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Knowing God's Will Is Not Enough
Luke 1:34, 'Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?'
LUKE 1:26-38
Contrast Mary's question and Gabriel's response with the question that Zacharias asked Gabriel and the response that he received (Luke 1:18-20). You will find the questions are similar but the responses are totally different.
Both Mary and Zacharias asked how these miracles would occur but it is evident that Mary was asking 'how' in faith while Zacharias was asking 'how' in unbelief. It is a clear Bible teaching that unbelief doesn't please God (Heb. 11:6), but the Lord doesn't mind us questioning Him for the purpose of instruction so we can cooperate with His will in our lives.
Abram...
Can You Believe It?
Luke 1:18, 'And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.'
LUKE 1:5-25
Zacharias and Elisabeth were righteous people (v. 6) who prayed for a child for many years. They felt the same disappointments and frustrations that any of us would feel and yet they kept believing God. The Lord finally answered their prayers and sent His angel to announce the good news.
What was Zacharias' reaction? He couldn't believe it! The very thing that he had been praying for was granted and he doubted that it was true. In Zacharias' case he received his miracle anyway. Perhaps his wife's faith pulled him through.
Likewise, you may be praying for...
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL AND I PRAY THAT THIS YEAR WILL BE A VERY BLESSED ONE FOR YOU. I KNOW SOME OF YOU MAKE THOSE NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS AND I JUST THOUGHT A GOOD ONE WOULD BE TO BE A BLESSING TO SOMEONE EVERY DAY THAT YOU CAN IN 2020. BEING A BLESSING TO SOMEONE ALSO BLESSES YOU. HAVE YOU REALLY THOUGHT ABOUT HOW BLESSED YOU ARE ALREADY? SOME MIGHT SAY "HOW CAN YOU SAY I AM BLESSED WHEN I LIVE FROM PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK AND CAN BARELY PAY MY BILLS?" WELL, THINGS ARE GOING TO CHANGE FOR YOU. JUST THINK OF THE PEOPLE THAT DON'T HAVE A JOB, OR, AS FAR AS THAT GOES, A HOME, A CAR OR GOOD HEALTH. DO YOU EVER THANK GOD FOR THE THINGS YOU DO...
About Genealogies
Luke 3:23, 'And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli.'
ARE YOU USABLE TO JESUS? IF WE WANT TO BE USED WE HAVE TO BE PREPARED. DO YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME JESUS MINISTERED IN JERUSALEM WHERE THE MULTITUDES BELIEVED ON HIM WHEN THEY SAW THE MIRACLES HE HAD PERFORMED? WOULDN'T YOU THINK THAT THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A GOOD TIME TO GET THE PEOPLE TO GO OUT AND START SPREADING HIS GOSPEL? JESUS DIDN'T THINK SO. SEE WHAT IT SAYS IN JOHN 2:23-24 "Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, i n the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men." HE DIDN'T WANT THE PEOPLE PROCLAIMING...
God Still Performs Miracles
Mark 16:20 'And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.'
The Lord confirmed the preaching of His Word with miracles. If Jesus and the first century Christians needed the Word confirmed with the miraculous (Heb. 2:4), then we do too. There is no scripture that says these miraculous signs have passed away.
Some people have interpreted 'that which is perfect' in 1 Corinthians 13:10, as being the complete Bible. This has led them to believe that the gifts of the Spirit have ceased. Although God's Word is perfect (Ps. 19:7), it is not the 'perfect thing' that is...
Use Your Delegated Authority
Mark 16:18 'They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.'
This either speaks literally of supernatural protection if we pick up a snake, or symbolically of protection in our fight against the devil. Since the other four signs in this list are literal, it is most probable that this means physically taking up snakes.
The apostle Paul experienced this supernatural protection from a viper when he was shipwrecked on the island of Melita (Acts 28:3-5). However, this is the only recorded example of this type of protection in the New Testament.
...HAVE YOU EVER REALIZED HOW MUCH POWER IS IN EITHER THE SPOKEN OR WRITTEN WORD? WORDS REALLY ARE POWERFUL. JESUS SAYS IN MATTHEW 12:34-37 "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall giv e account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." WE HAVE TO WATCH WHAT WE SAY THAT OUR WORDS ARE NOT IDLE...