Luke 1:13-17
13 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. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 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. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 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.’
John is something special. Up until this moment, the only Spirit only ever came on specific people and specific moments for specific tasks. John, however, is full of the Spirit from birth! A special gift for a special task – to prepare people for receiving Jesus. Of course, we too are special people. The Bible tells us that from our rebirth, we too are full of the Spirit. Could it be that we are being set apart for the same task?
Father, this Advent, may we like John before us, point to Jesus.
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