Luke 1:26-38
Love
Luke 1:26-38
The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as is this truth of the Incarnation.
Packer, J.I., 2015. The Staggering Mystery of Christmas. Decision Magazine.
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The most important event that has ever happened since the creation of the world is the coming of Jesus Christ, God's Son, into the world.
Piper, J., 1984. Tell How Much the Lord Has Done for You.
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Luke 1:28
And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" (use)
The birth of Christ was notified to the Jewish shepherds by an angel, to the Gentile philosophers by a star: to both God spoke in their own language, and in the way they were best acquainted with
Henry, M., 1896. Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible. UK. Matthew
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Luke 1:29
But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. (use)
2 Kings 19:35
And that night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. (use)
Luke 1:26
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, (use)
Daniel 8:16
And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, and it called, Gabriel, make this man understand the vision. (use)
Daniel 9:21
while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. (use)
Daniel 9:23
At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision. (use)
Luke 1:30
And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. (use)
He is There and He is Not Silent
Schaeffer, F.A., 1972. He is There and He is Not Silent.
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James 4:8
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (use)
Your Bible is tangible evidence that the Maker of the universe is a communicator; he’s someone who initiates, who reveals, who speaks.
Smethurst, M., 2019. Does God Love You? You Own Tangible Evidence.
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Genesis 3:15
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. (use)
2 Samuel 7:12
When your{David} days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. (use)
2 Samuel 7:13
He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. (use)
Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (use)
Isaiah 9:7
Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. (use)
Luke 1:32
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, (use)
Luke 1:34
And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" (use)
Ecclesiastes 11:5
As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. (use)
Psalm 139:15
My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. (use)
Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (use)
Luke 1:35
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." (use)
The glory of Christmas is that the expectation of Isaiah 7:14 has become a reality. The virgin really did give birth to a son. He was called Immanuel, for He really was God with us.
Richard, G.M., 2017. Was Jesus Really Born of a Virgin?.
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1 Kings 8:27
But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! (use)
...before there was a Christian doctrine of a virgin birth resulting in "God with us," there was a Jewish doctrine of a virgin birth resulting in "God with us."
Kell, G., 2020. Is Jesus Really the Virgin-Born Child in Isaiah 7?.
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After all, how many practising Christians believe that the nativity is literal history, or that Mary really was impregnated by the Holy Spirit? But how do we take Christmas seriously if we don’t take it literally?
Baggini, J., 2018. The spirit of Christmas doesn’t have to be Christian.
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Luke 1:37
For nothing will be impossible with God. (use)
Nothing is to be despaired of, not the performance of any service, not the obtaining of any favour, though ever so great, if we have God with us.
Henry, M., 1896. Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible. UK. Luke
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Luke 1:38
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. (use)
Our adorings of God must not hinder, but rather quicken and excite, our actings for God.
Henry, M., 1896. Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible. UK. Ezekiel
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We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. God will be constantly crossing our paths and canceling our plans by sending us people with claims and petitions.
Bonhoeffer, D., 1939. Life Together The Classic Exploration of Christian Community.
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The most mind-boggling miracle is the incarnation. We believe that the Creator of the Universe, the one who existed before time and before anything else, became one of us. If you accept that, then there are a lot of other things that don’t seem to be quite as unbelievable.
Kristof, N., 2017. Cardinal Tobin Am I a Christian?
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Matthew 1:21
She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. (use)
For men and women with awakened consciences, burdened by the guilt of hearts centred on ourselves, haunted by memories - perhaps especially at Christmas - of things said and done of which we are ashamed, there can be nothing more wonderful to hear than this: our sins can be forgiven. And they can. It is true. This is not fantasy. Because Jesus Christ came in human flesh, and lived, and grew, and loved God, and die to pay the penalty for sinners, our sins can really be forgiven.
Ash, C., 2019. Repeat the sounding joy. [Day 13]
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