Written by: John Sernaque
Call to Worship
Luke 1: 22
1:22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.
Shining With Reflected Light—
When Zacharias came out of the temple, his countenance was shining with the light which the heavenly angel had reflected upon him. But he could not speak to the people. He made signs to them that an angel had appeared to him in the temple, and because of his unbelief he was deprived of the power of speech, until the prediction of the angel should be fulfilled ( The Spirit of Prophecy 2:45). {5BC 1114.8}
When Zacharias saw the angel of the Lord standing there, fear fell upon him. When one fears, faith is low. Without faith, it is impossible to please God, for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Because of his unbelief, he lost his speech until John was born. There are different degrees of Christian character demonstrated by the measure of faith possessed. According as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. The wicked have no faith. Some have little faith, O ye of little faith. Others are weak in faith. Him that is weak in the faith receive you. The Syrophenician woman had great faith. Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith. Barnabas was full of faith. For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith. We need to pray for an increase of faith and for our faith to fail not. The apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. Jesus prayed for Peter, that his faith fail not. We need to be rich in faith even as the poor of this world are rich in faith. Faith must be unfeigned. We are able to obtain precious faith through the righteousness of God and our Savior Christ Jesus. Faith is the foundation upon which Godly character is built. Faith will shield us from evil wherewith we shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Faith is the spiritual hand that touches infinity.
Our Father, which art in heaven,
We come faithfully unto the foot of Your throne in thanksgiving, praise, and prayer. You have told us we are saved by grace through faith. We thank You for the salvation You offer to us freely through faith. We thank You for Your grace through faith that offers salvation to all men. We thank You for being the originator, author, and finisher of our faith. For allowing us to receive faith by reading Your Word as You are the living Word. Thank You for this gift. We thank You for granting us faith that leads us to obedience and the foot of the cross. Thank You for showing us faith by our works as faith without works dies as faith is made perfect by works. Thank You for justifying us by our faith and counting our faith for righteousness, as faith, not works, justifies. We know that without faith it is impossible to please You. We thank You for giving to all a measure of faith. We thank You for letting us come to You as we believe You are a rewarder of faith for those who diligently seek You. We pray to be full of faith and full of the Holy Ghost as Barnabas was. We pray for an increase of faith and for our faith to fail not and You pray for us as You did for Peter. We pray to obtain precious faith through the righteousness of God and our Savior Christ Jesus. We pray to fear not, and only believe. We pray that our faith will shield us from evil wherewith we shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. We pray You keep a hedge of Your Holy Angels round about us and our families to keep us safe and protected from Satan and his demons and all the people and devices he uses. Thank you for giving us faith that brings answers to prayers. We thank You for hearing and answering our prayers, in the name of Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen.
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