This great book will serve as the center of our worship experiences these next few Sundays, and we'll be going deeper in a gathering at SOTH on WEdnesday nights, at 6PM.
In addition, we'll be walking through Hamilton's daily devotional thoughts. I'm glad we're together for the ride!
Today, and really this entire week, is all about Mary's encounter with Gabriel, and the message she learns about the baby she will soon conceive.
Luke 1:26-30: The Message
In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin's name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her: Good morning! You're beautiful with God's beauty, Beautiful inside and out! God be with you. She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, "Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus."
I love Hamilton's lead question for today's reading. What do you think about angels?
Fluffy little child-like beings with wings? Hard to believe sometimes, isn't it?
What did scripture mean by the word? While we may not be able to know exactly, we do know that the meaning on the face of the New Testament word was "messenger." Check out the word, "aggelos."
I definitely believe in messengers. I have met plenty of them in my life. Just as Hamilton relates experiences he has had with God's messengers, I can think of people who have spoken what turned out to be nothing short of God's word into my life.
Divine providence? I think so. I do believe God speaks to us. In the Bible, this happened through dreams, visions, or physical messengers.
What is God trying to tell you in this Christmas season? What are we being prepared for?
Hebrews 13:2: "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it."
Jesus was not welcomed into the inn on the night of his birth...may we open ourselves to the "strangers" God sends into our midst with his message. Believe in aggelos.
Grace & Peace,
Adam
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