Hearing Jesus: Daily Bible Study, Daily Devotional, Prayer, Hearing God & Christian Affirmations

Today we're pressing pause on the Bible study so you have time to catch up. The color method takes real work, and not everyone can listen every day. A couple of times a month I'll stop, let you get caught up, and do a separate teaching that still connects to where we are.

Two parts today. First, your questions from SpeakPipe, including a correction I owe you, a great catch about the bread and the fish in John 6, and a long answer about the Ethiopian Bible and the so-called lost books. Then a teaching on the sacred echo, and the one thing God has repeated to me all week: He knows exactly where you are, and He is the one who comes looking.

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A correction about the New World Translation

I answered a question about translations recently and didn't catch that the caller mentioned the New World Translation. A listener pointed it out, and I'm grateful.

I do not endorse it. That's the Watchtower Bible, used by Jehovah's Witnesses, and there is a great deal in it that is problematic from an evangelical Christian perspective. My answer was about the standard Christian translations, and I apologize for not catching the reference sooner.

Why doesn't John mention the fish in the leftovers?

Great catch, and it shows how intentional each gospel writer was. These were four different people with different purposes in what they chose to include.

In John 6:13 the disciples fill twelve baskets with pieces of the five barley loaves, and the fish aren't named. But John isn't the odd one out. Matthew and Luke also describe the leftovers as broken pieces without naming the fish. Mark is the only one that says bread and fish.

So why do three out of four focus on the bread? Bread carries real theological weight in John, because right after this Jesus gives the I am the bread of life teaching. John's attention lands there because he's setting up what's coming. Bread also echoes the manna God provided in the wilderness, and the crowd would have been thinking about Moses. The fish didn't carry that same weight.

It may also be how people told stories. Bread was often shorthand for a whole meal. I've seen that serving overseas, where someone says they made bread and they mean bread and stew and fruit and everything else. It's like telling your family there's leftover pizza when there's also salad and breadsticks. The fish weren't forgotten. They just weren't the detail John wanted to highlight.

Notice what you notice

This is the whole reason I teach the color method. It slows your brain down enough to actually comprehend what you're reading.

A lot of us trained ourselves into short attention spans. What the Lord draws your attention to may be different from what He draws mine to, because He is a personal God. We each have a personal calling and a personal relationship with Him. The more you do this, the more you'll see how He reveals things to you specifically.

What about the Ethiopian Bible and the lost books?

This comes up constantly, and I have some passionate feelings about it.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church has a Bible with 81 books. Ours has 66. The extra ones include titles like Enoch and Jubilees, plus some you've probably never heard of.

First thing to understand: these books are not lost in the sense that anyone is hiding them from you. They've been around the whole time, part of the Ethiopian church from very early on, while the rest of the church settled into a different set.

Take Enoch. It was written centuries after the real Enoch could have lived, and it's full of speculative material you don't find anywhere else in Scripture. It was attributed to him to give it credibility. Yes, Jude quotes a line from it, but quoting a true statement is not the same as calling the whole book inspired. Paul does something similar when he quotes pagan Greek poets in Acts. He's using a reference his audience knows, not endorsing it as Scripture.

Jubilees is a later retelling of Genesis and Exodus that adds things the original text never says, like an angel dictating everything to Moses.

The Meqabyan books sound like Maccabees, which we talked about in the 400 years of silence episode, but they're completely different. Nobody really knows where they came from, and they've never been used anywhere in church history outside Ethiopia.

Catholic Bibles include several additional books, like Tobit and Judith. Those are a different case, because they have genuine historical value. I've read a number of them, Judith especially, while researching women in the early church for my new book. But they were written in Greek rather than Hebrew, which means they were never part of the Hebrew Bible that Jesus and the apostles used. Neither the Jewish community nor the early church recognized them as Scripture. Historical value, not scriptural value.

Even in the Ethiopian church, some of those books, like the Shepherd of Hermas, are considered valuable but not inspired. So even they don't treat all 81 the same way.

Here's the pattern. Most were written later than they claim, far removed from the original timeline, and credited to someone famous for credibility when that person had nothing to do with them. That's dishonest on its face, and it's worth asking what agenda was behind it.

From an evangelical view, the 66 books we have are the ones God intended us to have, and that canon has been settled a very long time because those are the books that were verified.

My honest advice: unless you're in seminary studying why these books were excluded, I wouldn't spend your time there. So many people I talk to don't yet know what their actual Bible says. Bankers don't study counterfeit money. They study the real thing until they know the feel and texture of it, so they recognize a fake immediately. Study the authentic Scriptures, and when someone hands you a sensational claim about hidden books, you'll be able to stop right there.

If you want new revelation, go study the Old Testament. God is not trying to hide Himself from you. He wants you to know Him.

What is a sacred echo?

It's what happens when God keeps saying the same thing to you through different means until you catch it. Here's how mine went this week.

On Sunday I woke up with the name Zebedee on my heart, the father of James and John. I went back to Scripture to see whether I was forgetting something, and I wasn't. There's very little about him.

What we know is that he was a fisherman with multiple boats, which in that time meant he was a businessman with money enough to buy a second one. He had influence and likely some affluence. We don't really know him for himself. We know him as the father of those boys.

Zebedee was doing what he was called to do. He was faithfully fishing. And that put his sons in the exact place they needed to be when Jesus came walking by.

As a parent, that got me. My greatest aim is children who love and serve the Lord, far more than podcasts or books or anything else I do. There was a reason Zebedee was on the Sea of Galilee doing what he was doing, because God was getting ready to use his sons, and his ordinary faithfulness positioned them for it.

I carried that into church still praying about it. During communion, our pastor's wife said we were doing something different. Instead of coming forward, they would bring it to us. As they served us where we sat, the Holy Spirit said: I know where you are. I can come to you.

That was the Zebedee connection. God knew where he was, and He had positioned him there on purpose.

Then this week we got to Luke 2 and the shepherds, and the same thing happened. They were out in the field doing a job many considered beneath them, and God sent an angel to announce that the Messiah had come. God located them.

Where does that leave us?

God can locate you. He knows exactly where you are, and much of the time He placed you there on purpose, in His timing.

We talked about Zechariah this week, and how his past didn't prevent his future. The same is true for you. Your past does not prevent your future. Often it becomes one of the things the Lord uses to redeem and restore and prepare you for what He's calling you to.

He seeks us out. He finds us. That's the pattern all through Scripture, and I'm so thankful for it.

Featured quote

"He is the God that locates us."

Scripture referenced

John 6, Luke 2, Acts, Jude

Timestamps

Frequently asked questions

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Friday Daily Affirmations: I Release My Worries and Trust God (1 Peter

End your week anchored in peace and presence. These Scripture-based

I'll say each affirmation, pause so you can repeat it after me, and then

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Before we begin

The week is ending, and as we step into the weekend, let's take a moment to

Friday affirmations and Scripture

I release my worries and trust God to handle what I cannot.

God's peace fills my heart and I rest in His presence.

I am not defined by my mistakes. God's grace is greater than my failures.

I let go of the need to control everything and surrender to God's perfect

I am deeply loved by God and nothing can separate me from His love.

God refreshes my soul and renews my strength.

I will be fully present today, trusting that God holds tomorrow.

My body, mind, and spirit find rest in God alone.

I let go of striving and choose to rest in God's love.

I step into the weekend with joy, knowing that God is in control.

God's presence is my safe place.

I am fully known and fully loved by God.

I will not let stress steal my peace today.

God is my refuge and I am safe in His hands.

I do not need to have all the answers. I trust God.

God is fighting my battles and I can rest in His victory.

I will not fear because God is with me.

I am held together by God's love even when life feels overwhelming.

God's goodness and mercy follow me every day.

I will not carry burdens that God has already taken from me.

I am at peace because God is in control.

I trust in God's timing even when I don't understand.

I will lay down my burdens and take on God's.

I am never alone for God is always with me.

No matter what happens today, God is still good.

Closing prayer

Father, as this week ends, I lay my burdens at Your feet. Help me

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So many of us read Luke chapter 2 as the Christmas story, but we don't recognize how strategic God was in the timing of it. Politically and spiritually, we see God's perfect timing and intention reveals His heart for humanity. In today's episode, we take a look at what it means for us and how we can know Him and make Him known.

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What is a decree, and who was Caesar Augustus?

A decree is an official order from someone in power. It's not a request or a suggestion. It carries the force of law, and people could not ignore it. The Greek word here is dogma, which is where we get our English word, though here it means a legal ruling rather than a religious teaching.

Caesar Augustus was the first emperor of Rome, ruling from about 27 BC to AD 14. Before that his name was Octavian, and he was the great nephew of Julius Caesar. When Julius was murdered, his will named Octavian as his adopted son and heir. He was only eighteen. He fought his way into power, and the Roman Senate eventually gave him a new name, Augustus, meaning the revered one or the majestic one.

Why does Luke mention Caesar at all?

Because of the contrast, and it's sharper than most of us realize.

When Julius Caesar died, the Roman Senate declared him a god. That meant Augustus, as his adopted son, could call himself Divi Filius, Latin for son of the deified one. Son of a god. He put that title on coins and monuments across the empire.

He picked up other titles too. People called him Savior, because his rule brought a long stretch of peace known as the Pax Romana. One inscription from Egypt during his reign calls him a great heavenly savior.

So by the time Jesus was born, Rome already had its own son of a god, its own savior, and its own version of peace. All of it came from a human ruler. All of it was political propaganda. Luke wants you to see that the real Son of God and the real Savior was about to be born, not in a palace, but in a stable. The enemy always offers a counterfeit.

What was the census actually for?

Taxes. Augustus was counting his empire so he could tax it.

Here's what he had no idea about. While he thought this was all his doing, God used that decree to move a pregnant teenager from Nazareth to Bethlehem, exactly where the prophet said the Messiah would be born. Augustus was helping fulfill a promise hundreds of years old and never knew it.

Did women have to register for the census?

Yes. Since the census was about taxes, most women were counted, and in the Roman province of Syria, which included Judea, women paid the poll tax too. Records show taxation started as early as twelve or fourteen and ran to age sixty-five. So Mary would have been on the tax rolls, though whether she had to appear in person is a separate question given how risky travel would have been.

We actually have surviving census records from that world. The papyrus and leather used in Judea rotted away over the centuries, but in the dry climate of Egypt hundreds of census forms survived. And among documents found near the Dead Sea are the personal papers of a Jewish woman named Babatha, including her own census declaration listing land she owned. That's roughly a century after Mary's trip, and it's real evidence of a Jewish woman taking part in a Roman census.

Was Jesus really born in a stable?

Most scholars think the inn wasn't an inn at all. It was a house, and the space they stayed in was the area where the family brought their animals inside at night. That may sound strange in an American context, but I've served in missions around the world and seen homes with a section in the back where the cows are kept, so they don't get stolen or wander off.

The point is the contrast. Caesar, the political son of a god, would have been born in a palace. The actual Son of God was born in a crowded house in the space reserved for animals, with no special room set aside and a feeding trough for a bed because it was the softest place available. God came right into the middle of normal and messy and crowded, on purpose.

Why did God tell the shepherds?

Shepherds were near the bottom of society. They worked outdoors constantly and often smelled like their animals, which meant they couldn't always keep the religious washing rules. Shepherding was work a lot of Jewish fathers wouldn't even teach their sons. They'd hire it out or give it to their daughters. And like women, a shepherd's testimony wasn't trusted as a witness in court.

These were the people God chose to tell first.

There's something beautiful in the location too. This was Bethlehem, David's hometown, and David was a shepherd boy before he was king. God describes Himself as the shepherd of His people in Psalm 23 and Ezekiel 34, and He promised a shepherd king from David's line. So God announces the birth of the great Shepherd King to ordinary shepherds working the same hills David once worked.

One more thing worth considering. All through the Old Testament, it's often young people and women tending flocks. Rachel in Genesis 29 was a shepherdess. So were Zipporah and her sisters in Exodus. Watching sheep was often given to the youngest in the family, which is why David was almost overlooked when Samuel came. The word Luke uses is plural and masculine, but it's the kind of word that can describe a mixed group. We don't know for certain who was out there. What we do know is how society saw them.

Why does it say "heavenly host" instead of angels?

This is one of my favorite details. The word for host is stratia, and it means army. It connects to the Old Testament title Lord of hosts, meaning the Lord of armies, the commander of heaven's forces.

So verse 13 is telling us a whole army of heaven showed up. And they didn't come to declare war. They came to announce peace.

Remember Caesar and the Pax Romana, peace brought to the empire through armies. Now heaven's army appears and announces a completely different kind of peace, one that comes through a baby laid in a manger. This was the rescue plan, and it was always a spiritual battle.

Where do we see "know Him and make Him known" in this passage?

Right here, in the first twenty verses after Jesus is born.

Verse 8 tells us the shepherds were out in the field keeping watch by night. They were working. It was an ordinary night on an ordinary shift, and God found them right there.

Verse 10 has the angel bringing good news of great joy. That phrase is the Greek word we get evangelize from. The first person to share the good news of the gospel was an angel, and he shared it with shepherds in a field. God takes the first step and comes to where we are.

Verse 15 has the shepherds saying let's go and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. God isn't afraid of us verifying. He invites it. He wants us to seek Him out for ourselves.

Then verse 17 says they made known what had been told to them. It's the same Greek word used in verse 15. God made Himself known to them, and after they experienced Him, they made Him known to everyone else.

That's the whole pattern. God reveals Himself, you go see for yourself, and then you tell somebody.

What does "those with whom he is pleased" mean?

Verse 14 says peace among those with whom He is pleased, and I've wondered before how a person becomes someone God is pleased with. The Greek word is eudokia, made of two parts meaning good and to think or decide. It's God's good pleasure, His kind intention, His good decision. The focus isn't on how good the people are. It's on God's pleasure resting on them.

It works a lot like the favor we talked about earlier in this series. It starts with God, not with us.

Featured quote

"Jesus is God's rescue plan. It was strategic. He thought through it. Everything was on purpose, on time, in time."

Scripture referenced

Luke 2:1-21 (ESV), Psalm 23, Ezekiel 34, Genesis 29, Exodus

Timestamps

Frequently asked questions

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Thursday Daily Affirmations: God Has a Purpose for My Life (Jeremiah

You were created on purpose, for a purpose. These Scripture-based

I'll say each affirmation, pause so you can repeat it after me, and then

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Before we begin

God created you for a reason. Your life is not an accident, and your

Thursday affirmations and Scripture

God has a purpose for my life and I walk in His plan.

I trust in the Lord to guide my steps.

I seek wisdom, and God gives it freely.

God is directing my steps and I do not walk alone.

I am a light in this world, shining for Christ.

God has prepared good works for me to do today.

I am equipped for every good work.

I walk in the power of the Holy Spirit.

I will walk in faith, not in fear.

God's Word lights my path.

I choose obedience, knowing God's ways are best.

I live with purpose and do not waste my time.

I am called to make an impact for God's Kingdom.

I have the mind of Christ and seek His wisdom daily.

I am a vessel for God's work.

I will not grow weary in doing good.

God's purpose for me cannot be stopped.

I do everything for the glory of God.

God is using my life to accomplish His plan.

I am bold in sharing the gospel.

I walk in step with the Spirit.

I remain steadfast in my calling.

God will finish the work He started in me.

I live with an eternal perspective.

I press forward in my faith, knowing my reward is in Heaven.

Closing prayer

Father, thank You for calling me to a life of purpose. Help me to walk in

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Your Past Doesn't Disqualify You, It Prepares You: Luke 1:67-80

For nine months, Zechariah couldn't say a word. The man whose entire job was to speak on behalf of God to the people of God lost his voice because fear got louder than God's. And the very first thing he does when that voice comes back is prophesy.

Today we finish Luke 1 with Zechariah's prophecy. We'll talk about what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit, what prophecy actually is, what the horn of salvation means, and how the area where Zechariah failed became the very place God used him. If you've been quietly disqualifying yourself because of your past, this one's for you.

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What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit?

Luke tells us Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied. That's the same language he used for Elizabeth, and you're going to see it over and over in Luke and in Acts. The most famous example is Pentecost in Acts 2, but Luke uses it for Peter, for Stephen, and for Paul at key moments too.

And almost every time Luke says someone was filled with the Holy Spirit, a prophetic word follows. It's his signature way of telling us that what comes next isn't coming from that person's own thinking or feelings. It's coming from God through them.

I love that God keeps using people in the story of Jesus. Does He have to? No. But He does, because we were created to be in relationship with Him, to know Him, to make Him known, and to be known by Him.

What is prophecy, really?

A lot of people hear the word prophecy and think of predicting the future. Sometimes it means that. More often, prophecy is God's people speaking on His behalf, reminding others what God has already said, what He's already done, or what He's promised to do. It's forthtelling more often than foretelling.

And prophecy isn't weird. It's all through your Bible. Entire books of the Old Testament are the words of the prophets. The silent years were called silent because there were no prophets in Israel. Now that Jesus is on the scene, we see the Holy Spirit and prophecy come roaring back.

Here's what's interesting. Zechariah was a priest by training and by vocation. Prophecy wasn't technically his job. But after nine months of silence, the first thing he does with his restored voice is step into a prophetic role, and God uses him in it.

What is Zechariah looking back on?

His prophecy has two halves. If you're doing the color method and marking timing words, you may have caught it. The first half looks back, and the second half looks forward.

In the first half, he praises God for keeping His covenant promises and raising up a Savior from David's line. He reminds the people what God already said through the prophets of old: that He would save them from their enemies and show the mercy He promised to Abraham.

What do holiness and righteousness actually mean?

Verse 75 talks about serving God in holiness and righteousness, and I think a lot of us check out when we see those words. We figure we could never measure up. I usually fall off the wagon by breakfast.

But in the biblical sense, holiness is about spiritual wholeness, being dedicated to God and made whole because we're in right relationship with Him. Righteousness is very similar. It's being in right relationship with God.

How do we get there? Through belief in Jesus. Before Jesus, that relationship was maintained through animal sacrifice under the old covenant. Jesus becomes the new covenant. He's the final sacrificial lamb.

What is the horn of salvation?

This is a Hebrew idiom that Zechariah's world would have understood immediately, but it's easy for us to miss. The image comes from an animal's horn, like a bull or a ram. The horn was that animal's main source of strength and its primary weapon for defense.

So calling something a horn meant it was a source of real, effective power. In Psalm 18, God is called the horn of my salvation. In Psalm 132, God promises to make a horn sprout for David. When Zechariah says God has raised up a horn of salvation in the house of David, he's saying God has raised up a powerful deliverer from the promised royal line. This isn't the gentle, comforting side of God. It's His strength, the kind that actually acts on your behalf.

What is Zechariah looking forward to?

In the second half, he turns to the future and speaks over his son. John will prepare the way for the Lord by giving people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, so that when Jesus offers salvation, they're ready.

Then he speaks about Jesus, the sunrise from on high who gives light to those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, and guides our feet into the way of peace.

The word for peace here carries the idea of shalom, and shalom is so much more than the absence of conflict. It means complete wholeness, things being set right. Ever since Eden, people have been trying to get back to that wholeness. It's impossible without Christ. Because of Jesus, we can finally be whole and restored to God.

That's the good news. Jesus is the good news.

Why does "serve him without fear" matter so much?

Go back to verse 74. Zechariah prophesies that God's people will be delivered from their enemies so they can serve Him without fear.

Think about who's saying this. Nine months earlier, fear fell on this man in the temple, and his fear-driven demand for proof cost him his voice and possibly his hearing. Now, filled with the Holy Spirit, he's prophesying that the whole point of salvation is to produce people who can serve God without fear. It's the exact opposite of where his story started.

How does God use our past?

Why do you think God took Zechariah's voice so seriously? Because his voice was going to become his area of spiritual gifting. As a priest, his entire role was to speak for God to God's people. Fear overcame him and he doubted, and there was a consequence and discipline. But that discipline led him right into his gifting.

The enemy attacks in infancy what he fears in maturity. My mouth has been getting me in trouble my whole life. In first grade, my desk was literally put in the hallway because I would not stop talking. And my whole life is now dedicated to serving God with my voice.

Your past does not prevent you. It prepares you, as long as you surrender it to Him. Some of us have disqualified ourselves from what God wants to do because of where we've been. But when you lay that down at the foot of the cross and ask the Holy Spirit to fill you and use you, He can take those dark seasons and step you right into your calling.

Featured quote

"Your past does not prevent you from God's plan. It prepares you for God's plan. But you have to surrender it."

Scripture referenced

Luke 1:67-80 (ESV), Psalm 18, Psalm 132, Acts 2

Timestamps

Frequently asked questions

What is Zechariah's song called?

Where did John grow up?

When do we start Luke 2?

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Wednesday Daily Affirmations: I Am Ruled by God's Peace Today (Isaiah

Midweek is when the noise gets loudest. These Scripture-based Christian

I'll say each statement, then pause so you can repeat it after me, and

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Before we begin

Breathe in God's peace, and exhale your worries. This day is a gift, and

Wednesday affirmations and Scripture

I am ruled by God's peace today.

I cast all my worries onto Jesus. He carries them for me.

I will not be anxious. I will pray and trust God.

God's plans for me are good, and I trust Him.

I do not need to worry about tomorrow.

I will rest in God's presence today.

God is my refuge and strength.

I will not let my heart be troubled. I trust in God.

The Lord directs my steps.

Even when I don't understand, I trust in God's wisdom.

I do not have to be afraid because God is with me.

God is fighting for me.

I am not alone. God walks with me.

God is my rock and salvation. I will not be shaken.

I find rest in God alone.

God's love never fails me.

I have peace because I am in Christ.

I wait on the Lord and He renews my strength.

I will trust in God, even when I don't see the whole picture.

God is working all things for my good.

God's peace rules in my heart today.

I give my burdens to the Lord and He sustains me.

I will be still and know that He is God.

I trust God's timing and His ways.

I will rejoice in the Lord always.

Closing prayer

Father, I surrender my worries to You. I choose to rest in Your peace

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Allowing God's Voice to Be the Loudest | Luke 1:57-66

Sometimes the hardest voices to push past aren't the critics. They're the people who love you. In today's passage, Elizabeth finally gives birth, and the neighbors and relatives who had been celebrating God's mercy right alongside her show up with a plan for what to name the baby. They mean well. They're also wrong. And Elizabeth, who has experienced God for herself, says no.

Today we're in Luke 1:57-66, the birth and naming of John. We'll talk about why everyone was making signs to Zechariah, why a name carried so much weight in that culture, and what it looks like to let God's voice be louder than even the well-meaning people in your life.

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Why were they making signs to Zechariah?

This one always confused me. Gabriel told Zechariah he would be unable to speak until everything came to pass. So if he was mute, he could still hear, right? Why is everyone gesturing at him?

The word Luke uses for Zechariah's condition is kophos, which carries the idea of being blunted. In that time it could mean deaf, it could mean mute, and sometimes it meant both. So the signs are a clue that Zechariah may not have been able to hear either.

Think about what that means. If that's what was happening, he spent this entire pregnancy in silence, in a place where he could only really communicate with God. That's worth noticing.

Who were the neighbors and relatives?

Scripture tells us they heard the Lord had shown great mercy to Elizabeth, and they rejoiced with her. These weren't strangers or critics. They were people who loved this family, who could see the evidence of God working in her life, and who came to celebrate it.

That's what makes the next part so striking.

Why did they go over Elizabeth's head?

On the eighth day they gathered to circumcise the baby, and they were ready to name him Zechariah after his father. Elizabeth said no, his name is John. And instead of listening to her, the living, breathing miracle standing right in front of them, they went to Zechariah. The man who was still mute, possibly deaf, and still carrying the consequence of not believing God.

I don't think they had bad intentions. I think they just hadn't experienced God the way Elizabeth had. She had felt that baby leap when Mary walked in. She had been filled with the Holy Spirit. She knew that she knew. And Zechariah, in a very different way, knew too. He had spent months living with the consequence of his doubt.

Why did the name matter so much?

In our culture, naming a baby after family is mostly sentiment. In theirs, it meant much more. A name carried identity and calling. People believed you became what was spoken over you. That's why we see names changed in Scripture to reflect who God made someone to be, and why Jesus renamed Simon to Peter.

Naming this baby Zechariah would have meant he'd follow in his father's footsteps as another priest from the line of Abijah, carrying the family's God-given role into the next generation. And this wasn't a quiet conversation at home. A circumcision was a public ceremony, and the whole community was there to witness the naming.

So when Elizabeth said his name is John, she was announcing publicly that this child would not be what everyone expected. Gabriel had already said John would go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah. His calling was prophetic, not priestly. The name was the first public sign that his life was going to look nothing like his father's.

What happened when Zechariah wrote, "His name is John"?

He asked for a writing tablet and wrote it out, and immediately his mouth was opened and he spoke, blessing God. I believe his freedom was tied to his obedience.

Some people read this and see a harsh God. I see a loving one. As a parent, I discipline my kids because I know things they don't, because I love them, and because I want them in right relationship with God and with our family. Discipline motivated by love teaches us to obey. Zechariah came out of that season, obeyed, and was set free.

What does this mean for us?

People can love you, praise God with you, have your best interests at heart, and still lead you away from what God has said. That doesn't make them bad people. Sometimes the call of God on your life just doesn't make sense to anyone else.

That's the whole reason I do what I do. You have to know God for yourself. Elizabeth and Zechariah could stand firm because they had heard His voice for themselves. His voice has to be the loudest voice in your life, even louder than the people who love you most.

And sometimes we're the ones on the other side, doubting what God has said to someone else. That's worth sitting with too.

Featured quote

"The voice of God has to be the loudest voice in your life."

Scripture referenced

Luke 1:57-66 (ESV)

Timestamps

Frequently asked questions

Was Zechariah deaf as well as mute?

Why did the relatives want to name the baby Zechariah?

Why was the name John so significant?

Why could Zechariah speak again?

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Tuesday Daily Affirmations: Strong and Courageous in Christ (Joshua 1:9)

Step into your week with boldness, peace, and purpose. These

I'll read each phrase, you repeat it, and then I'll tell you the

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Before we begin

Today's affirmations are for strength and confidence for the week ahead.

Tuesday affirmations and Scripture

I am strong and courageous in Christ.

I do not fear because God is with me.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

I am victorious through Jesus.

I have the power of God working within me.

I will not be shaken because God is my refuge.

I walk by faith, not by sight.

No weapon formed against me shall prosper.

God fights my battles and I need only to be still.

I am not afraid because God has overcome the world.

I have authority in Christ over every attack of the enemy.

I am rooted and established in God's love.

I have divine wisdom and strength for today.

I am resilient and I will persevere through trials.

I am filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.

I will not grow weary in doing good.

God's grace is sufficient for me.

I have peace that surpasses understanding.

I am never alone. God is always near.

I am protected under the shadow of the Almighty.

God's Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

I stand firm in faith and do not waver.

I am free from fear because God's perfect love casts it out.

I have a spirit of power, love, and sound mind.

God is working all things for my good today.

Closing prayer

Lord, I surrender my fear to You. Fill me with boldness, courage, and

Listen daily and start your morning with God's truth so you can walk in

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Monday Daily Affirmations: A Child of God, Chosen and Loved (1 John 3:1)

Start your Monday with confidence, peace, and purpose. These daily Christian affirmations are a short but powerful way to realign your heart and mind with biblical truth before the week begins. Today's affirmations are all about identity: who God says you are, and what changes when you believe it. Speak life over your day, renew your faith, and step into God's promises with Scripture straight from His Word.

I'll read each phrase, you repeat it, and then I'll tell you the Scripture

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Before we begin

Take a deep breath. This is a new day filled with God's grace and purpose.

Monday affirmations and Scripture

I am a child of God, chosen and loved.

I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

I am fully known and loved fully by God.

I have been chosen before the foundation of the world.

I am created in the image of God.

I am redeemed and made new in Christ.

I am set apart for God's purpose.

I am God's masterpiece, created for good works.

I am loved with an everlasting love.

I am called by name and belong to God.

I am not my past. I am a new creation.

I have been bought with a price and I belong to God.

I'm seated in heavenly places with Christ.

I am co-heir with Christ.

I am not rejected. I am accepted in Christ.

I am never alone. God is always with me.

I am valuable and precious in God's sight.

I have been set free by the truth of Jesus.

I am more than a conqueror through Christ.

I am a light in this world, shining for Christ.

I am God's dwelling place. His Spirit lives within me.

I am forgiven and free from condemnation.

I have a divine purpose and calling from God.

I am dearly loved and nothing can separate me from God's love.

Closing prayer

Father, thank You for reminding me who I am in You. Help me to walk in

I hope these affirmations spoke to your heart today. If you want to go

Listen daily and start your morning with God's truth so you can walk in

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If the Mother of Jesus Needed a Savior, You Do Too | Luke 1:39-56

Mary's song is one of the most beautiful things in all of Scripture, and I don't want us to rush past what she says in the second line. She calls God her Savior. The young woman God chose to carry His Son understood that she needed rescuing just like the rest of us, and she said it out loud in the middle of her own worship. That tells us something about her, and it tells us something about us too.

Today we're in Luke 1:39-56, where Mary travels to see Elizabeth and two miraculous pregnancies end up in the same room. We'll talk about why John leaped in the womb, why Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, what the Magnificat actually is, and what it tells us that a poor teenage girl from Nazareth could weave twelve Old Testament references into a song she made up on the spot.

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Why did Mary go to see Elizabeth right away?

Look at the timing here, because it matters. Gabriel has just delivered his message, and the very next thing we read is that Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country. She left right away.

Based on the locations Luke names, scholars think that journey was about fifty to seventy miles. She was likely traveling alone, and it probably took her three to five days. That's not running over to a relative's house for the afternoon. That's a serious trip for a young girl carrying news that nobody was going to believe.

Why did the baby leap in Elizabeth's womb?

Because in Scripture, leaping is an expression of joy. We see it in Malachi, and we see David leaping and dancing before the Lord in 2 Samuel. So when Luke tells us the baby leaped, he's telling us John responded with joy.

Which means John is already doing the very thing he was created to do. His role was to be the forerunner, the witness to Christ. And he's bearing witness to Jesus before either one of them has even been born.

Why was Elizabeth filled with the Holy Spirit?

Notice the order of what happens. The baby witnesses to Jesus, and that witness leads the way for the Holy Spirit to fill Elizabeth.

This detail is worth slowing down for. We already know who Elizabeth was. She and Zechariah came from the priestly line, Scripture calls them righteous, and it says they walked blamelessly before the Lord. They already believed in God. They were already serving Him. And still, when the presence of Jesus comes into the room, Elizabeth gets filled with the Holy Spirit. Scripture teaches that there is an indwelling and there is a filling, and we're seeing evidence of that right here.

Notice too what the filling produces. It's the prophetic gift. Remember, we have just come out of four hundred years with no prophets in Israel. Now that Jesus is on the scene, that spirit of prophecy is showing up again.

What is the Magnificat?

It's the song Mary sings in verses 46 through 55, and it gets its name from the first word of the Latin version. The word carries the idea of enlarging or magnifying. One translation puts that opening line as telling out the greatness of the Lord, which I think is a beautiful way to describe what she's doing. She is overflowing with the greatness of God.

The song walks through the mighty acts of God, not only what He's done for Mary but what He's done for His people, and eventually that includes you and me. And running all the way through it is this theme of joy and rejoicing at the arrival of God's salvation. Watch for that, because it comes up again and again in Luke.

How did a teenage girl know this much Scripture?

This is the part that gets me every time. Go through the Magnificat and count the Old Testament references. There are twelve.

Scholars believe Mary was around fourteen. She was from Nazareth, a rural town nobody paid much attention to. She describes herself as being of humble estate, which is another way of saying she was poor. And she was likely not well educated at all.

She also had three to five days alone on that road to think. We learned in the last episode that Mary was a deep thinker, the kind of person who pondered things in her heart and kept turning them over. So this young woman had days to sit with what God had just told her and trace it back through the Scriptures she already knew.

What comes out of her is her own theological song, naming what God has done, what He is doing, and what He will do. That puts her right alongside worship leaders like Hannah and Miriam.

And it means something else too. In that culture, the early theological training of children was the mother's responsibility. So at some point, Mary was teaching the Hebrew Scriptures to the Son of God. Now, I know some of you want to push back and say He knew things only God could have taught Him, and that's absolutely true. But Scripture also says He grew in wisdom, and growing in wisdom means learning. Mary was part of how He learned.

Why does Mary call God her Savior?

Because she needed one.

Verse 47 is Mary's own testimony about herself. My spirit rejoices in God my Savior. By her own admission, in her own words, she is recognizing her need for rescue. She understood that she was a sinner who needed a Savior, the same as anyone else who has ever lived.

I want to be clear here, even at the risk of stepping on toes. Jesus is the only person who has ever lived without sin, past, present, or future. The teaching that Mary was conceived free from original sin is not found anywhere in Scripture. That's a tradition of man, not the word of God, and Mary herself tells us otherwise in her own song.

And here's why that matters so much for you. If the woman God chose to carry Jesus needed a Savior, then you need one. So do I.

What does "those who fear Him" mean?

Verse 50 says His mercy is for those who fear Him, from generation to generation. That can be confusing coming right off the last episode, where we watched fear become the thing that paralyzed Zechariah and drowned out the voice of God.

Different word, different meaning. Here it's talking about reverence, awe, honoring God the way He deserves to be honored. It's what happens when you're standing in front of something so much bigger than you are that you find yourself leaning in instead of backing away.

What is the upside-down kingdom?

Mary's song describes a kingdom that runs on reversal. The proud get scattered. The humble get lifted. The hungry get filled and the rich get sent away empty. What that does is redefine whose life actually counts as significant. What man elevates, God humbles. What man overlooks, God promotes. We see that all through Scripture, and we're seeing it here.

Then she takes her own pregnancy and ties it directly to the covenant God made with Abraham. She isn't just excited that God picked her. She understands that she is part of a story that has been centuries in the making.

Friend, so are you. It is not by accident that you're listening to this. You are part of a much larger story, and there's an invitation inside of that.

Featured quote

"If Mary, the mother of Jesus, needed a Savior, you and I need a Savior."

Scripture referenced

Luke 1:39-56 (ESV), 2 Samuel, Malachi, 1 Samuel (Hannah)

Timestamps

Frequently asked questions

Did Mary need a savior?

Why did the baby leap in Elizabeth's womb?

How old was Mary?

What does the word Magnificat mean?

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