Luke 1:14

You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth (Luke 1:14 NLT).

This is not only an extraordinary experience, but the message the angel gives Zechariah is almost too good to be true. Elizabeth and Zechariah won’t just have a son. They will have a son who will bring them great joy and gladness.

I can’t help but think about the impact of this moment. Zechariah goes into the Temple like any other time he has gone in during his entire adult life to perform the routine duties of his job, but then on this day he is given news that changes everything. Although we don’t have much background on this couple, we can assume that they have been living their lives in a certain amount of contentment and satisfaction, even without a child. After all, he is part of an elite group of priests, not just a common Israelite. Yet, now – in light of the realization of their destiny – what had seemed like a good life pales in comparison with their future.

This reminds me a great deal of my own life. Gennarino and I have lived an extraordinary life, riddled with moments of sorrow and joy, contentment and want, new adventures and mundane routines. We have had the privilege of being part of a move of God that was thrilling, stretching, and unique. We have also spent many years in wilderness experiences. Through all of it I have always felt the contentment of being in the place where God wanted us. Yet, in this move to Washington, I have had a renewed expectation of something great and grand that is about to happen and this verse reminds me that it can happen in the blink of an eye. One day I can go into work, like every other day of my life, and yet on that day everything might change. The profound point in all of this, however, is that the day before Zechariah entered the temple was just as ordained by God as the day he received the best news of his life.

I will live today with gratitude in my heart that all the days of my life are ordained by God, regardless of what might happen in the course of one of them.

Luke 1:13

But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John (Luke 1:13 NLT).

Talk about absolute vindication! For years and years, Elizabeth and Zechariah had endured the unspoken judgment of their community. It was a very common belief among that culture that if a woman was barren it was due to some sin that kept God’s hand of blessing from being bestowed upon her. And all the while, day after day, month after month, year after year, decade after decade, Elizabeth and Zechariah continued to serve God faithfully in spite of what others thought and perhaps even whispered or said out loud. They served AND they prayed, in spite of even the nagging doubts of their own hearts. I wonder how long it had been since their last prayer when their faith was forced to finally give way to the hard and harsh physical evidence that Elizabeth was no longer even able to bear children. And just as the ember of their faith still glowing in Elizabeth’s heart is starting to burn out, God shows up to answer her prayer – in spite of the physical impossibilities that had robbed her of that hope.

This is a joyous reminder that God is able to do the impossible, but by mere virtue of the fact that it is impossible, it will also seem totally insane. For a woman to get pregnant after she has passed through menopause is simply ludicrous. For a man to step out of a boat onto water and walk is crazy. For five loaves of bread and two fish to feed close to 10,000 people is irrational. For water to turn into wine is not something you could ever really convince anyone actually happened. For an innocent man to die a brutal death on a cross to purchase back mankind from the devil to God … well, that’s why the world thinks Christianity is insane, ludicrous, crazy, irrational, and why it is something we can never really convince people actually happened. Because when it comes to the miraculous and supernatural things of God, it is only by the power of His Spirit opening up blind eyes that anyone can see the truth. 

That day in the Temple, God opened Zechariah’s eyes to the truth of who holds the cards when it comes to life and death. And that truth would not just change Elizabeth and Zechariah’s life forever, but it would usher in the transformation of the world for all eternity.

Today I will stay mindful of the fact that my life looks pretty strange to people who don’t yet know the truth and my job is not to convince them of the truth, but to live it so that God can open their eyes.

Thoughts on Matthew 24:6

… See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet (Matthew 24:6b NKJV).

I fear that Christians today may be taking their eye off the ball.  It is easy to get distracted by the wars, rumors of wars, famine, persecution of believers, and lawlessness that is abounding.  However, when speaking about this very thing, embedded in Christ’s message was this very critical piece of encouragement – “see that you are not troubled.”  Jesus explains the reason for His comment – “for all these things must come to pass…” What is happening in our world today is not happenstance or because God has somehow lost control of the steering wheel.  It is part of the end-time scenario and we should know that because He told us this would happen.  The only thing we don’t know is exactly where on the timeline we are.

For that reason, fellow saints, if we are to “endure to the end” and not have “our love grow cold,” we must pace and brace ourselves for the times that are ahead.  We need to be wise as serpents, but harmless as doves.  We need to have the wisdom of Solomon, the boldness of Elijah, and the gentleness of Jesus.  We need to make sure we are not taking on battles that belong to God alone.  The only thing Jesus told us to fight for were the souls of men.  In everything we do, we must gauge our decisions and actions against that criterion alone – will this bring someone closer to Christ or repel them farther away?  Remember, if it is not done in love, then it is not worthy of God’s endorsement and involvement.

I am not proposing that we ignore our current state of affairs and do nothing.  In fact, sadly enough this is part of how we got here in the first place.  As Edmund Burke so rightly stated, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” We have done nothing for a very long time and we can see where that got us.

What I am saying is that the “something,” we do must be bathed in prayer, sanctioned by love, and targeted at the real heart of the matter, not the symptom.  Win the soul, not the battle. Actually love the sinner, don’t just hate the sin.  Offer Jesus, not a lifestyle change.

Today find one person with whom you can share the love of Christ and you will have taken the first step in doing “something” that will keep you from being “troubled” and help you stay in sync with God’s perfect will – no matter where we are on the timeline.

Ephesians 2:18

Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us (Ephesians 2:18 NLT).

“There are many roads that lead to God.”  It’s a common ideology that is typically espoused by those who have failed to take the time to study those roads.  If they had, they would realize that while this is true, the foregone conclusion that all those roads will result in the same reception at the end is faulty.  While all roads will ultimately end up before God, there is only one road that will find Him as a Father through the Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done.  All other roads will discover Him as the Judge, who will deny them entrance into His Kingdom because their road did not pass through the tollbooth of Christ’s blood.  The reason is because we have all sinned and are guilty before God.  However, the penalty for our sin was paid by Christ so that when we come to God through that finished work of redemption, God’s justice does not have to turn a blind eye so that His love can welcome us home.

This reality does not make God unfair or unloving, it simply makes Him God.  That is the problem for so many people who fail to recognize the truth of God’s nature.  The Bible tells us “The Lord Your God is One God” (Deuteronomy 6:4).  This means that He is singular.  He is not loving sometimes and just other times.  He is always only what and who He is at all times.  So, while His love wants to grant access to those who come to Him on other roads, His justice cannot allow it.  The only way to rectify the tension between God’s love and His justice is through the cross of Jesus, where God’s love satisfied His justice forever.

God suffered and died for me to be able to take the road that leads into an eternal dwelling of happy ever after.  Some call this narrow-minded and intolerant.  I call it merciful beyond measure and passionately sacrificial.

Today, I will mediate upon the unfathomable love of the Father that allows me to travel on a road, which ends in a welcomed reception.

Be sure to check out Gennarino's devotion on Ephesians 2:18.

Ephesians 2:17

He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near (Ephesians 2:17 NLT).

In context, this verse is about unity.  The entire second chapter of Ephesians is emphasizing the unity that Christ brings to those who come to the Father through Him.  Therefore, it is interesting to note that the message Jesus uses when unifying these two groups is peace.   Yet peace is not the unifier, but the result.  It is the blood of Christ that unifies, but when that unity is accomplished there will be peace.

Why is that important?  It is profoundly important, especially as we consider the times in which we live.  Jesus told us that in the end, the love of many would grow cold.  This is not just their love for God, but for one another.  The connection is in the fact that when we truly love another person, we are at peace with that person.  In fact, a lack of peace typically indicates a lack of love.  Was it not the love of God that sent Jesus to the cross?  And was it not the cross that produced the ultimate peace between God and us?  It makes complete and logical sense, therefore, that peace would be the over-arching, tangible attitude we would witness when people are walking in a truly loving relationship.  The opposite is also unfortunately the case as well, however.  With a lack of peace, we can easily discern the presence of a cold and uncaring heart.

This revelation requires an honest inventory.  What is the prevailing attitude we have towards the relationships in our lives?  In the instances where we can detect a lack of peace between us and anyone else, we can quickly pinpoint the problem as a love gone cold.  In light of Christ’s two great commands – to love God with all that we are and to love one another likewise, we find a life-giving key to the equation of peace and love in Paul’s admonition to the believers in Rome:

If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men (Romans 12:18 NKJV).

There will definitely be times where it is impossible to have peace with someone because they choose to be at odds with us in spite of our best efforts to restore the relationship.  However, it must be our goal to make these the exception to the rule and not the on-going record of casualties we are creating because of a heart gone cold.

Today I will examine my relationships and ask the Father to rekindle my love for those people with whom I am no longer walking in peace, so that at least on my end I will be making every effort to keep the peace:

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3 NIV).

Check out Gennarino's devotion on Ephesians 2:17.

Ephesians 2:16

Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death (Ephesians 2:16 NLT).

Really?  Sure could have fooled me.  The hostility between Jews and Gentiles is at an all time high.  For the first time in our history as a country, we are disengaging from our solid stand by Israel we have had for centuries and countries like the Ukraine are beginning to show pre-Nazi treatment of their Jewish residents in making them register for the purpose of knowing how many are in the country and where they are specially located.

Obviously, this Biblical truth will be difficult to see with our natural eyes.  Like many other spiritual principles and laws, the validity of their reality does not rely upon the manifestation of that truth on planet earth.  The principle is true whether we embrace that truth or not.  For instance, as a believer, according to God’s Word, I am a citizen of Heaven, I am a child of God, every spiritual blessing of Christ is mine because I am united with Him by God’s grace, I am Heaven-bound instead of Hell-bound, I have all authority over the enemy, I am the apple of God’s eye, I can do all things through Christ, I have a table prepared before me in the presence of my enemies, I am the head and not the tail, I am privileged to know the joy of the resurrection and the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ. 

The list could continue forever, but the bottom line is that the only way to actually manifest the reality of these truths on planet earth is by faith, which is why the Bible tell us:

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

In the case at hand, the peace that Christ purchased between Jews and Gentiles is available to anyone who aspires to live by faith, which is why as a Christian we should always find ourselves on the same side as Israel.  When we do, we will enjoy the reward that comes from a life lived by faith. 

Today I will ask Jesus to grant me the faith to see as He sees, to love what He loves, and, as the song says, to break my heart for what breaks His.

Check out Gennarino's devotion on Ephesians 2:16.

Ephesians 2:15

He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups (Ephesians 2:15 NLT).

This verse begins with “He did this …”, which begs the question, “He did what?”  We find the answer in the previous verse – He united Jews and Gentiles into one people.  How did He do that?  He did it by ending the system of the law with its commandments and regulations.  Yet we also know that He did not abolish the law because He told us that was not what He came to do:

“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.  I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.  So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:17-20 NLT).

So are we under the law or under grace?  The answer is yes, because it is not an either or from the standpoint of Scripture.  Titus 2 tells us that grace is our ability to say no to unrighteousness, but how do we know what is unrighteous without the law which was given so that we could know what God’s standard of righteousness is and by grace say no to anything that is not in line with the law.   

What Jesus did away with at the cross, therefore, was not the law itself, but the commandments and regulations that had become the implementation of the law by the Jews.  Instead of an outward observance through “do’s and don’ts,” and an exclusive need of lineage, Jesus leveled the playing field to inward criteria of faith and love and a relationship with God that included “whosever will.”  This new group would now include Jews and Gentiles who operated from a base of grace and who would display a righteous life that was never going to come from the law because of our natural flaw:

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (Romans 8:3-5 NKJV).

Today I will walk according to the Spirit in a righteousness that is not my own.

Be sure to check out Gennarino's devotion on Ephesians 2:15.