#waitingforjesus

[charolastra1979]

Ti stiamo aspettando... Buon Natale a tutti! #buonnatale #buonnatale🎄 #merrychristmas #merryxmas #happychristmas #christmas #presepe #nativity #nativityscene #waitingforchristmas #waitingforjesus #gesù #natale2017 #natale

[waitingforjesus]

For those days when nothing is going right....a good reminder for us all. 

"Give thanks to the Lord in all circumstances" 1 Thessalonians 5:18

[waitingforjesus]

Luke 1:26-35(ESV)

Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed[a] to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”[b] 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 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, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”[c]

35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[d] will be called holy—the Son of God.

[waitingforjesus]

Isaiah 7:10-14 (ESV)

The Sign of Immanuel

10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask a sign of the Lord your[a] God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 And he[b] said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.[c]

[waitingforjesus]

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

"In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God.

Luke 1:26-35 (NIV)

This passage gives me chills. Always. I can just imagine Mary going about her day. Not suspecting anything. I wonder what she was doing. Was she daydreaming about her life with Joseph? Was she cooking? Cleaning? Then Gabriel appeared. Then just like that her life changed forever. Our lives changed forever. All of a sudden she was to be the earthly mother of the Son of the Most High. He could have sent Jesus in any way, but He chose to send Him in the most unlikely of ways. Through a young woman, so unsuspecting and so brave. Oh how marvelous and humbling it is that He made this His plan! This ordinary woman would bring the most extraordinary being into this world. In a single moment Mary went from utterly unremarkable to becoming the fulcrum upon which the spiritual salvation of the world rested.

As we await Jesus's birth, our anticipation pales in comparison to Mary's stunning revelation.  Whatever this holiday season brings out in our hearts is only a fraction of what Mary felt that day.  How wonderful is that combination of fear and elation Mary felt!  And we feel it still!  Every year as Christmas draws near we approach the day with a mixture of joyous feelings in our hearts.  As we spend time in celebration with our families and friends gathered close about us, we ought to reflect on how momentous the occasion really is.  Jesus is coming!  He came to a woman of little consequence, much like ourselves, to change the world.  Let us welcome Jesus like Mary, with open arms to let him affect change in our hearts and world.

[waitingforjesus]

One of my favorite songs set to the scripture from Luke 1:46-56. 

Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat

46 And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord, 47     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.     For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,     and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is for those who fear him     from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm;     he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones     and exalted those of humble estate; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things,     and the rich he has sent away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel,     in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers,     to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

[waitingforjesus]

Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat

46 And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord, 47     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.     For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,     and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is for those who fear him     from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm;     he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones     and exalted those of humble estate; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things,     and the rich he has sent away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel,     in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers,     to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

from Luke 1:46-56 (ESV)

[waitingforjesus]

Luke 1 (ESV)

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,[a] of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 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.

Read the rest of the story here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+1&version=ESV