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#DailyDevotion The Lord Fulfills All His Promises

#DailyDevotion The Lord Fulfills All His Promises

December 29th
Read Luke 1:1–25
Luk 1:11-20 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.” (18) 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.”

Behold, it is written, Mal 4:5-6 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. (6) And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” Now in the fullness of time, God fulfills His word here in the ears of Zechariah. One of the two witnesses at the end of days is being conceived in the ears of the priest to be taken home and conceived in the womb of his wife. God’s Word, the Lord’s Word, must come to pass.

Angels are terrible creatures of God and were it not for the grace of God you could not stand the vision of their beauty for they shine with the glory of God. So Zechariah is indeed terrified at the sight but the angel has the words of grace on his lips, “Don’t be afraid.” He delivers the message sent from the Father of lights that his prayer has been answered even as Hannah’s prayer for a child was given 1Sa 1:17 “Then Eli (My God) answered, ‘Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.’” So too now the prayer of Zechariah is answered. His son will be the one prophesied by Malachi the prophet. John (Gift of God) would go out in the spirit and power of Elijah and bring the people of Israel back to the Lord through preaching repentance and baptism unto the forgiveness of sins. Jesus confirms the identity of the Baptist when he said, Mat 11:14 “and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.” While Zechariah did not believe and was struck with dumbness until the birth of the child, you believe like Hannah and Mary that the Lord hears you prayers and answers them! The Lord is a God who answers prayers. Eph 3:20-21 “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, (21) to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

Oh Lord Jesus Christ, you answer our prayers better than we pray them. You gave a prophet to Hannah and the greatest among women to those who simply asked for a child. So too, answer our prayers in the way that is best and not according to our limited, sinful thinking. Amen.

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Rev. Guillaume J. S. Williams, Sr.

The Reverend Guillaume Williams is the Pastor of Hope Lutheran Chapel of Osage Beach, Missouri. His pastoral ministry with Hope began in 2005 where he preaches the Christ crucified.

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