Holy Rambo

 Luke 1:34-38 (ESV) And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 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. 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. For nothing will be impossible with God.” 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.   Explanation It is easy to become too familiar with certain Bible stories, and the stories around Jesus’ conception and birth certainly rank in that category. In this passage, Mary isn’t just finding she’s going to have a baby under the most unusual circumstances. God is going to fulfill His greatest prophecy. Israel’s messiah is to be born. She, of course, is confused about the mechanics of the promise, as...

Luke 1:14-17 (NIV) 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 before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”  Explanation In Luke 1, we begin with a brief explanation of why Luke is writing this account of Jesus’ life and ministry and for whom he is writing. He then immediately goes to the story of the conception of one baby who was to be named John. The whole story of this baby’s conception is interesting and a little fun, as Zechariah and Elizabeth, John’s parents are older and have had no children Zechariah is performing service in the temp...

Unit 18, Session 1, Day 1, Psalm 40 Waiting is hard in the best of circumstances. Waiting when there is danger and no apparent relief must be frightening. Mordecai learned of the decree against the Israelites and planted himself outside the King’s Gate in sackcloth. He waited for Esther to notice he was there. He waited while she tried to get him to dress appropriately to enter the gate and while he refused. He waited while he convinced Esther to intercede with the king. He waited while she fasted. He waited while she had the king and Haman to dinner…twice! But he waited with confidence that his God was with him and would rescue His people.