Advent - Luke Chapter 1

This is part of a series exploring Luke’s Gospel for the Advent season. One chapter a day for the first 24 days of December. (We'll see how we go!) I hope you enjoy :)

- Jeff

Luke Chapter 1

The first four verses of Luke’s Gospel talk about how lots of other people had already written of Jesus’ life and ministry. I feel a bit like that. The idea for writing this Advent series came years ago. (In fact, it might have been someone else’s idea first.) However, one of the things I love about Jesus, and this season, is that there is always more to say: a new angle, so to speak.

I believe words have a lot of power. In the Old Testament, we’re told that the Lord didn’t let a word of Samuel’s mouth fall to the ground (1 Samuel 3:19). He listens to what we say.

Before that, God Himself spoke Creation into being by the power of His Voice (Genesis 1). His Word forms the created order, and the sons of God celebrate by shouting and the morning stars by singing together (Job 38:7).

Made in God’s image, we too have some influence on the world by what we say. As James, the half-brother of Jesus, writes, ‘The power of life and death are in the tongue.’

Things are true, not because we say them; but they’re shared when we do. The truths we declare often become reality. ‘I’ll never be able to do this’ or ‘I’m just not good enough to do that.’ We should be careful what we say - in order to avoid the risk of self-fulfilling prophecies - but also because we have the opportunity to speak so much good. Let’s use that opportunity this Advent season.