Happy December! Christmas is on its way and we couldn’t think of a better way to ready our hearts together than by spending the whole month reading through the story of Jesus’ birth and finding some practical ways to love others. Together, we will work through an Advent reading plan provided by LCBC Church through YouVersion. Our prayer is that as you read about the greatest story ever told, your hearts will be readied for Christ’s arrival.
Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
An angel shows up and tells Zechariah that his prayers have been answered. Zechariah’s response is pure fear.
Pray
Pray that you would target one fear today to ignore. So many times we organize our lives around the stuff we most fear – ask God for boldness today, to be bold in one area you typically shrink back from.
Practice
Take some time today and share the fear you have with someone you trust and can confide in. You don’t have to say that much – just share with someone the fears that you face and your determination to not be controlled by them.
