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Don't Be Afraid - Luke 1:30-33

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The angel said to her, "Don't be afraid, Mary, because God is very pleased with you. Listen! You will become pregnant. You will give birth to a baby boy. And you will name him Jesus. He will be great (important). People will call him the Son of the Most High (God). The Lord God will make him king like his ancestor David. Jesus will rule over the people of Jacob forever. Jesus' kingdom will never end." (ERV)   Full Text

Key Thought

Fear. It's overwhelming. It's paralyzing. So it should not be surprising that one of the most often repeated commands in Scripture is, "Don't be afraid!" In older translations, it is sometimes translated, "Fear not!" Fear of the unknown, fear of complications, fear of death and dying, fear of a person, fear of a circumstance, fear of person, fear of the incomprehensible and a host of other fears can come crashing in on us in times of stress, danger, and uncertainty. The great heroes of faith faced moments of fear. God guided them through. Jesus' coming is about putting aside so many of our fears, so it shouldn't be surprising that the announcement of his conception would come with the command to Mary, "Don't be frightened!" As you journey with Jesus this year, ask God to make the assurance of Jesus real in your life and to have that assurance crowd out the forces of fear in your heart.

Today's Prayer

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Give me courage, O Almighty Father, so that fear will not cloud my thoughts or weaken my faith. Fill me with your assurance and have Jesus chase the clouds of fear away. In the name of Jesus your Son and my triumphant Lord, I pray. Amen.
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Today's Verses in Context

During Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to a virgin girl that lived in Nazareth, a town in Galilee. The girl was engaged to marry a man named Joseph from the family of David. Her name was Mary. The angel came to her and said, “Greetings! The Lord (God) is with you. You are very special to him.” But Mary was very confused about what the angel said. Mary wondered, “What does this mean?” The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, because God is very pleased with you. Listen! You will become pregnant. You will give birth to a baby boy. And you will name him Jesus. He will be great (important). People will call him the Son of the Most High (God). The Lord God will make him king like his ancestor David. Jesus will rule over the people of Jacob forever. Jesus’ kingdom will never end.” Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen? I am still a virgin!” The angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come to you and the power of the Most High (God) will cover you. The baby will be holy. He will be called the Son of God. Also, your relative Elizabeth is pregnant. She is very old, but she is going to have a son. Everyone thought she could not have a baby, but she has been pregnant now for six months! God can do anything!” Mary said, “I am the servant girl of the Lord (God). Let this thing you have said happen to me!” Then the angel went away.

— Luke Luke 1:26-38 (ERV)

 

Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. All rights reserved.
 
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The mother of Jesus Christ was Mary. And this is how the birth of Jesus happened. Mary was engaged to marry Joseph. But before they married, Mary learned that she was pregnant with a child. Mary was pregnant by {the power of} the Holy Spirit. Mary's husband, Joseph, was a good man. He did not want to bring shame to Mary before the people. So he planned to divorce her secretly. But after Joseph thought about this, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream. The angel said, "Joseph, son of David, don't be afraid to accept Mary to be your wife. The baby that is in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son. You will name the son Jesus. Give him that name because he will save his people from their sins."
Matthew 1:18-21 (ERV)

That evening Jesus' followers went down to the lake (Lake Galilee). It was dark now and Jesus had not yet come back to them. The followers got into a boat and started going across the lake to Capernaum. The wind was blowing very hard. The waves on the lake were becoming bigger. They rowed the boat about three or four miles. Then they saw Jesus. He was walking on the water. He was coming to the boat. The followers were afraid. But Jesus said to them, "Don't be afraid. It's me." After Jesus said this, the followers were happy to take Jesus into the boat. Then the boat came to land at the place where they wanted to go.
John 6:16-21 (ERV)

Those children are people with physical bodies. So Jesus himself became like those people and had the same experiences people have. Jesus did this so that, by dying, he could destroy the one who has the power of death. That one is the devil. Jesus became like those people and died so that he could free them. They were like slaves all their lives because of their fear of death. Clearly, it is not angels that Jesus helps. Jesus helps the people who are from Abraham. For this reason Jesus had to be made like us his brothers and sisters in every way. Jesus became like people so that he could be their merciful and faithful high priest in service to God. Then Jesus could bring forgiveness for the people's sins. And now Jesus can help those people who are tempted. Jesus is able to help because he himself suffered and was tempted.
Hebrews 2:14-18 (ERV)


 
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