In The Word
Read: Luke 1:57-80
John Is Born
57 Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son.58 Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.
59 And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, after his father. 60 But his mother answered and said, “No indeed; but he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name.” 62 And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. 63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “His name is John.” And they were all astonished. 64 And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. 65 Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.
Zacharias’s Prophecy
67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of David His servant—
70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old—
71 Salvation from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us;
72 To show mercy toward our fathers,
And to remember His holy covenant,
73 The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,
74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways;
77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins,
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
79 To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
The time came for John the Baptist to be born. When it was time to name the baby, the people encouraged John’s parents to follow tradition and name him after the father. But it didn’t matter what the people thought or said, Zacharias and Elizabeth were going to do exactly as God instructed them. That is why Luke said of them, “They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord” (Luke 1:6).
While God uses people to help you, follow God, not people. Test people’s counsel with Scripture to make sure their words line up with biblical doctrine. Know the entirety of Scripture to recognize when we hear something different from God’s Word. Just because a person says something godly, does not mean it is God’s perfect will for our lives. We first test it with Scripture and with prayer, listening for the Spirit. Even satan used Scripture to try and mislead Yahshua, but Yahshua knew God’s Word and will for His life so He was not deceived.
God has a great plan for your life. Like Zacharias, Elizabeth, and John the Baptist, commit to follow that plan wholeheartedly. To do so, you must keep alert by the Spirit through the Word so that you do not get sidetracked or mislead. Ask God to show you any area of your life that the enemy may be trying to pull you away from Him.