Written by: YFriday

Luke 1 v 34-38
Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen since I am a virgin?”
The angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you. For this reason the baby will be holy and will be called the Son of God. Now Elizabeth, your relative, is also pregnant with a son though she is very old. Everyone thought she could not have a baby, but she has been pregnant for six months. God can do anything!”
Mary said, “I am the servant of the Lord. Let this happen to me as you say!” Then the angel went away.

Notes
Imagine if God had just told you that something completely impossible was about to happen to you. Not only that, but the thing that was going to happen would cause quite a bit of gossip and fingers pointing at you This was exactly the sort of situation that Mary was in, and she knew it! So what was her reaction? 

"I am the servant of the Lord, let this happen to me as you say"

Can't have been the easiest thing to say really. I'm not sure that I would have been able to say that so quickly. Mary doesn't just obey there, she puts absolute trust in God, even though the thing he had asked of her might have seemed a bit strange at the time. She offered her whole life to Him. 

Mary sets us an amazing example, her trust and obedience made possible the salvation of the whole world!! God can work miracles through our obedience and trust in Him.

Think for a few moments about Mary and some more of the miracles of God... Let them inspire you to put your life in His hands today.

Luke 1 v 39-45
Mary got up and went quickly to a town in the hills of Judea. She came to Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the unborn baby inside her jumped, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She cried out in a loud voice, “God has blessed you more than any other woman, and he has blessed the baby to which you will give birth. Why has this good thing happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? When I heard your voice, the baby inside me jumped with joy. You are blessed because you believed that what the Lord said to you would really happen.”

Notes
Mary's head must have been in quite a spin after a visit from an angel who'd told her she was going to be the mother of the Son of God! I can't imagine what must have been going through her head on her journey to Elizabeth. Excitement, a bit of fear, maybe some doubts were creeping in, I don't know...

When Mary gets to Elizabeth, the first thing Elizabeth does is confirm everything the angel has told her! Mary didn't even say she was pregnant! What an encouragement that must have been to Mary....

When God gives you a job to do, he won't just tell you what to do and then leave you on your own till you've finished the job. He'll provide the things and the encouragement you need in all sorts of ways; Friends, the Bible, past experiences, all of these things can help us and God will bring each of them when you need them. If God's sent you on a mission and you're starting to have your doubts or wondering how you're going to get through it, remember that you're not on your own, and don't be afraid to look for His confirmation. He'll help you any way He can!

Luke 1 v 46-50
Then Mary said,
“My soul praises the Lord;
my heart rejoices in God my Saviour, because he has shown his concern for his humble servant girl.
From now on, all people will say that I am blessed, because the Powerful One has done great things for me.
His name is holy.
God will show his mercy forever and ever to those who worship and serve him.

Notes
Mary was a pregnant Jewish serving girl, pledged to be married to a poor carpenter from Nazareth. Not the greatest prospects in the world, and not much to sing about if you look at it from the surface. But look at the bigger picture...

God has given Mary an amazing blessing and promise, so she sings about what He has done for her, and about how much she loves Him. The story of Mary helps understand a lot about God's character, and the nature of His kingdom. He gives power to the weak, thrones to the humble, and food to the hungry. 

"He has shown concern for His humble servant girl" Mary was his humble servant, she made herself empty for God to fill.

Take a moment to come to God as an empty vessel, and ask Him to fill you with everything you need for the rest of the day.

Luke 1 v 51-56
He has done mighty deeds by his power.
He has scattered the people who are proud and think great things about themselves.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones and raised up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with nothing.
He has helped his servant, the people of Israel, remembering to show them mercy as he promised to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his children forever.”
Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

Notes
The bible is full of prayers of people declaring what God has done, either for them or for other people. I think that one of the purposes of doing this is to inspire us. I sometimes find it very easy to forget some of the things that God has done for me. Reminding yourself of the things he's done will strengthen your shield of faith!

If you've got a pen and paper handy (and if you haven't, go find one, it'll be worth it)! spend 1 minute writing down some of the things that God has done for you.

Starting with Mary's prayer above, then adding your own list at the end, declare the things that God has done! Do it out loud! Go on! 

Try to keep these things in your mind throughout the day. Keep your list and you'll be able to add to it daily the things God is doing for you, and keep declaring aloud the things He has done!

Luke 1 v 57-60
When it was time for Elizabeth to give birth, she had a boy. Her neighbours and relatives heard how good the Lord was to her, and they rejoiced with her.
When the baby was eight days old, they came to circumcise him. They wanted to name him Zechariah because this was his father’s name, but his mother said, “No! He will be named John.”

Notes
God has given Elizabeth an amazing gift. A son! Something she never dreamed was possible. Her friends and relatives were also celebrating with her about this, you know what it's like when someone has a baby in normal circumstances, so this would have been even more big news! Elizabeth knew God had blessed her, and knew that she was to name him John. She knew exactly what God was going to do with the gift she had been given.

Others had different ideas...

Sometimes it's not so clear, as it was to Elizabeth, where our gifts will fit, or what to do with them, some of you may be in that kind of position at the moment, where you're not sure of your calling, or what exactly God wants you to do with your life.

Advice of friends and pastors/youth leaders is very important, and I've had some great advice! But the most important thing is that above all of these voices, you hear the voice of the One who has given the gift. He knows exactly where you fit, and will make sure you get there!

Luke 1 v 61-66
The people said to Elizabeth, “But no one in your family has this name.” Then they made signs to his father to find out what he would like to name him.
Zechariah asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John,” and everyone was surprised. Immediately Zechariah could talk again, and he began praising God. All their neighbours became alarmed, and in all the mountains of Judea people continued talking about all these things. The people who heard about them wondered, saying, “What will this child be?” because the Lord was with him.

Notes
Zechariah had been disappointed for years about not having a son, but that didn't stop him serving God. He prayed and prayed to God for help and then when it finally arrived he didn't quite have the faith to accept that what God was telling him would happen. He said "How? My wife and I are very old." 

He focussed on his own human limitations instead of the power of God to make the seemingly impossible happen, so until the words of the angel came to pass, Zechariah was not allowed to say a word. 

We join the story here, just as the words of the angel had come to pass! As soon as Zechariah writes "his name is John," his voice returns. 

Unbelief produces silence. If we're not convinced about the reality of God's love, and His promises to us, we'll find it very difficult to talk about them. (And I have days like that too!) But when we believe, our voice is restored! As soon as Zechariah's voice returns, the first thing He does is praise God. He can't help himself because He's convinced of God's love and promises...

Luke 1 v 67-70
Then Zechariah, John’s father, was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
“Let us praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to help his people and has given them freedom.
He has given us a powerful Saviour from the family of God’s servant David.
He said that he would do this through his holy prophets who lived long ago:

Notes
Zechariah's voice has been restored, he has a son at last, a son who is going to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah! He'd only asked for a son, not a son who was going to be one of the most important men ever! God blessed Him even more than he'd hoped for or imagined.

God's still in the business of doing that today, for you and me.

The first thing Zechariah does, as I mentioned yesterday, is stop and give God all of the praise and glory, and tells the people to do the same.

When God blesses us in amazing ways, it's sometimes easy, in the excitement, to forget to stop and give God the praise He deserves...

yfriday is having an amazing time recently, as you've been reading these notes this week, we've been in singapore, playing at a huge conference at the national stadium there. This is an opportunity that has come from God, nowhere else. It's our job to go and use every opportunity to give Him praise and tell people about His love for us.

When we get home I'll be working in a part time job over Christmas to get money to pay for Christmas pressies! And it'll STILL be my job to use every opportunity to give God praise and share His love with others... The mission doesn't change!

It's not easy to do all the time, but God will give you an opportunity to share His love today, make the most of it!


word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes