Daily Devotion

“For nothing will be impossible with God.” That is what Gabriel told Mary when she asked how she could have a baby even though she had never been intimate with a man. Gabriel explained that the Holy Spirit would “overshadow” her and bring about the conception, because “nothing will be impossible with God.”

Some have said that Mary was the first person to accept Jesus on his own terms, regardless of the personal cost. Today, we’re going to look at how God’s story unfolded through the life of this young woman from Nazareth.

I am always amazed at how God prepares us for the next step in our journey. He uses today’s  challenges and experiences to mold us into the person he needs us to be tomorrow. We can be confident that God never wastes our time.

When Malachi, the last Old Testament prophet, completed his book in 400 BC, God did not send another prophet for the next 400 years. These centuries are often called “the silent years.” Yet even during that time God was at work. He shifted world power from Persia to Greece and then to Rome. By the time Jesus came, the world was experiencing the Pax Romana (the peace of Rome), shared a common Greek language, and was connected by Roman roads throughout the empire. So, when “the fullness of time had come” God sent Jesus, “born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4–5).

Jesus grew up in a little town called Nazareth, a small agricultural village of about four hundred people—so insignificant that no written records of it exist prior to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.[1] Located in Galilee, the northern region of Israel, Nazareth was home to those often regarded as culturally backward, little more than country bumpkins. So when Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46), he gave voice to what many were likely thinking. 

Weekend Recharge!

Weekend Recharge!

As we conclude our study of the Old Testament, several major developments from the intertestamental period stand out as crucial in preparing the way for the coming of Jesus.

As we’ve studied various kings of the Old Testament, we’ve read about men greatly used by God. Yet too often, pride dragged them down near the end of their lives. One person commented that studying the kings “is confirming that we humans are a real mess!” It’s true, isn’t it? We have seasons of faithfully following God and then some very messy stretches. Thank God for his grace!