Dave's Diary

After months in the epistles, our reading plan loops back to Luke’s Gospel today and we re-centre ourselves on where this Good News of Jesus all began.

Luke, a medical doctor and a very systematic man, wrote his Gospel as an orderly account of the events of Jesus’ life and ministry. He aimed to help his readers believe all that they had been taught about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He emphasized the role of the Holy Spirit and prayer in Jesus’ life and ministry, and highlighted His ministry to women and others on the outskirts of society.

Daily Readings: Luke 1 and Psalm 17

The opening pages of Luke burst into life with the powerful activity of the Holy Spirit. Zechariah is promised that his son, John, will be “filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born” (v.15). On being greeted by Mary, “Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit” (v.41); and when he confirmed the name of his son, “Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied” (v.67). Clearly, God was on the move and His Spirit was powerfully at work to accomplish His will.

The most important reference to the work of the Spirit in Luke 1 was the moment the angel appeared to Mary. He revealed to her that she would conceive and give birth to the Son of the Most High, the Eternal King of God’s Kingdom, whom she should name, Jesus. Astounded, Mary inquired how this could possibly be true as she was a virgin. The angel’s answer still echoes through the ages:

‘³⁶ … 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 the Son of God … ³⁷ For no word from God will ever fail.’

Whenever we are faced with the seemingly impossible in God’s Kingdom and find ourselves asking, “How will this be?” His answer is the same: “The Holy Spirit!” The Holy Spirit is the divine Agent of God’s ministry of the humanly impossible. Even more awe-insiring is the thought that God would desire to fill us with the Holy Spirit and use us in the establishment of His Kingdom too, just as he filled and used those otherwise ordinary people named Zechariah, Elizabeth and Mary.

Life Application: When you find yourself facing a seemingly impossible task in your pursuit of God’s Kingdom today, pray for the life and power of the Holy Spirit to fill you and use you, and then take that first step of obedient faith.