God's Protection and Provision for Baby Jesus and His Family

David W Palmer

God Will Leap for Joy When You Accept His Assignment for You

David W Palmer

(Luke 1:42–44 NKJV) Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! {43} But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? {44} For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.”

“Why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” This speaks of the unique and instant bond that the Holy Spirit created between Mary and Elizabeth. It also shows the remarkable humility of both Elizabeth and John the Baptist. Her rhetorical question— “Why is this granted to me …?”—implies first that she had a personal revelation of Mary’s baby as the Lord; and second, that she believed it was a very great honour to have Mary—and the Lord Jesus (in her)—visit her house. 

“For … the babe (John the Baptist) leaped in my womb for joy.” Of John the Baptist, the angel had previously said: 

(Luke 1:15 NKJV) “... he will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.”

So John, and the Holy Spirit in him, responded with joy over hearing the sound of Mary’s voice. God brought John and Jesus into an amazing bond and cooperation. John was always destined to be the forerunner of Jesus; he already knew his place, and he rejoiced in Jesus. Likewise, Elizabeth knew her place beside Mary, and as a forerunner and support for her. Wow! God is so amazing! While the babies were still in the wombs, their calling and cooperation was already set in place:

(Jeremiah 1:5 MSG) “Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you.”

Implied in God’s statement, “I knew all about you,” is the idea that before coming into the womb; God and Jeremiah were intimately acquainted, and that they agreed as to Jeremiah’s mission and assignment. This is not only the same with Jesus and John the Baptist; it is the same with you and me. Although we may not initially be conscious of any such pre-determined calling or assignment, yet deep in our spirits, we have a sense of God-given destiny; and God is committed to bringing it to pass:

(Ephesians 3:20 NLT) Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

God calls some people to lead great movements, ministries, businesses, or nations. But many more, like John the Baptist and Elizabeth, are called, sanctified, and sent by God’s holy plans into supporting roles: being a number two, a server, a support worker, an intercessor, a worship leader, accountant, IT specialist, or marketer, … the list goes on. 

The important point for us to remember is that we will not only be accountable to God for the actual assignment he gave us, but that we will be perfectly equipped to do it. Moreover, we will only ever be completely fulfilled when we are in that role. Without always telling us what he is doing, God guides and prompts us by the wind of his Spirit—blowing us constantly in the direction of his call. 

When a long way off course, life doesn’t work at all well; and even when very close to our destined course, we will always have a niggling unrest deep inside until we accept God’s call, place in the body, assignment for us, and anointing. Then and only then will we be fully pleasing to God and complete our God-given mission in life. This is the lane where we fully hit our energy stream; it is the arena where the game is played for which we are equipped; and it is the place of service where we are energized as we serve. A fulfilling and rewarding life is awaiting you, in the life’s work God has assigned for you.

Today, I am praying for God to keep stirring you, if you are not yet fully in your assigned mission. You may need to take some radical steps of faith, or some sacrificial actions of obedience to get there.

How to Stay Encouraged and Keep the Dream Alive

David W Palmer

(Luke 1:39–40 NKJV) Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, {40} and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.

Mary knew that Elizabeth also received a word from God resulting in a miraculous pregnancy; the angel told her about it:

(Luke 1:36–37 NKJV) “Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. {37} For with God nothing will be impossible.”

Why did Gabriel reveal this to Mary? God must have had a very good reason to divulge to her his private dealings with Zacharias and Elizabeth. I’m sure that first it was to reassure Mary that “with” God, nothing is impossible. Second, he must have told her as a tacit way of encouraging her into her next step of wisdom; which was to keep her on track to deliver alive that with which God had entrusted her. So what did she do, and when did she do it?

(Luke 1:39–40 NLT) A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth.

After receiving the fresh vision, word, seed, spiritual pregnancy, Mary immediately sought fellowship with someone who could understand—someone who had had a similar experience. She rushed to the family member God highlighted—the one who would love and understand her, along with the word and assignment God had given her. 

No matter how strange, huge, or extreme the word is that God has given you, he has someone available to you that will understand and receive you. What happened when Mary and Elizabeth met? Did they just have a coffee, chat about the weather, and have a family news catch-up?

(Luke 1:41 NKJV) And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 

Did you see that? They didn’t just have a social chat; they had a Holy Spirit meeting that was so profound that it included the unborn. This was a divine appointment—a “God” moment. What happened next?

(Luke 1:43–45 NKJV) Then she (Elizabeth) spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! {43} But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? {44} For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. {45} Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” (Parenthesis added)

Before even offering Mary some refreshments, Elizabeth burst out in prophecy; by the Holy Spirit, she: 

Further, Elizabeth prophesied that because of Mary’s faith, what was told her (via the messenger) from the Lord would be fulfilled.

Be It unto Me According to Your Word

David W Palmer

(Luke 1:38 NKJV) Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

You’ve got to love Mary’s youthful, faith-filled heart … so humble, so submissive to God, and so willing to be shaped by his word to her. Truly, she is a wonderful example of how faith responds with humility when God speaks to us, calls us, or gives us an assignment.

Mary foreshadowed some very important Christian doctrine in her response to God’s word—the word that declared his promise and assignment for her. To understand this doctrine, we begin by looking at what Jesus said of those who want to follow him:

(Luke 9:23 NKJV) Then He (Jesus) said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”

This is the response Jesus expects from those who receive him—the living Word of God—and who put their complete trust in him. That is, those who trust him enough to want to follow him and what he says to them. He spells out what this will take; self-denial and a daily carrying of the cross—the mechanism of dying to self and yielding to the will of another. Jesus lived this way himself as our supreme example:

(Luke 22:42 NKJV) “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”

The “cup” Jesus was speaking of here, was literally taking up the cross on which his own freedoms and rights were crucified in deference to following God’s assigned path for him. What about the apostle Paul? Does his life and doctrine bear witness to this same humility and yielding to God’s word and assignment for him?

(Galatians 2:20 NKJV) “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

(1 Corinthians 15:31 KJV) “… I die daily.”

This was what Paul wrote about his life of surrender to Jesus. His foundational doctrine that is behind this testimony is found here:

(2 Corinthians 5:14–15 NKJV) For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; (15) and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

We note that it was Paul’s love for Jesus, and Jesus’s love pouring through him, that graced him to no longer live for himself but to live for Jesus. The next verse is what Paul says to you:

(Colossians 3:3 NKJV) “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

The following verse shows how Paul began on his assigned journey of following the living word. (Acts is where we look to discover if Paul really did practice what he preached):

(Acts 9:6 NKJV) So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

When the apostle Paul first met Jesus, he instantly offered implicit obedience to him as his Lord: “Lord, what do you want me to do?” Many years later, Paul—looking back over his life since this first encounter with Jesus—said:

(Acts 26:19 NKJV) “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.”

If Paul was “not disobedient,” this means that he lived a life of obedience to his Lord Jesus. Moreover, the following is how the apostle Paul introduced himself to others:

(Romans 1:1 NLT) This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News.

Paul lived his entire ministry life in submission to the word Jesus spoke to him on his way to Damascus. Mary’s heart had the same quality of yieldedness and humility. Her response to the Angel’s word and God’s challenging assignment for her was: “Let it be to me according to your word.”

Whatever Is Birthed in God Is More Powerful than Sin and the Devil’s World System

(Luke 1:32–33 NKJV) “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. {33} And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

Primarily, this passage is about Jesus and his destined sovereign authority and rule. Father God has bestowed on him an eternal kingdom. It is not subject to coups, overthrow, revolution, elections, or repeal. He is the absolute ruler; he has all authority. This truth will never change. Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 19:16). But this extends much further than the house of Jacob; after his resurrection, Father also gave him authority to rule all the nations: 

(Revelation 19:15 NKJV) “Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron …”

Jesus gave us a parable to help us understand the personal ramifications for us of his God-appointed sovereign authority:

(Luke 14:31–33 NKJV) “Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? {32} Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. {33} So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”

In this parable, Jesus depicts us as the “king” with less firepower; when we are born, we have temporary authority to rule our own lives. But a much greater King—representing Jesus—is coming. He is destined to rule over us, eternally. The parable is God’s way of saying that it’s better to seek and surrender to his “conditions of peace” now, rather than wait for his return and then try to fight for your independence against his infinitely superior firepower. When he returns, every knee will bow to him anyway (Rom. 14:11, Phil. 2:10). 

Only the person who yields to his conditions for peace now—who bows their knee to him willingly, and who will “forsake all that he has”—will come under his rule safely. Everyone else will face his “rod of iron,” and yield to his irresistible force—ending in eternal torment. Eventually, all will submit to Jesus … one way or the other.

In the first instance, this is the literal meaning of what the angel said to Mary about Jesus. However, it contains a further message for us who have already fully submitted to the Lord of lords. In a general sense, it is also saying that anything that is birthed in God is more powerful than sin and the devil’s world system:

(1 John 5:4 NKJV) For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

When we come up with our own ideas, and implement them in our own strength; they may be good projects, visions, or plans, but they cannot overcome the relentless world system and its god, Satan—who vehemently opposes God’s people. For us to succeed permanently and to live in dominion over the world and its system, our plans, dreams, visions, and ideas need to be “born of God.” Like Jesus, they must be conceived in intimate fellowship with him, nurtured in step with his Spirit, fed with the heavenly manna of his word, and brought to birth at his appointed time and place. We will also need to develop faith in his word to forcefully overcome the obstinate obstructions of the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Today, I exhort you first to yield 100% to King Jesus if you haven’t already done so. It begins with complete surrender to him in your heart, total faith in him, and unreserved confession that he is Lord—your Lord. He also says that his “conditions of peace” include the need for each person to “forsake all that he has.” Have you done all of this yet? If not, “now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2 NKJV). 

What can we learn from Jehoshaphat's story that can help us now and into the future

Favour from God Displaces All Fear

David W Palmer

Jesus’s incarnation—his conception, birth, and nurture—gives us insight into how God’s word is conceived spiritually in us, how it comes to birth through us, and then how it grows to mature fruitfulness:

(Luke 1:26–27 NKJV) Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, {27} to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

As we see, this story begins with an angel appearing to Mary. She may have felt shocked, terrified, overwhelmed, or intimidated by his appearing. But his assignment wasn’t to judge her, kill her, of fight with her; he was a messenger sent from God with a promise:

(Luke 1:30 NKJV) Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.”

In this verse, the angel implied that Mary was fearful when he appeared to her; he immediately said, “Do not be afraid.” Perhaps the mere sight of this magnificent creature terrified Mary, or maybe she was in dread of what he might say. 

How would you have felt? It can be scary enough to be confronted by a human prophet; but for God to materialize one of his highest-ranking angels in front of you, could be very alarming. What would he say? What would he do? Was he here to confront her sins? Perhaps he was sent to escort her to Paradise. The possibilities are endless and open to the imagination, that is, until you receive further information.

We can be reassured of God’s good intentions for us, when we hear Gabriel’s God-inspired words to Mary: “Do not be afraid.” This speaks to us of God’s amazing love for her and for us:

(1 John 4:18 NKJV) “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”

I believe that we need constantly to renew our minds to this truth; anything God says to us, has for us, or wants us to do, is coming from his pure love for us. God is love (1 John 4:16).

If you are in fear today—scared of what God might say to you, or of what he may want you to do—John’s passage implies that you have “not been made perfect in love.” I encourage you therefore, to find and meditate on the parts of God’s word that reveal his love for you. Allow them to flood your thinking and to renew your mind. Thus, you will receive revelation of the amazing love of God that the Holy Spirit has poured into your heart:

(Romans 5:5 NKJV) “… the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Next, the angel explained to Mary the reason she should not fear: “For you have found favor with God.” He had already said in Luke 1:28 that she was “highly favored,” but now he said that she had “found” favor. 

Although the ramifications of this statement are powerful and far-reaching, it is at the very least a positive greeting—wishing the person well in every way—and it is an expression of absolute delight in them. Among the many other blessings springing from this grace, Gabriel was saying in particular that God was delighted in Mary, and that he wanted only the best for her. She was “highly” favored; and in Christ, so are you. 

If you are born again, in love with God, living by faith, and walking in the Spirit, God highly favors you; he delights in you, loves you, and wants only the very best for you. This is the favor that dispels all fear, and you can enjoy it today.

“Favor” comes from the Greek word, “charis,” which means grace, gratitude, and thankfulness. But primarily, it means undeserved favor in every way possible— “especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life” (Strongs G5485). God invites us to come boldly to his “throne of grace” today, to obtain mercy and “find” his grace to “help” us:

(Hebrews 4:16 NKJV) “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Seeing by Revelation Leads to Conception and Birth

David W Palmer

The story of Jesus’s conception and birth is full of great insights to help us in our relationship with God. Jesus is God’s son; but he is also a picture of God’s word being conceived spiritually in us, coming to birth through us, and then coming to maturity as a promise fulfilled or new covenant ministry.

(Luke 1:29 NKJV) But when she saw him (the angel), she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. (Parenthesis added)

This passage describes Mary’s initial response to God’s messenger and message: “she was troubled.” But what’s relevant for us is that the whole encounter pictures: a correct response to receiving a word from God, how it can be conceived in us spiritually, and how it can grow to maturity and fruitfulness for God’s kingdom. Let’s look at this passage phrase by phrase:

“When she saw.” This first phrase begins with the word, “when,” implying: “at that time—but not until that time.” This was a “suddenly,” if you like—a particular moment when God did and said something unexpectedly. In a similar way, he could speak to you with a fresh word today.

At that precise moment, Mary “saw” something supernaturally from God; she had a revelation (meaning something was revealed, came to light, or was seen). This is a crucially important first step to receiving a promise fulfillment. Yes, she received a message from God, but it was not just a written message, a second-hand word, or even a fresh but intellectual concept; something was revealed to her spirit. For us, it represents seeing something from God with our spiritual eyes—our insight.

Jesus later clarified and confirmed that we can receive specific and fresh revelation to our spirit from God, by his Spirit:

(Matthew 16:17 NKJV) Jesus answered and said to him (Peter), “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” (Parenthesis added)

Jesus not only confirmed that Peter had received a revelation directly from God, but that it made him “blessed.” Mary too was blessed when she received God’s revelation from the angel: 

(Luke 1:28 NKJV) And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

Receiving fresh revelation from God will activate the blessing in your life too.

“Seeing” revelation with, or from, God is crucial for receiving all that he has promised. Jesus said that he “only” did what he saw with his Father (John 5:19–20), and God showed Abraham the Promised Land as a precursor to possessing it:

(Genesis 13:14–15 MKJV) … Jehovah said to Abram, Lift up your eyes now and look from the place where you are northward and southward, and eastward and westward. {15} For all the land which you see I will give to you, and to your seed forever.

Abraham saw physically what God promised him; and later under Joshua, his descendants walked through it and possessed it. God gave Abraham what he saw physically that day to illustrate to us that what we see with God in the spirit, he will give us: “For all the land which you see, I will give to you … forever.” If you see in your spirit today what God is showing you, this is the first step to it being materialised to you.

The apostle Paul also said that God reveals to us, or shows us in the spirit, what he wants us to receive from the things he has “prepared for those who love him”:

(1 Corinthians 2:9–10 NKJV)

God’s Amazing Messages and How They Apply to Us

David W Palmer

Yesterday, we saw the indispensable work of God’s angel in protecting Jesus and those assigned to nurture him. Today, we again see the angel at work; this time, bringing a word from God to Mary—a young virgin living in Nazareth:

(Luke 1:26–38 NKJV) … the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, {27} to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

God “sent” the “angel” to bring a word—a word of fulfilled promise, and a sign from God (See: Mat. 1:22, Luke 2:12). This was extremely good news for Mary, as it indeed was for the whole of humankind.

Via this messenger, God sent his life-giving, faith-imparting, mind-renewing, miracle-producing word to a virgin. She was “betrothed” (engaged to be married) to a wonderful man—a son of David. 

What the angel said to Mary is relevant to us too; all of us who have accepted Jesus—the Son of David—and his new birth, and who are completely devoted to following him, are part of his betrothed bride:

(2 Corinthians 11:2 NKJV) “For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”

(Revelation 21:9 NKJV) Then one of the seven angels … talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” 

(Revelation 19:7 NKJV) “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”

Seeing we are betrothed to his son, God’s message to Mary reveals his heart’s desire for us too; he is sending us a similar message today. Under the New Testament, God can send his word to us directly via the Holy Spirit, but angels can still be involved; they are his messengers.

Here are a few points to ponder so far from this passage:

(Luke 1:28 NKJV) And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

Mary was the first person to receive Jesus into her life. With him came enlargement, increase, blessing, favor, boiling love, new life, expunged past, and great rejoicing. Her bitterness and rebellion were no longer relevant—both gone and forgotten. She now had destiny, calling, assignment from God, and eternal significance as a result of simply saying, “Yes!” to receiving Jesus. 

David W Palmer

(Matthew 1:20, 24–25 NKJV) But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ...” {24} Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, {25} and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.

Angels attended the birth of Jesus; God sent them with messages about him, and he charged them with his Son’s protection. We also see in this passage that God sent an angel to quell Joseph’s fears about marrying Mary—seeing she had become pregnant out of wedlock independently of him. God also instructed Joseph through the angel: “Take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.”

Amazingly, Joseph did as the angel commanded him in this first encounter. This shows the humility of heart required in a person God chooses for such an important mission. He was humble enough to obey the angel in every last detail: he completed his marriage to Mary; and with extraordinary temperance, “did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son.” And finally, he obediently named him Jesus, just as the angel instructed him:

(Luke 2:21 NKJV) … His name was called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

Later, God again deployed the angel to tell Joseph to move to Egypt to keep Jesus safe, and then when to return and where to settle:

(Matthew 2:13–14 NKJV) Now when they (the wise men) had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” {14} When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt.

(Matthew 2:19–22 NKJV) Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, {20} saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” {21} Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. {22} But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.

We learn several profound truths for our lives from these passages:

(Psalm 91:11 NKJV) For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.

(Hebrews 1:14 NLT) Therefore, angels are only servants—spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation.

Today, we can receive great encouragement from the story surrounding the birth of Jesus: 

First, we have seen the humility and submissiveness of Joseph—the first new birth follow-up shepherd, if you like. He was humble: he received God’s messenger as bringing a word directly from God; he instantly obeyed the instructions