Verse of the Day 12/17

Verse of the Day 12/17

Luke 1:28-29  And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!"^[a] 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.    English Standard Version (ESV)

Many will read Luke chapter 2 and the account of the first Christmas found there, but that is not where it begins. We won't get into a lot of theology pointing back to Genesis, but in terms of the book of Luke the story begins with the angel speaking to Zechariah and then the angel Gabriel speaking to Mary.  The angel came to Zechariah while he was going about doing his priestly duties.  The angel spoke of a son that would be born to him, who would be John  who would prepare the way, pave the way for Jesus.

We don't know what Mary was doing, but it would appear that Gabriel came to her in the course of daily life, a simple life in the small "little town" of Nazareth.  The message had to be a hard one to digest and accept, but it was God who sent Gabriel, it was God who had prepared her heart for the message that would be given and eventually the Son that would be delivered through her.

As I read the verses today, a stanza of "O Little Town of Bethlehem" came to mind.  It is where Jesus was born, in a town that everyone was going about their business.  God interrupted that with a message in the form of His Son that would speak to human hearts for the next couple of thousand years and will continue to until He comes again to take us home.

How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven
No ear may hear His coming
But in this world of sin
Where meek souls will receive him still
The dear Christ enters in

If you are a believer, a Christ follower, at some point God imparted to your heart the blessings of His heaven, a Savior, Christ the Lord.  Perhaps God is speaking to your heart, to come and enter in, to abide, and to guide within you this season.  Or maybe it is a prayer that you have for loved ones that do not know Him that they would truly hear the Christmas message for the first time, and give testimony, tell of the great tidings of coming to know the Savior who came to this little town.

O holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us, we pray
Cast out our sin and enter in
Be born to us today
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Luke 1:28-33The Message (MSG)

A Virgin Conceives

^26-28 In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin's name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her:

Good morning!
You're beautiful with God's beauty,
Beautiful inside and out!
God be with you.

^29-33 She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, "Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus.

He will be great,
    be called 'Son of the Highest.'
The Lord God will give him
    the throne of his father David;
He will rule Jacob's house forever—
    no end, ever, to his kingdom."