13But 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. 14He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15for 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. 16He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. (Luke 1:13-16)
Thoughts: The angel was speaking of John the Baptist. He would bring many people back to the Lord their God. I was not that the people of Israel didn't believe there was a God up there. But they had lost their ability to believe in God's love and God's power. They were stuck in legalism and the habits of being religious- but the heart of belief in God is belief in His love for you as an individual and belief in His power to help you. John's message was to repent. The people responded to this message. Today, we need to come back to God. We need to believe in God's love for us, so that we want to please Him and sacrifice to do that. As the prodigal son came back, so we can come back to our heavenly Father. God longs for us to come. As Peter came back after He denied Jesus so we can come back. As Paul, who took part in the murder/martyrdom of Stephen, came fully back to God- so we can come back to Him no matter how bad we have been.
Prayer: Lord, draw me back to you, and use me to draw others back. Help me to repent and believe in your power and love, and to call others to do so as well.
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