Luke 1:1-25 ~ The Lord has done this for me

Luke 1:1-25

1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 

 “The Lord has done this for me. In these days He has shown me favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

If we looked at Elizabeth's seat at The Lord's Table, she said, "The Lord has done this for me."


Hannah, mother of Samuel, might agree.

Moses knew of Jesus the Messiah, would Moses agree?

Isaiah knew of Jesus the Messiah and would Isaiah agree?

Jeremiah knew of Jesus the Messiah, would Jeremiah agree?

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

We all know this. But what about a personal salvation? Where is it written Jesus knew me and saved me as Elizabeth believed she was given Luke 1 as a personal gift?

Certainly Jesus loves me and the Bible tells me so:

The Scriptures tell us most dearly of a personal salvation. A personal plan of Father God's.

Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

1 John 5:13
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.

Romans 10:9
Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

The mercy of God is as vast as the Heavens. Suddenly God is vast about human failings instead of pointing a finger.

Romans 5:8
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,




Elizabeth's words have made Millenniums aware of Elizabeth's Great Joy. A Personal Prayer. A Father God who has comforted her. Almighty God's Willingness to help. The Alpha and Omega enfolds and provides Salvation. And Elizabeth's heart has truly known and understood her Father God's Love for her.



Abba,

Thank You for Jesus. Thank You for the Light of the world. Thank You for the Light of mankind.


Thank You, Father God, You love me. Thank You for loving the people I love. Thank You for loving the people You have given me.
Thank You for listening to our prayers for people we love to be saved from illness and cancer.

Thank You for Your Plans giving me a Hope and a Future.


Thank You for watching over our Nation to Trust in You. Thank You for giving us Your Son and His Great Love telling us to ask You for more Heaven on earth. Thank You for the Nations coming to Your Brightness. Thank You for the communion of saints praying all over the world for Your Care and Love to cover us in the Name of Jesus.

Thank You. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves! † 

Psalm 96 ~ Splendor and majesty are before Him

Psalm 96

96 Oh sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth!

2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!

4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.

6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!

10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.”

11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Hebrews 1:3
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature,
and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.
After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high

Habakkuk 2:14
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge 
of the glory of the Lord 
as the waters cover the sea.



Abba,

We ask Your Willing Blessings. There is always something to pray for. And be blessed You have heard us.

For the this and that of turn the next page and season, we ask Your Blessing.

For the Blessing of those we Love gathering. Thank You.

And in Jesus Christ to be encouraged to pray more Heaven on earth, we are so Blessed to be asked to pray this.

For our Nation - Trusting in You. For the hopes of the people. All over the world, asking You.

We pray healing upon ourselves and the people You have given us. The end of cancer. And Health and Goodness to be with us all the days of our lives.

In Jesus Christ. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves! † 

John 3:16 ~ God has Given

We have White Wing Doves in our neighborhood that surround our pond and begin the morning calling, "Jesus is Lord." "Jesus is King!"

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

And at night the Green Tree Frogs sing, "Thank You." "Thank You." "Thank You."



Abba,

Blessed be the Name of Jesus.

Thank You. Thank You. Thank you. Thank You. Thank You. Thank you. Thank You. Thank You. Thank you.
Thank You. Thank You. Thank you. Thank You. Thank You. Thank you. Thank You. Thank You. Thank you.
Thank You. Thank You. Thank you. Thank You. Thank You. Thank you. Thank You. Thank You. Thank you.

Amen in Jesus Christ.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves! † 

Mark 2:13-22 ~ Jesus went out again beside the sea

The Sea of Galilee showing Israel today is The Land of Milk and Honey God said He saw in Israel. This aerial view of the Sea of Galilee is probably one we will never see with our eyes.

This view of the Sea of Galilee wasn't seen by the Disciples.

And until the 1950s most people did not ride on airplanes. Taking 50 years to make airplanes an every day occurance. Tourism rose in Israel 25% in 2018. And is higher than ever.

Mark 2:13-22

13 He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. 

14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

15 And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 

17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

18 Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting.

And people came and said to him, “Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”

19 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. 21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”wineskins will be ruined". No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”



Mark, really loved Jesus, and became a disciple of Peter until Peter's death in Rome. Peter lived in a prosperous home beside the Sea of Galilee and the Synogogue. We know Peter probably told Mark what needed to be included and The Gospel of Mark is what fascinated Romans in the first century about Jesus.

When we see the wineskins of the Disciples, we find the wine in the Gospels bears the fruit of the Disciple's life. John is John. Mark is Mark. God is working in our lives and in their's.

Luke is the only of the Gospels to record the Sea of Galilee as Lake of Gennesaret 5 times. Mark treats the Sea of Galilee as a focal point for Jesus. Just as Peter, running a fishing business, would have seen the Sea of Galilee. When the Disciples go without Jesus across the Sea, dramatic occurrences happen.

The Gospels are the truth of the writer. This is the author's place at the table. Chapter One provides scope and importance. Chapter Two is the Adventure Begins.


Joy. Mark is making the point if Jesus is inviting, people attend. All sorts of people at the Table of Jesus. And Jesus is nourishing the people. Joy is found to be near Jesus.

Mark begins the Adventure of Jesus - very, very well.



Consider how well Jesus has done and how quickly. Jesus has sent His Beloved Disciples to Rome. And by 325 A.D. Jesus and His Love has made Jesus worshipped as the Son of God in one of the Largest and Longest Lasting Empires on earth.

We might consider the Sea of Galilee. Jesus has considered the world. And our Father God wants to save the entire world in Jesus Christ.



Abba,

Blessed be the Name of Jesus.

Thank You. Thank You. Thank you. Thank You. Thank You. Thank you. Thank You. Thank You. Thank you.
Thank You. Thank You. Thank you. Thank You. Thank You. Thank you. Thank You. Thank You. Thank you.
Thank You. Thank You. Thank you. Thank You. Thank You. Thank you. Thank You. Thank You. Thank you.

Abba, 

We pray for more Heaven on earth. The Joy of the Lord sought and found.

We ask to fill ourselves, the ones we love, the people You have given us with this Joy in Christ Jesus. Lord and Savior.

We lift up the Nation, realizing the news is sensational and usually there is business as usual. We pray for peace.

We pray for the Joy of God to fill us as the sons of mankind are revealed. To rejoice in the Steadfastness of God Himself.

Lifting up our own prayer concerns and those given to us.  For our friend to be totally healed of cancer. 

To rejoice knowing how many prayers are said all over the world and the increase of Heaven on earth with Love and Mercy in Jesus. 

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves! † 

1 John 5 ~ born of God

1 John 5

5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God

And everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.

3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?



6 This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood.

And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. 9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.

11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.

14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.

18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him

Who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.



Born of God
Keep and Obey God
Spirit of Truth
Overcome

Joseph.

Joseph knew he was Loved and special. Joseph knew he was done for by his own brothers. Joseph knew he was saved by Potiphar. Joseph knew to honor Potiphar. Joseph knew Potiphar had done him in. Joseph knew the Baker was going to give him freedom. Joseph knew the Baker had done nothing. Joseph knew the Pharaoh's Dream. Joseph knew the dream was going to upset Pharaoh. Joseph knew there was to be trouble. Joseph knew he should tell the truth. Joseph knew freedom.

Jacob.

Jacob knew life was hard work. Jacob knew the ones he loved died off. Jacob knew that famine had struck the world. Jacob knew they would leave the Promised Land of God in starvation.

God our Father.

God Himself knew Joseph leaving would be a Hope and a Future. God knew the years of hardship would make them who they were. God counted on their personalities and talents and disappointments to shape the interweaving of all things for God for those who Love the Lord and Work According to His Purpose.


This was like the Exodus - years of believing God. Or not believing God.

Hebrews tells us Today is the Day. For Life. Give Us This Day!

Abba,

Blessed be the Name of Jesus.

Thank You. Thank You. Thank you. Thank You. Thank You. Thank you. Thank You. Thank You. Thank you.
Thank You. Thank You. Thank you. Thank You. Thank You. Thank you. Thank You. Thank You. Thank you.
Thank You. Thank You. Thank you. Thank You. Thank You. Thank you. Thank You. Thank You. Thank you.

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves! † 

Jonah 3 ~ God saw what they did

Jonah 3

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days' journey in breadth. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.


6 The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, 8 but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”

10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.





Dan Carlin, Hardcore History, had something to say about the Assyrian Empire, "The cruelty of the Assyrian Empire’s actions were publicized via text, colored wall paintings and carvings in stone. Historian Arthur Ferrill compared them to photos of Nazi concentration camps, and said they had few parallels in history. Artwork showing the skin being cut off of living captives, the impaling of prisoners on stakes, mass forced deportations of conquered peoples, captives being burned or having their tongues torn out and everywhere piles upon piles of human heads are highlighted. One can only imagine what Ashurnasirpal might have done had he possessed video technology."

The Assyrians used stone as the vehicle for their marketing of atrocity.

“I built a pillar over his city gate and I flayed all the chiefs who had revolted, and I covered the pillar with their skin. Some I walled up within the pillar, some I impaled upon the pillar on stakes, and others I bound to stakes round about the pillar…And I cut the limbs of the officers, of the royal officers who had rebelled…Many captives from among them I burned with fire, and many I took as living captives. From some I cut off their noses, their ears, their fingers, of many I put out the eyes. I made one pillar of the living and another of heads, and I bound their heads to tree trunks round the city. Their young men and maidens I burned in the fire.”




Jonah. John the Baptist. One of God's Repeat Situations.

Mark 1

1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”—
3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”


Jonah sounds too cute to be true. The Hittite Nineveh was just about to lead to the Assyrian Empire. Same geographical area.

Three Empires - Hittites - regular human rights.
Assyrian - incredibly horrible.
Babylonian Chaldean - amazing standards of high human rights.

Assyrian and, next, Babylonian Chaldean were polar opposites of human rights.

The Assyrians had a next-door-neighbor. His name was King Hezekiah of the country Judah. Hezekiah was interested in staying alive after his country men saw the Nation of Israel taken doooooown. Some of the 12 tribes were decimated to oblivion. King Hezekiah decided to follow his father's advice, King Ahaz's, advice to strip the Davidic and Solomon gold off the Temple and become a puppet state to the Next Door Neighbor Assyrians.

Isaiah was his cousin, and Isaiah had 2 kings before Hezekiah ignore all his godly counsel. Suddenly, God provided a time for Isaiah to be listened to. Hezekiah and the people of Judah gave God many, many good gifts until Hezekiah had to ask the Children of God to stop. Instead they dug underground passages for water to withstand Assyrian war and siege.

The 700 BC sign in this  passage reads: 

... the tunnel ... and this is the story of the tunnel while ...

the axes were against each other and while three cubits were left to cut? ... the voice of a man ...

called to his counterpart, (for) there was ZADA in the rock, on the right ... and on the day of the

tunnel (being finished) the stonecutters struck each man towards his counterpart, ax against ax and flowed

water from the source to the pool for 1200 cubits. and 100?

cubits was the height over the head of the stonecutters ...

Zada means prosperous or fortunate.

Hezekiah then turned to Isaiah and decided not to tear the gold off the other Temple Door and not be a client/puppet king. Hezekiah would turn to God Himself.

Puppet Client Kings are not very prosperous for paying Bribes.  Hezekiah for his bravery in standing up the Assyrians and the sons and fathers quarreled - Hezekiah had the strongest reign seen since Solomon.

An Egyptian Bulla asking Hezekiah to continue to sell Egypt Grain.

The reason for the good will towards Hezekiah was Jonah - while the Assyrian Empire was actually the Hittite Empire centered in Nineveh. The people had extreme good will to Judah for their help to avoid being destroyed by God. The people liked Judah, Jerusalem, the Temple, the Jews. They knew God had saved them.

Jonah Profoundly, Profoundly, Profoundly made a path for the the Children of God within a 100 years of Jonah's Efforts. The Story of Jonah is from "The Word of the Lord." Jonah went in impossible odds to do something few would volunteer to do. In fact, Jonah wasn't volunteering. Israel lived because of Jonah.

Abba, Father God,

God of Love. God of Encouragement. We ask for Your Willing Blessings. And thank You for the Blessings You give to us Today.

We ask to be Blessed With Numbers 6, Psalm 30, Psalm 130 and All Your Promises. Lifting our hands and hearts to You.

Blessing our families, Blessing those we Love, caring for dear friends with cancer. We ask You to heal.

Bless the Cajun Navy and all of Louisiana and Mississippi to recover and thrive from this Hurricane.

Blessing our communities becoming the Nations seeking Jesus.

We pray for more Heaven on earth with all of Your Beloved Children around the world.

In Jesus we have our Hope. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †