Unexpected News
Dear Friends, With the Christmas season upon us I find myself naturally being drawn once again to the Christmas story, the events leading up to it, and the people involved. I've been thinking about Zechariah and Mary and their responses to the unexpected news they both receive from Angel Gabriel. Gabriel appears to Zechariah and says to him “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John." Luke 1:13 (NLT) Zechariah finds this impossible to believe, he and his wife have prayed for years for children, month after month, year after year, their hopes must have risen time after time,only to be dashed time and time again. Finally, with old age, they despaired of hope. Yet God had heard their prayers, the prayers of these two who "were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations." Luke 1:6 (NLT) and now was the time for these prayers to be a