Mon., 11/17/14 Devotion (Lk. 1:68)

Today's encouragement comes from Luke 1:68, where we read these words:

"Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His peo-ple . . . "

God does not relate to us, His church, from afar. Instead, He condescends to us, perfectly, in the incarnation of His Son Jesus. Then, having visited us, the Redeemer does the unthinkable, and dies for us. But that in itself would not be enough, if He did not also rise again from the dead (for us).

For all of these reasons, we, like Zacharias, whose words are found above, ought to "Bless the Lord God of Israel." There is every cause to do so, and no reason to fail to do so. No matter how dark our days may appear, or how heavy our burdens may be—the Light is shining about us (in the Lord Jesus Christ); and His burden is light.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Now when the Spirit of God sets the will at liberty, a man does what he does being fully advised by reason." --Richard Sibbes, in, "Glorious Freedom"]