Editors note: The devotionals that appear from this month on will be taken from the archives because I want to present devotionals relating to the reason for the season. It is possible they will have updates and will be highlighted in pink.

Quiet Times: (Psalm 129,  Proverbs 9, and  Luke 1:26-28)

For the reverence and fear of the Lord are basic to all wisdom. Knowing God results in every other kind of understanding. (Proverbs 9:10, TLB)

“In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." (Luke 1:26-28, NIV)

Observations:

I asked myself who are the characters mentioned in these verses?

1. God

2. Angel Gabriel

3. Virgin

4. Joseph

5. Mary

6. Lord

Character 1: God!

I asked myself what is the role of God in these verses?

1. God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth!

2. God sent the angel with a message!

Interpretation:

I asked myself what is the significance of what God did!

I saw this to be very significant because it showed me that God was the initiator to send a messenger to earth. Specifically, the messenger was sent to Nazareth, a town in Galilee. Without God’s initiative the messenger would not have arrived! What God initiates, He finishes. In this case, He used an angel to accomplish His purpose.

Observations:

Character 2: Angel Gabriel

I asked myself what was the role of the angel?

1. The Angel Gabriel went to Nazareth, a town in Galilee.

2. The Angel went to a virgin pledged to be married to a descendant of David.

3. The Angel gave two messages!

At God’s command, Angel Gabriel obeyed and went with the message to Nazareth! While at Nazareth, the Angel Gabriel visited a virgin pledged to be married to a descendant of David.

Interpretations:

I asked myself what was the significance of mentioning who the Angel visited?

I found it interesting that we are not given the name of the person the angel visited right away. Instead, all we know is the label given to the one being visited as a ‘virgin pledged to be married’.

Character 3: Virgin

This emphasized to me the importance of the phrase a ‘virgin pledged to be married’.

I asked myself what it meant and what it did not mean!

Even though this person gave her word to the one she was going to marry, she did not have sexual intercourse with that person. She did not reason, ‘I am going to marry that person anyway, so it does not matter if there is sexual intimacy before marriage’

Instead, she remains a virgin pledged to be married to Joseph, a descendant of David.

Character 4:  Joseph

I asked myself the significance of mentioning ‘Joseph, a descendant of David.’

It made me think, a lot of credit goes to her for remaining a virgin especially being pledged to Joseph, a descendant of David because Joseph comes from a line where sexual sin almost destroyed a dynasty. Sadly, when there is a sin in a family line, that sin continues through the generations unless there is a stop put to it somewhere.

King David was involved not only in sexual sin when he committed adultery with Bathsheeba but also was involved in murder to cover it up. Joseph comes from that family line. King David did repent of his sin (Psalm 51, Psalm 32) and hopefully that cycle of sin was eliminated from that family line.

APPLICATION I:

A lot of credit goes to Joseph too because in a patriarchal society the man usually decided about marriage and so on. Joseph was very careful that the engagement would remain sex-free until marriage.

I have a lot of respect for both the Virgin and Joseph because an engagement to be married did not make them allow sex into their lives unlike today!

Sadly today, we have couples having sex before marriage when they know they are definitely going to be married using that as a rationalization to think they are not doing wrong. Others go ahead and lose their virginity because they just cannot wait until marriage night or never intend to marry but want to experience what God gave for the confines of marriage thinking what they are doing is not wrong!

Character 5: Mary

Finally, the name of the virgin is mentioned as Mary! 

I asked myself, ‘What does Mary experience?’

Mary experiences, the Angel Gabriel tell her 3 things:

1. Greetings,

2. You who are highly favored!

3. The Lord is with you!

 Being greeted by an angel of the Lord can be so cool if the angel comes with a positive message! In this case, that’s what Gabriel does! Gabriel lets Mary know that she is highly favored! That is so awesome to know that the Virgin Mary was not just favored but highly favored!

 Character 6: Lord

Not only does the Angel Gabriel tell her she is highly favored but also lets her know that the Lord is with her. Wow! That is amazing! Gabriel comes to earth with a message from God and part of the message is to let Mary know she is not alone but the Lord is present with her!

Those days were filled with turmoil with the politics of that day! Amidst that turmoil, the Virgin Mary is visited by an angel with a message! The angel must be commended too for following God’s orders and coming to earth to deliver the message!

I saw important implications for our lives!

I ask you now dear friend, can you say that the presence of the Lord is with you?

Dear friend, this Christmas season if you cannot answer with a resounding ‘Yes’, I want you to know it does not have to be that way!

As God took the initiative to send the Angel Gabriel with a message to the Virgin Mary, God has taken the initiative for you too! Yes, he has friend! No matter what you have done, no matter where you have been, you are never out of His love and never out of His reach! Yes, no sin of yours is too big for God to forgive you and give you His peace! All the guilt you have, God already took the initiative to help you experience forgiveness and grace. God did it through sending Jesus Christ to save you and me from our sins. Jesus paid the price with His life on the cross, shedding His blood for you and me. His blood can clean us where we are and cover us with His purity. When God looks at us, He sees Christ covering us! That is amazing to know! For Christ to cover us, He has to be with us!

When you turn over your life to Him, Jesus will be there for you! He will never leave you nor forsake you! If you have given your life to Him but have gone your own way, it is not late to come back to the One who loves you and wants to be part of your life. Yes, He does! This Christmas season, you can say, that the Lord is with you because He wants to be with you if you will ask Him to be part of your life and your daily living!

Peacefully, Redeeming Eternal Savior Elegantly Nurtures Carefully Everyday! (P.R.E.S.E.N.C.E)/”Can you say the Lord is with you?”

Won’t you allow Jesus to be a presence in your life this season! You can do it right away and don’t even have to wait! Why not pray these words in your heart and mean it!

Prayer:
Jesus, I heard that you want to be part of my life. I want you in my life. I do have a lot of baggage with me. Most of the baggage is damaged goods and only you can set me free. I want to have your presence in my life, for you say when you come in, you will never leave us nor forsake us. I am so sorry for my sins Jesus. You know all my sins what I have done, you know where I have been in my life! You alone can give me new life. I don’t expect everything to be peachy when I come to you but I do know you will be with me and help me through whatever I have to face in life. Thank you Jesus! Please forgive me of my sins and cleanse me with your cleansing blood. I believe you died on the cross to save me from my sins and came back to life to give me new life. I accept all that you have done for me through your grace! Thank you for your grace, you want to impart in my life. Please come into my heart now and make my heart your home forever! Live in me Jesus and I will live for you and serve you the rest of the days of my life as you help me through the Holy Spirit. Fill me Jesus with the Holy Spirit. Thank you Jesus for coming into my heart and making my heart your home! Thank you for being part of my life as I acknowledge you as my Lord and personal Savior! I am not alone but you are with me guiding my path! Thank you Jesus I am born-again into your family and when I have backslid you have brought this prodigal son or daughter back to you. Thank you Jesus for being my Lord and Personal Savior! Thank you, you have heard my prayer and answered me! In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

No matter what you feel in your heart, know that Jesus has come in and resides with you! You are not alone! To make your walk strong with the Lord, spend time in prayer talking to Him as you would to a friend. You don’t need special words to talk to the Lord. Spend time in His Word reading Psalms and turning them into prayer. Next allow God to heal you and speak to you through the Gospel of John or Gospel of Mark! It is also important to be part of a body of believers to help you grow in the faith. Find a Bible believing church that preaches Christ crucified and risen to bring us hope, healing, and help! As a student, it is not too late to join a fellowship on campus too this coming new year!

Feel free to email me at reddy4hisglory2004@yahoo.com if you want to meet to study the Bible, pray with, talk about Spiritual issues or whatever is on your mind! My number is 412-720-4579

"This is my work and I can do it only because Christ's mighty energy is at work within me." (Colossians 1:29, TLB)

Love in Christ,
Ramesh

Next Devotional:

Express your view