Key Thought

God's passion is to take away our disgrace -- this disgrace of our failure, our misfortune, our sin, and yes, even the disgrace of circumstances. The old hymn goes something like, "Bring Christ your broken life... He will create anew, make whole again." What disgrace, disappointment, or disaster do you still have holding back your life? Why not openly confess it, and the feelings that it fosters within you, and ask God to take it away?

Today's Prayer

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Holy God, I thank you for the gift of memory and the ability to remember wonderful, joyous, and pleasant times in my life. However, dear Father, there are some memories in my life that I let Satan use to hold me back and keep me down. Please take away the disgrace of my past and heal those memories so that I can use the experiences of the past and not be debilitated by them. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Today's Verses in Context

During the time when Herod ruled Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah. Zechariah belonged to Abijah’s group. Zechariah’s wife came from the family of Aaron. Her name was Elizabeth. Zechariah and Elizabeth were truly good people before God. They did everything the Lord (God) commanded and told people to do. They were without fault. But Zechariah and Elizabeth had no children. Elizabeth could not have a baby; and both of them were very old. Zechariah was serving as a priest before God for his group. It was his group’s time to serve. The priests always chose one priest to offer the incense. Zechariah was chosen to do this. So Zechariah went into the temple of the Lord (God) to offer the incense. There were many, many people outside. They were praying at the time the incense was offered. Then, on the right side of the incense table, an angel of the Lord (God) came and stood before Zechariah. When he saw the angel, Zechariah was upset and very afraid. But the angel said to him, “Zechariah, don’t be afraid. Your prayer has been heard by God. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give birth to a baby boy. You must name him John. You will be very, very happy. Many people will be happy because of his birth. John will be a great man for the Lord (God). He will never drink wine or liquor. Even at the time when John is being born, he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. John will help many Jews return to the Lord their God. John himself will go first before the Lord. John will be powerful like Elijah. He will have the same spirit Elijah had. He will make peace between fathers and their children. Many people are not obeying God. John will bring those people back to the right way that people should think. He will make people ready for the coming of the Lord.” Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I know that what you say is true? I am an old man, and my wife is also old.” The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I always stand ready before God. God sent me to talk to you and to tell you this good news. Now, listen! You will not be able to talk until the day when these things happen. You will lose your speech. Why? Because you did not believe what I told you. But these things will really happen.” Outside, the people were still waiting for Zechariah. They were surprised that he was staying so long in the temple. Then Zechariah came outside, but he could not speak to them. So the people knew that Zechariah had seen a vision F9 inside the temple. Zechariah could not speak. He could only make signs to the people. When Zechariah’s time of service was finished, he went home. Later, Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant. So she did not go out of her house for five months. Elizabeth said, “Look what the Lord (God) has done for me! He decided to help me have a baby. Now people will stop thinking there is something wrong with me.”

— Luke Luke 1:5-25 (ERV)

Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. All rights reserved.