Scripture
68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a hornof salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71 salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
Reflection
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Whoever made up this little kids rhyme got it all wrong. Words have power and you can either use them to bless or curse. There is a reason why the presidents of nations address the people during joyous occasions or tragedies. Words have the ability to shape and frame circumstances. In this particular passage, known as the Song of Zechariah, we see a father using words to bless his child, John the Baptist, upon birth. He is using words to bless and shape (or speak prophetically) the life of his newborn son. Similarly, we can do this in our lives. We can use our words to help direct the path of the loved ones in our lives. We can choose to use words in ways that will shape them into the people God desires them to be. In the same way the Father spoke life into this world, you can speak life into people (Josh).
Thoughts for the day
- What words do you need to hear from God to bring about life in areas of your life that needs resurrection?
- How can you use your words to speak life into others’ lives?
- Who do you know who can benefit from hearing this truth?
Prayer
As you travel on your daily journey, take a few minutes to pray through your day before it starts: any tricky classes, meetings or people you’ll encounter in your day. Then after your day is done, take time to give everything back to God again as you travel home.
