Day 4

Scripture to Read: Luke 1:14–17

God used His angel Gabriel to deliver some incredibly exciting news to Zacharias. We read in Luke 1:14–17, “You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. 17 It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” All parents have incredible “joy and gladness” when God blesses them with the birth of each child, whether it’s one or many. God had specific plans for John, and God made it clear what John’s life would be like in Luke 1:15–17. To be filled with the Holy Spirit before the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:1–4 meant John would be filled with the words of the Holy Spirit to speak God’s word by His Holy Spirit (other examples in Scripture: 2 Peter 1:20–21, 2 Samuel 23:1–2, Luke 1:41–45, Luke 1:67–79). John’s role was prophesied in the Old Testament (Malachi 3:1) to clear the path for the promised Messiah. John was filled with the Holy Spirit to do that job.

Challenge & Application

How did God choose to use John for His kingdom and glory? How do we know God has a job for us to do today for His kingdom and glory as well? (See Ephesians 2:10 for help.)

Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!

Devotionals from this week

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Day 1

God used Luke to write the Gospel of Luke as both an encouragement to believers and as a defense of the Gospel of Christ. Many theologians believe that, as God used Luke to write to Theophilus, this letter was intended to strengthen the faith of believers and help them defend their faith against the enemies of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empi...

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Day 2

When God led Luke to write, all Christians in Luke’s day were already familiar with the life of Jesus, having learned about it from both the oral accounts passed down by the original disciples and the biographies that had been written, as noted in Luke 1:2, “handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of t...

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Day 3

God teaches us more about Zacharias and Elizabeth, as we read in Luke 1:8–13, “Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude ...

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Day 4

God used His angel Gabriel to deliver some incredibly exciting news to Zacharias. We read in Luke 1:14–17, “You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. 16 And...

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Day 5

When God speaks to us through His Word and His Holy Spirit in us, He expects us not just to listen but to receive His Word with joy and gladness and then to walk in obedience to what He has commanded us to do (James 1:22–25, Romans 6:16–18, Acts 5:29, 32, Hebrews 5:9). As God led Luke to write, we read in Luke 1:18–20, “Zacharias said to the ...

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Day 6

God lovingly disciplines His children when we choose to blatantly walk in disobedience to Him. God promises us this in Hebrews 12:7–11, “It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then...

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Day 7

God allowed Zacharias to return home, but he went back unable to speak. God does not give us insight as to Elizabeth’s reaction to Zacharias’ muteness, God only tells us in Luke 1:24–25, “After these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying, 25 ‘This is the way the Lord has dealt with ...

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