the Nazirite” read Numbers 6. Note especially these two regulations: (1) During the period governed by their vow Nazirites were to abstain from wine and other fermented beverages, and (2) no razor was to be used on their head.

In connection with Samson both of these restrictions are mentioned (Judg. 13:7; 16:17). As to Samuel, we know his mother Hannah vowed as a symbol of lifelong consecration to the Lord no razor would ever touch his head (1 Sam. 1:11). Abstention from intoxicating drinks is not mentioned in his case.

With reference to John the opposite holds: He was to avoid wine and fermented drinks, but nothing is said about a razor. Consequently, some argue that John was not a Nazirite, others that he was.

In order to reach a conclusion with respect to John it may help us to notice the fact according to this passage during his entire life-span John must never drink wine or other fermented beverages.

In John’s case this restriction was far more rigid than in the case of priests, who were forbidden the use of these drinks only during the period of their service (“when you go into the tent of meeting,” Lev. 10:9), and was more severe than in the case of the Nazirites, for in their case the prohibition was in force only during the days covered by their vow (Num. 6:4, 5).

I think what we see here with regard to Bible scholars is a perfect example of wanting to classify and put specific information or people in a box. Was John a Nazarite? My reaction to this is, “who cares?” Whether he was a “Nazarite” or not means absolutely nothing! What the Angel is telling Zachariah is very specific and very clear. Remember the old hermeneutical maxim; when the plain sense makes good sense seek no other sense!

No matter what theological box you try to put John the Baptist inside the angel is telling Zachariah your son will be consecrated to special service for the Lord throughout his entire life.

Luke 1:15 makes a very clear statement; this baby is separated to God for special service as long as he lives.

March 7, 2017

07 Tuesday Mar 2017

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Luke 1:13-15a
Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.

The angel continues his announcement in verses 14 & 15: He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.

The heart of Zechariah will be filled with whole-hearted gladness. Many others will also rejoice because of the birth of this child. Not only will his very birth bring about instant joy (1:58) but, as the immediate context indicates, in the future when this child has become a man, many people are going to thank the Lord for the fact that John was born.

The angel continues in verse 15: “for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.”

It was about John, Jesus was going to say, “Among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist” (Matt. 11:11).

This would be true not only because John was going to be a prophet but also because he was going to be one whose arrival had been predicted. He was destined to become the announcer of the Messiah.

He was going to direct the attention of the people to the long expected One. He was going to say, “Look, the Lamb of God who is taking away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

He was going to emphasize the necessity of true conversion as the only way for the sinner to enter Messiah’s kingdom (Luke 1:76, 77; 3:3).

Since it is the duty of the herald to recede to the background when the King arrives, John was going to resist the temptation of calling attention to himself. Instead, in humility of spirit he was going to say, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

Jesus himself, in describing the nature of true greatness, always links it with humility (Luke 7:6, 9; Matt. 8:8, 10; Luke 9:46-48; Matt. 18:1-5; Mark 9:33-37).

Without humility would it be possible for anyone to be “great,” especially “in the sight of the Lord”?

For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Matthew 23:12

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
James 4:10

March 6, 2017

06 Monday Mar 2017

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Luke 1:13a
But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard.”

The Lord hears our prayers as the following verses selected from the Psalms illustrate:
* Psalm 6:8-9, “Away from me, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping. The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.”
* Psalm 18:6, “In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.”
* Psalm 28:6, “Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy.”
* Psalm 31:22, “In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from your sight!” Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help.”
* Psalm 34:6, “This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.”                                                                                                * Psalm 34:17, “The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.”                                                                                      * Psalm 40:1, “I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry.”
* Psalm 42:8, “By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me– a prayer to the God of my life.”
* Psalm 55:17, “Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.”
* Psalm 66:19, “But God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer.”
* Psalm 102:17, “He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.”
* Psalm 116:1, “I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.”
* Psalm 145:19, “He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.”

Do we pray enough?

Should we practice prayer more in our church fellowships?

How can we encourage ourselves and others to pray more?

March 4 & 5, 2017

04 Saturday Mar 2017

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THE MIDDLE C OF LIFE
Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

As we have seen so vividly in the events recorded throughout the world recently times and leaders change, Jesus Christ does not. Christ is the same all the time. He served faithfully yesterday; He serves faithfully today and He will remain faithful forever.

When Lloyd Douglas, author of The Robe and other novels, attended college, he lived in a boardinghouse. A retired, wheelchair-bound music professor resided on the first floor. Each morning Douglas would stick his head in the door of the teacher’s apartment and ask the same question, “Well, what’s the good news?” The old man would pick up his tuning fork; tap it on the side of the wheelchair, and say, “That’s middle C! It was middle C yesterday; it will be middle C tomorrow; it will be middle C a thousand years from now. The tenor upstairs sings flat. The piano across the hall is out of tune, but, my friend, that is middle C.”

Haven’t you had enough inconsistency and fluctuation in your life? Relationships change. Health changes. The weather changes. But the Lord God who rules the earth day by day and night by night is the same Jehovah who ruled the earth last night is the same Jehovah who rules it today.

He has the same convictions, same plans and same goals. He consistently displays the same love and is consistently in the same mood. He never changes. You can no more alter God than a pebble can alter the rhythm of an ocean. God is our middle C.

You and I need middle C.

We trust in Someone Who is unchanging.

He is our rock of stability in unstable times.

Aren’t you glad we don’t need to be blown about by the winds of circumstances?

Praise God! We never need to be “under the circumstances.”

Illustration from “A still point in a turning world.” (Max Lucado, Traveling Light.)

March 3, 2017

03 Friday Mar 2017

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Luke 1:13
But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.

This passage is a tremendous example of how God answers our prayers. Be careful to notice how specifically the Angel explains the answer to Zachariah’s prayer. God will answer our prayers in a very specific manner, but sometimes we pray in such a general way I think we would have trouble identifying an answer from God in relationship to our prayers.

“Your prayer has been heard.”
“Your petition has been heard” and “Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son.” “Your wife Elizabeth.” The very one whose barren condition was common knowledge would be delivered from her affliction. Through Elizabeth, and not through some other woman, Zechariah would become the father of a child.

“A son.” The very sex of the child is already predicted!

“And you shall give him the name John.”

God answers prayer in His own way and in His own time.

He worked in an “impossible” situation-Elizabeth’s barrenness-to bring about the fulfillment of all the prophecies concerning the Messiah.

We often say, “Lord be with me today.” Take a moment and try to figure out what that means. Are you really afraid God is going to leave you today? We must learn to pray specifically then we can identify an answer when God gives it.

Let me give you a specific example in what many would consider a non-spiritual situation. We were in the process of erecting a sign at our church. Two of our men had undertaken the task of putting in the concrete for the footing of the sign. They took their truck to the lumberyard and picked up the materials. On the way back to the church they discussed the fact that neither one of them knew anything about pouring concrete. They decided they were going to need help; they stopped and asked God to provide the help.

When they arrived at the church there was a man who owned a concrete company and had come to the church because God had told him they might need some help. He arranged for everything to be done and the sign is standing today.

Does God answer prayer?

Does God answer prayer specifically?

What kind of examples can you give of answered prayer in your life?

March 2, 2017

02 Thursday Mar 2017

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Luke 1:13
But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.

“Do not be afraid.”
In other words, “Stop being frightened; cheer up.” Isn’t encouraging see how often in Scripture God tells His people not to be afraid but instead to take heart?

A partial list of passages in which, in some form or other, this exhortation is found would be:
* Gen. 15:1; 26:24; 46:3;
* Exod. 14:13, 14;
* Josh. 1:9; 11:6;
* Judg. 6:23;
* 2 Kings 19:6, 7;
* Neh. 4:14;
* Ps. 49:16; 91:5;
* Isa. 10:24; 37:6; 41:10, 13, 14; 43:1, 5; 44:2, 8;
* Dan. 10:19;
* Zech. 8:13;
* Matt. 14:27; 17:7; 28:10;
* Mark 5:36;
* Luke 1:30; 2:10; 5:10; 8:50; 12:4, 7, 32;
* John 14:1, 27; 16:33;
* Acts 18:9; 27:24;
* Heb. 13:6;
* 1 Peter 3:14;
* Rev. 1:17.

Isn’t “Do not be afraid” another way of saying, “Have faith”?

Salvation by grace through faith is firmly rooted from Genesis to Revelation!

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3

March 1, 2017

01 Wednesday Mar 2017

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Luke 1:10-12
 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.

The people wait . . . and wait . . . and wait. They waited for minutes which must have seemed like hours; nothing was happening. This was unexpected, startling, completely unexpected; it was frightening – what was going on inside the Temple! The explanation is given in the following verses.

As Zechariah discharged his duty in the Holy Place, an angel of the Lord appeared to him on the right side of the altar. The exact location where the angel stood is a detail passed along by Zechariah himself and kept intact by writers.

Let’s think about angels today.
A growing number of people believe in the existence of UFO’s and the extra-terrestrial life forms. Their recent motto has become “we are not alone.” The Bible lends support to this claim, but not in confirming UFO sightings and verifying the existence of extra-terrestrials.

The Bible indicates we are not alone; angels good and evil are part of the created order. There is a spiritual dimension of reality which co-exists with the physical world. The Scriptures record many stories of individuals who encountered angels. The Bible even reports, as we have recently seen in our study of Hebrews, at times people without knowing entertained angels (Heb. 13:2).

Confronted by a supernatural, heavenly being, Zechariah was terrified. It is natural for the sudden, unexpected appearance of a holy, dazzlingly brilliant angel to cause a sinful human being to tremble. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.

What is an “Angel”?
We probably all have a different picture in our mind when we hear the word “Angel.” An Angel is not a chubby little baby with a halo and little wings as they were often depicted in the Renaissance era. These creatures still abound in gift shops everywhere, however they have no connection with reality.

The word angel simply means “messenger.” In fact our word angel is a direct derivative of the Greek word “angelos.” When the Bible was brought over into English there was no suitable word to convey the idea of a heavenly messenger and so the word “angel” was created and has passed into our language.

The word is applied in Scripture to an order of supernatural or heavenly beings whose business it is to act as God’s messengers to men, and as agents who carry out His will.

If you are interested in doing further reading on the subject of angels there are numerous good books available. Let me recommend two.
“Angels” written by Billy Graham – This is a simple straightforward discussion of the subject from a biblical viewpoint.
“The Supernatural” written by Michael S. Heiser – this is a summary of a much larger work called “The Unseen Realm” written by the same author. I guarantee some time spent in either of these two works will give you an entirely new appreciation of the biblical concept of angels