Luke 1:74-75
This is what Zachariah was sharing after the birth of his son John. It is only a small part of his prophecy but it really made me think and be thankful. Chapter 1 verses 74-75 say, "We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live."
Two things really stuck out to me in these verses: First the statement "so we can serve..." We are here to serve the Lord and shine a light so people can see His greatness. If we just accept Jesus as Lord and then stop sharing and living to serve Him we would feel alone and incomplete. Jesus came to serve and show us the power in it so when we open our hearts and serve we see past ourselves and our hearts grow. When we take the focus of life off what we want and desire and put it on what Jesus has done for us we start to change and our lives impact the people around us.
Paul shares in Philippians chapter 4 verses 4-5, "Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again - rejoice! let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do." This leads to the second part in Luke that stood out to me, which is, "In holiness and righteousness for as long as we live." We can be holy and righteous in our behavior when we have faith in Christ Jesus. Our faith will move us to be different and our focus should be on Him not ourselves. Paul gives us his example to follow because he is following Christ. In Philippians chapter 3 verses 17-20 we see this more clearly. "Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior."
When we think of ourselves as holy and righteous we are focused on learning and what Jesus did for us when He came, died, and rose again. Our lives have meaning and we see how our serving the Lord is what we get to do. We have been rescued and we can think of our lives as complete because of Jesus and we can live confidently because of what He did not because of what we have to do. Amen
This is what Zachariah was sharing after the birth of his son John. It is only a small part of his prophecy but it really made me think and be thankful. Chapter 1 verses 74-75 say, "We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live."
Two things really stuck out to me in these verses: First the statement "so we can serve..." We are here to serve the Lord and shine a light so people can see His greatness. If we just accept Jesus as Lord and then stop sharing and living to serve Him we would feel alone and incomplete. Jesus came to serve and show us the power in it so when we open our hearts and serve we see past ourselves and our hearts grow. When we take the focus of life off what we want and desire and put it on what Jesus has done for us we start to change and our lives impact the people around us.
Paul shares in Philippians chapter 4 verses 4-5, "Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again - rejoice! let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do." This leads to the second part in Luke that stood out to me, which is, "In holiness and righteousness for as long as we live." We can be holy and righteous in our behavior when we have faith in Christ Jesus. Our faith will move us to be different and our focus should be on Him not ourselves. Paul gives us his example to follow because he is following Christ. In Philippians chapter 3 verses 17-20 we see this more clearly. "Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior."
When we think of ourselves as holy and righteous we are focused on learning and what Jesus did for us when He came, died, and rose again. Our lives have meaning and we see how our serving the Lord is what we get to do. We have been rescued and we can think of our lives as complete because of Jesus and we can live confidently because of what He did not because of what we have to do. Amen
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