Was your cup filled today? If the words of God had special meaning for you, please share your reflections in the comments section at the end of each post. We would love to hear Christ's impact on you.

“Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said

“And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”  Luke 2:6-7 (ESV) There is a popular and beautiful song titled “Mary Did You Know?” by Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene. It really explores the wonder of the birth and life of Jesus and asks the question, “Mary, do you understand what has happened?” I believe the answ

“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,... And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.” (Luke 1:76-80 ESV) As we continue reading about how God fulfilled an ancient prophecy from the Prophet Isaiah, about the forerunner of the promised Messiah, we find Zechariah   being “filled with the Holy Spirit” and prophesying about

“Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son.” (Matthew 1:57 ESV) Typically, we don’t think that a woman giving birth to a child is a big deal. Since the beginning of time, women have been having babies and will continue to have babies as long as this earth remains. But this was no ordinary birth. This was the birth that was prophesied some 700 years before this event. In Isaiah 40:3, we read, “A voice cries in the wilderness, prepare the way of the LORD

“ And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy !” Luke 1:43-44 (ESV) Once Mary, the mother of Jesus, was visited by the angel Gabriel, and the Holy Spirit miraculously impregnated her, she wanted to be with her extended family. She left and went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who just six months ago had a miracle of her own. Elizabeth’s husband, Zecha

“ And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”   (Luke 1:36-38 ESV) Could you imagine just going through life doing your everyday activities, and the Angel of the Lord appears and greets you with “Greetings, O favored

“And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”   (Luke 1:18-20 ESV) The time is drawing near; God’s p

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2  He was in the beginning with God. 3  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4  In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7  He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe throu

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2  Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3  and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4  and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5  and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the fathe

“And he took up his discourse and said, “The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, the oracle of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered: I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Shet

“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity fo

“Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14 ESV) Up until today, we have seen the relevance of Scripture in relation to the miraculous birth of our Savior, Christ Jesus. Today, we will examine Isaiah’s first messianic prophecy, found in today’s text. Isaiah lived approximately 700 years before the birth of Christ. As alluded to, Chapter 7, verse 14 is not Isaiah’s only mes

“After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: 'Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”    And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be

“But God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.    For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:3-5 ESV) Satan lied, humanity fell, and sin entered the world. Man did die, an unseeable death, one of the Spirit, separated from God. But God foresaw t

“But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘T

“But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more w

“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.   Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.” (John 17:6-8 ESV) This Advent, a season of profound significance, as we celebrate the com

“He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd, he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house t

“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:1-3 ESV) Paul was such a great writer. Having been completely transformed after seeing Christ and hearing Him speak, and onc

“Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.    But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”    Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11 20-25 ESV)  I marvel at the writing of the resurrection of Lazarus. Mainly because the shortest verse of the Bi