Word-Filled Wednesday ~#57~ Make Way!

PASSAGE: "I [Daniel] looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude . . . " ~Daniel 10:5 & 6

"Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him [Zechariah] . . . 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 . . . The angel answered, 'I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God . . . In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The angel went to her and said, 'Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you . . . You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus." ~Luke 1:11, 12, 19, 26-28, 31 [emphasis mine]


LESSON LEARNED: Have you ever watched an old movie that had messenger of sorts, a herald, who went before a king and shouted, "Make way! Make way for the king!"? In many respects, that is what the archangel, Gabriel, did for Jesus.

As one of God's most trusted servants, Gabriel has the incredible privilege of announcing to both Zechariah and to young Mary that the Lord was not only going to bless them with children, but that those children would be born for His purposes. One would himself be a herald calling out to all to "Prepare the way for the Lord." (Luke 3:4)

And the other Child ~ oh, the other Child ~ born to a young Jewish girl, would be The One. The One Who would be the Savior of the World, the Lamb of God, the propitiation of all sin. Jesus the Christ. The long-awaited One!

Every word written in every book of the Old Testament was about to be fulfilled. Every prayer, every hallelujah ("praise the Lord, Yahweh"), every Old Testament prophecy was about to come to it's "Amen"! Gabriel had just come from the very Presence of God ~ he already knew Whom it was that he was introducing to us.

Do you know Him? You don't need a herald to burst through the door shouting, "Make way for The King!" And you don't need Gabriel in all his magnificence to stand before you and proclaim His coming.

Jesus is already here.

All He wants is for you to open the door of your heart and ask Him in. Just like the famous painting of Jesus knocking on the door, if you will notice ~ there is no doorknob on the OUTside, the door (of our heart) only opens from the INside.

The herald has come . . . Jesus is knocking . . . the rest is up to you.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><