DAY 11 Wednesday December 10, 2025   And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord . . .” Luke 1:38a   Gabriel gives the explanation. He knows she’s a virgin, and she will remain one, at least for the time being. All this will take place through the power of God, through the Holy Spirit. And just to offer her some reassurance, he tells her that her cousin Elizabeth is also having a son, even though Mary and the rest of the family had given up hope of that ever happenin

Tuesday December 9, 2025   And Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” Luke 1:34, English Standard Version   Mary has obviously already had The Talk with her parents. They’ve explained the birds and the bees to her, so she knows that there’s a little hitch in Gabriel’s plan.   “Hey, Gabe,” she seems to be saying. “Could you fill me in on the details of how headquarters is going to pull this thing off? I mean, just in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not t

Monday December 8, 2025   And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Luke 1:30-33, English Standard Version   Mary is tro

Sunday December 7, 2025   In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” but she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. Luke 1:26-29, English Standard Version   It would seem that Elizabeth is

Saturday December 6, 2025 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.” Luke 1:24   The very thing the angel predicted is coming to pass. Elizabeth is expecting, which has to be a joyous thing for both she and Zechariah. After all, they both had prayed for a child, seemingly for a long time, and she refers to their infe

Friday December 5, 2025   And when his time of service was ended, he (Zechariah) went to his home. Luke 1:23, English Standard Version According to verses 21 and 22, the conversation with Gabriel took a while, long enough that people were starting to wonder what might have happened to Zechariah while he was burning incense. Finally, he pops out and starts making gestures to them, proof that Mr. Gabriel was serious about the whole silence thing. Today he’d just send them a tex

Thursday December 4, 2025   And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” Luke 1:18, English Standard Version   You gotta love Zechariah. He’s old, and his wife is no spring chicken. But that didn’t stop him from praying for a kid, even though he had to know the odds were stacked against them. It might have been 2000 years ago, but the guy did understand that the biological clock had stopped ticking a while ba

Wednesday December 3, 2025   But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. Luke 1:13, English Standard Version   Do you remember when we first met Zechariah and Elizabeth? Luke described them as “advanced in years.” He also said that they had no children.   So, they’re way too old to be assembling a crib, decorating a nursery, attending baby showers. And y

Tuesday December 2, 2025   Now while he (Zechariah) was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot  to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. Luke 1:8, 9, English Standard Version   Zechariah doesn’t just show up when it’s his time. He also does his job. Here’s how it worked.   Not only did the divisions rotate their times of service, but they also had to divide up the various priestly du

DAY 2 – Monday December 1, 2025   Now while he (Zechariah) was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot  to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. Luke 1:8   Woody Allen is not a source I often cite in matters relating to faith and life, but he is credited with a statement we often hear repeated. “80% of success,” Mr. Allen said, “is just showing up.” Now, you can quibble that percentag

Preface Centuries ago, some smart people developed the liturgical calendar, a format ordering the rhythm of church life. Christmas and Easter form the focus of each year, and each is preceded by a season of spiritual preparation. Lent leads to Easter, and Advent is the four Sundays prior to Christmas Day. Beginning just after Thanksgiving, Advent lasts less than 30 days, roughly a month, but any kid will tell you it’s the longest month of the year. Wait, wait, wait, as the da

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