PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN ( Luke 1:13 ): Father, I read this verse and immediately felt convicted. Your angel, Gabriel, was speaking to Zechariah in the sanctuary and informed him that his prayers had been heard. I know You hear all of my prayers and You have answered so many of them quickly and with such great and amazing blessings. For some reason, however, I have not been as grateful towards You as I should be, Father. Please forgive me for this. Remind me to rejoice more often in You and to praise You through ALL things that happen in this life, Father.
PROMISE ( Luke 1:31-33 ): I don’t think even Mary realized in the moment, maybe not even the angel Gabriel, how impactful this amazing promise would be on the entire world. Gabriel relayed the message that Mary would give birth to Jesus even before she has become intimate with a man. He promised that Jesus would be conceived by her through the Holy Spirit and that He kingdom would have no end! Thank You so much for this amazing and greatly impactful promise, Father.
ATTITUDE ( Luke 1:38 ): Mary’s statement here after speaking to Your angel Gabriel is something I definitely lack in. She says that she is the Lord’s slave and may it be done to her according to YOUR words. Essentially, she’s saying that she is Yours and all she wants is Your will to be done in her life. I do struggle with this quite a bit because I often feel the need to be in control while living in this uncontrollable world. Your will for me has proven so many times to be far better and greater than anything I want to do or be in control of. Help me to remember to keep an attitude like Mary’s, Father, so that I may truly be a slave to You so that it is Your will that is done, not my own.
COMMAND ( Luke 1:20a ): The very first two words in this verse feel like it’s You yelling at me this morning, Father. The words are simply “now listen” but wow do they hit hard. I really need to get better at shutting up and listening to those around me, but especially You. You speak to me in so many different ways in this life, not just through Your words in the Bible but through the different interactions I have on a day-to-day basis, the things I see and hear, the experiences I have in this life. Help me to calm my mind, shut my mouth, and listen to the things You have to say to me, Father.
EXAMPLE ( Luke 1:38 ): I have to come back to this verse, because Mary provides such a perfect example in her statement to Your angel Gabriel here. She said that she is the Lord’s slave and may it be done to her according to Your words. This is how we are to live in our faith. We are free but we should have the mentality that we are slaves to You and we should always do things that are pleasing to our Slave Master, our Father in Heaven, and are according to His will and not our own. Imagine if all followers of Christ treated their faith like this? How amazing would the world of Christianity in this life be? I know we’re in the end times, though, so that cannot be the case here as we are a fallen world waiting on You to return to us. Thank You for Mary’s amazing example to live by, Father.
*DAILY NOTE: I know it’s been several days since I last did my quiet time, Father. I’m not really sure if I would have gone to Luke had I continued on immediately after Obadiah, so even though I’m disappointed in myself for not doing daily quiet times lately I am happy for where You’ve brought me today. So far just in the first half of the first chapter of the book of Luke, I am hearing You clearly and loudly. Thank You for such a great quiet time this morning, Father. I really do appreciate our time together.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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