Shout For Joy or Be Mute, Your Choice.

I started the life journal reading plan today in my Olive Tree Bible App.  This will take me through the old testament once and through the new testament twice in the next 365 days.

Today's Reading: Genesis 1-2 & Luke 1



Focus verses:

Genesis 2:15-17
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

So mankind begins and we are under the authority of God having dominion over his creation but are commanded not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  I can hear the train coming!

Now advance a whole bunch of generations after the fall (man's sin) and we see an amazing story of redemption begin.  I think about the angels rejoicing as God initiates His redemptive plan of salvation for mankind and how the angel Gabriel was chosen to deliver the message of this rollout to both the father of John the Baptist and the mother of Jesus. What a ridiculously exciting moment in time!

Did the story of the guy on that airliner during the 9/11 terrorist attack bring you to tears where it was explained that he looked at some of his fellow passengers who were prepared to die in effort to stop the attack that they now knew was underway and he said "Let's roll!"  Well have a read here...

God in this moment is sacrificing His only Son to be humbled and take on the form of a man in order to die.  God is right then setting this plan into motion that will culminate in Him turning His back on His Son as He hangs on the cross at the hands of His very creation...

Matthew 27:46- The crucifixion
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 

Back to the rollout of God's plan- In the gospel of Luke the Lord gives an account of the angel Gabriel foretelling of the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus...

Luke 1:11-17
And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother 's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

Luke 1:30-33
And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

These accounts are only about 6 moths apart- how awesome is it to imagine that point in time where these women are rejoicing in the Lord, even though they can't imagine what God is actually doing.


Luke 1:39-42
39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “ Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 

Elizabeth continues...

Luke 1:45
And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”


Now Zechariah and Mary have different responses to the news and have different communication with Gabriel...

Luke 1:18-20
And Zechariah said to the angel, “ How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “ I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”

Luke 1:34-38
And Mary said to the angel, “ How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy — the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “ Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

The doubt and lack of humility in Zechariah allows us to see a glimpse of the amazing power and sovereignty of the Lord. It is evident that God's plan shall not be thwarted and it does not depend on our faith to succeed.  Gabriel's reply to Zechariah's demand for evidence or proof is beautiful.  Gabriel tells Zechariah on what authority this message comes and then he grants him the evidence he desires...by making him mute from that point forward until the prophecy is fulfilled.

The imagery here floored me and brought me to tears...try the Picture it method on this scene with Zechariah and then go the day that Zechariah's child is named and circumcised.  The Lord reigns and His ways are higher than our ways. Praise God that He is sovereign and that He wins our hearts to bring us into the everlasting joy of absolute surrender...

Luke 1:59-66
And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “ No; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “ None of your relatives is called by this name.” 62 And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “ His name is John.” And they all wondered. 64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “ What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.

These passages of scripture may bring me a great deal of emotion...

Prayer/Application:

Lord thank you for loving me.  Thank you for sacrificing your Son.  Thank you for revealing to us the exciting things you did to bring us back into relationship with you.  Thank you for choosing to save us rather than to destroy us as could have easily been your pleasure.  Your omnipotence and your grace together are such a combination that it brings me a well of emotion that I am grateful for.  Knowing that you are sovereign and that you will accomplish exactly as you set out to accomplish brings such a warm feeling because I know that I can trust in your promises and I know that I can not screw this deal up. How freeing is it to know that You are accomplishing your plan through us even if we are resistent.

Please let me be like Mary and humbly look for clarification and understanding rather than like Zechariah looking for evidence.  Please bless me with surrender each day Lord that I might not have pride or doubt.  If your angel Gabriel can deliver your message with all authority and can shut the mouths of men who would challenge this message...how much more your very inspired Word!  Lord, please let me receive your Word each day as absolute truth that I must apply each day to my life or risk being made mute.

Please Lord help me to shout your truth and your plan of redemption from the mountain top and may christians rejoice together that we each share your indwelling Holy Spirit in a way not unlike like Elizabeth and Mary.  May we be emboldened by the account of how you brought John the Baptist and Jesus to be there in that place, born to those blessed families.  May we also unite in fellowship with other believers and rejoice in your plan for us today.

Lord please use me and every other surrendered heart around me to make disciples who are sold out to you.  Let us not worry about what we will eat or wear or where we will sleep or what we will drive or when we will retire or how much I bench or what the score is or what is on TV tonight...but let us seek first the Kingdom of God and you will add these things that you determine we need unto us.

In Jesus name I pray, amen.

Gabriel stood in the presence of God Himself and was given this message!!!  How can we sit in a recliner and ask for evidence??!!!!  We need to stand up and go out...the time is short.

Soli Deo Gloria!