Day 15

Luke 1-3

Two things stood out to me in the first chapter. 

1. Regarding John the Baptist: “And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” Luke 1:17

When I read this, I remembered right after the transfiguration where the disciples asked, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” Jesus answered them, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” (Matthew 17:10-12) 

It was clearly spoken by the angel Gabriel, concerning John, that he was coming in the spirit and power of Elijah. 

1. When Zechariah doubted the angel, the angel told him: “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 1:20)

My spirit was burdened with this question: How many times are we silent because of our unbelief? While our physical tongue may not be restricted, we simply don’t speak because we don’t believe. 

Ironically, at the birth of John, when Zechariah saw the manifestation of the promise, the scripture says, “And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.” (Luke 1:64)

So it should be with us. When God reveals himself to us, our natural response should be praise. I am reminded of 2 Corinthians 4:13 which says, “Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, ‘I believed, and so I spoke,’ we also believe, and so we also speak.”

We speak what we believe and when we believe, we speak. There is no such thing as a privatized faith.