Wednesday, March 14
Luke 1:30-31; Luke 1:34-35; Luke 2:7
Prophecy FULFILLED: But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God… and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
Devotional:
Seven hundred years after Isaiah made the prophecy known, it happened. Though the words were passed down from generation to generation, there were many who probably had forgotten about them and many more who had probably given up on the prophecy. Imagine hearing about the young girl, Mary… who was pregnant and claimed that she had not known a man… who claimed that the baby inside of her was God’s Son (given to her by the Holy Spirit). Most would have thought, yeah right, virgins don’t have babies! Some may have thought, “I heard something like that was going to happen.”
Now put the two together. God gave a sign that a virgin would conceive and give birth to Immanuel (Immanuel means, God with us). Seven hundred years pass. Then a virgin has a baby given to her by God Himself. That is amazing! That is fulfilling! That is God showing us the impossible so that we might place our faith in Him and in His Son, Jesus! Have you trusted Him? Will you trust Him?
Take some time right now to pray and thank God for defying all the odds in order to make it clear that His Son entered the world. Maybe you’d like to pray this prayer: “Thank you Father, for giving us a sign that a virgin will conceive and give birth to Immanuel. Thank you for giving us all we need to place our faith and trust in You. You are a God of promises and You fulfill Your Word so that we may know You and believe You. You go to great lengths to show Yourself as real to us. Thank you. Amen.”
-Pastor Rob
Action:
God goes to great lengths to reveal Himself to us, to you. Someone you know still needs God revealed to them. Start by asking God who to share Him with, and by not ignoring who He says. It may be a sibling, a friend, a boss or a stranger. If He gives you a specific name, write down your person’s name.