12/20          Psalm 135:19-21

O Israel, praise the LORD! O priests of Aaron, praise the LORD! 20 O Levites, praise the LORD! All you who fear the LORD, praise the LORD! 21 The LORD be praised from Zion, for he lives here in Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!

PRAISE

Praise the Lord.  He is worthy of all praise.  He is the author and finisher of our faith.  Praise the Lord.  All the good things that happen to us originate with the Lord and everything that comes into our life is under His power and He can take evil and turn it to good-Praise the Lord.    

12/19          Luke 1:67-79

67 Then his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy: 68 “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited his people and redeemed them. 69 He has sent us a mighty Savior from the royal line of his servant David, 70 just as he promised through his holy prophets long ago. 71 Now we will be saved from our enemies and from all who hate us. 72 He has been merciful to our ancestors by remembering his sacred covenant with them, 73 the covenant he gave to our ancestor Abraham. 74 We have been rescued from our enemies, so we can serve God without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness forever. 76 “And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord. 77 You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins. 78 Because of God’s tender mercy, the light from heaven is about to break upon us, 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”

LORD

Jesus is the Lord.  He has come to give us a relationship with the Lord God Almighty.  He is Creator, Mighty God, our Rock, He is Lord. 

12/18          Luke 1:46-55

46 Mary responded, “Oh, how I praise the Lord. 47 How I rejoice in God my Savior! 48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and now generation after generation will call me blessed. 49 For he, the Mighty One, is holy, and he has done great things for me. 50 His mercy goes on from generation to generation, to all who fear him. 51 His mighty arm does tremendous things! How he scatters the proud and haughty ones! 52 He has taken princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly. 53 He has satisfied the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands. 54 And how he has helped his servant Israel! He has not forgotten his promise to be merciful. 55 For he promised our ancestors — Abraham and his children — to be merciful to them forever.”

PROMISE
Jesus came to save us from our sin.  He is merciful and loving.  He is Lord. 

12/17          Luke 1:39-45

39 A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town 40 where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “You are blessed by God above all other women, and your child is blessed. 43 What an honor this is, that the mother of my Lord should visit me! 44 When you came in and greeted me, my baby jumped for joy the instant I heard your voice! 45 You are blessed, because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”

MARY

Mary the Mother of Jesus knows the Lord is coming.  She was a young woman of great faith.  Jesus is Lord. 

12/16          Luke 1:26-38

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you! ” 29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be frightened, Mary,” the angel told her, “for God has decided to bless you! 31 You will become pregnant and have a son, and you are to name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” 34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can I have a baby? I am a virgin.” 35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby born to you will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she’s already in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God.” 38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants. May everything you have said come true.” And then the angel left.

JESUS

Submission.  Servant hood.  Pure.  His birth.  His presentation.  HE is Lord. 

12/15          Luke 22:43-44

Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. 44 He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.

BLOOD

Jesus sweat drops of His blood as he agonized about our sin.  I’ve not done that.  I am desperately in need of a Savior that walks with me every moment of every day and Jesus is that Savior. 

12/14          Luke 22:40-42

There he told them, “Pray that you will not give in to temptation.” 41 He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

WILL

His will was totally surrendered to the Father’s will.  The question for you and for me is will we surrender our will to the Lord’s will? 

12/13          Luke 22:35-39

Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you out to preach the Good News and you did not have money, a traveler’s bag, or an extra pair of sandals, did you need anything?” “No,” they replied. 36 “But now,” he said, “take your money and a traveler’s bag. And if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one! 37 For the time has come for this prophecy about me to be fulfilled: ‘He was counted among the rebels.’ Yes, everything written about me by the prophets will come true.” 38 “Look, Lord,” they replied, “we have two swords among us.” “That’s enough,” he said. 39 Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives.

KNEW

Jesus knew what would happen on the Mount of Olives.  He knew and still He went to die on the Cross for you.  His death was personal, it was a powerful statement by the Lord God that He controlled life and death and it was a perfect finish and renewal of a perfect life-Jesus.

12/12          Luke 22:28-34

“You have stayed with me in my time of trial. 29 And just as my Father has granted me a Kingdom, I now grant you the right 30 to eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. And you will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. 32 But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.” 33 Peter said, “Lord, I am ready to go to prison with you, and even to die with you.” 34 But Jesus said, “Peter, let me tell you something. Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.”

STRENGTH

Jesus is interceding for you right now.  Receive His strength.  Know that you are not alone.  Jesus is with you. 

12/11          Luke 22:20-27

After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you. 21 “But here at this table, sitting among us as a friend, is the man who will betray me. 22 For it has been determined that the Son of Man must die. But what sorrow awaits the one who betrays him.” 23 The disciples began to ask each other which of them would ever do such a thing. 24 Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. 25 Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ 26 But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. 27 Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.

SERVE

Where do you serve?  Are you actively serving the people in your church, in your neighborhood, and in your home?  If not, you should be.  Service in the family of God isn’t one of those things we can opt out of it is required.