LUKE’S CHRISTMAS GOSPEL OF JESUS: A 30-Day Christmas-Time Devotional.

Christmas: A Holy Spirit In-Breaking.

Luke 1: 40-41 (MsgB) 

[40] (Mary went) straight to Zachariah’s house, and greeted Elizabeth. [41] When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Holy Spirit, come!

If you go back and re-read the first 39 verses of Luke’s gospel, you’ll see that Luke has already mentioned to his readers that Holy Spirit activity was breaking-in at the very beginning of his Christmas story.

In verse 15 of chapter 1, we find the angel Gabriel telling Zachariah that his miracle son, John, will be “filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment he leaves his mother’s womb.”  Now, we see that the Holy Spirit is breaking-in on the baby’s mother, Elizabeth!

When you view Luke’s two New Testament books (his gospel and the book of Acts) as one volume (as we should) we begin to see Luke’s consistency in telling his readers that this advent or coming of God’s Messiah to planet earth is sparking a whole new explosion of Holy Spirit activity amongst a wide variety of people involved in the Jesus-story.

By the time we get to Acts 2, we see that this same Holy Spirit, who in the Old Testament, is given sparingly to specific people only in specific situations, is now being poured out on many!

First, a newborn baby, then his mother, and now countless others!

The good news is that the Christmas story of Jesus’ birth is also a well-documented story of how the Holy Spirit is now breaking in on people in new, exciting ways. According to the New Testament writers, it’s a story that continues to today. The trickle that starts with John and Elizabeth has now grown into a massive outpouring that covers the entire earth, reaching into every tribe, nation, and tongue!

May the Holy Spirit indwell and empower you and me during this Advent season!

My prayer: Thank You, Lord that the birth of Jesus is just the beginning when it comes to the Holy Spirit being poured out over the whole planet. Just as John and his mother, Elizabeth, experienced in the earliest days of Christ’s Advent, and the 120 followers of Jesus experienced in the upper room after Jesus’ ascension, so today, may Your Holy Spirit indwell and empower those who call upon Your Son. For Your name’s sake. Amen.

My questions to ponder: So, how open am I to the daily indwelling and empowerment of the Holy Spirit in my life? Have I relegated these Holy Spirit experiences to people in the Bible, or to other ‘special’ people, while ignoring the fact that every follower of Jesus, in every generation, can now be indwelled and empowered as John and Elizabeth were? How can I actively embrace all the Holy Spirit has for me today?

So what is God speaking to you today? Are you practicing the Kingdom presence of God?

We hope you’ll enjoy these 30 blogs that walk you through 30 days of Advent (Nov 26 – Dec 25). Here’s the homepage for the entire series.

If you like what you’re reading, might we suggest you share this page with others!

Click here to continue your Advent readings…