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Speaker 1: Life Audio. Hello, thank you for listening to your Daily

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Speaker 1: Bible Verse, the podcast that examines one verse each day

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Speaker 1: to learn more about God and his will for us.

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Speaker 1: I'm your host, Shaka Hines, and after a brief message

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Speaker 1: from our sponsor, will continue with our Advent series experiencing

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Speaker 1: christ this Christmas. Today we'll discuss Luke one Verses thirty

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Speaker 1: seven and thirty eight. Small children have little to no

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Speaker 1: concept of time, and our six year old he is

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Speaker 1: no exception. As we count down the days until Christmas,

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Speaker 1: he often asks how many more days until his favorite

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Speaker 1: day of the year. Some of you have kids and

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Speaker 1: you understand, but for those of you who don't, I

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Speaker 1: want you to imagine the anticipation of a small child.

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Speaker 1: He's watched the neighborhoods around us brighten with lights. He

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Speaker 1: helped decorate the Christmas tree and put snowflakes on the windows.

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Speaker 1: He's listened to the Christmas carols and begun reading the

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Speaker 1: Advent stories leading up to the birth of Jesus. So

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Speaker 1: it is hard for him to wait patiently for that

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Speaker 1: special day. But when he asks how many days until

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Speaker 1: Christmas and we answer it's coming, he believes us. For him,

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Speaker 1: it's a done deal. His daddy and Mama told him

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Speaker 1: Christmas is coming, and in his mind there is no

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Speaker 1: doubt it is. Christmas is a certainty because the promise

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Speaker 1: came from the voices that he trusts. Now, that childlike

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Speaker 1: faith carries us directly into today's passage. Today we're looking

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Speaker 1: at Luke one verses thirty seven and thirty eight, where

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Speaker 1: the angel Gabriel says to Mary, for no word from

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Speaker 1: God will ever fail, and Mary responds, I am the

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Speaker 1: Lord's servant. May your word to me be fulfilled. Many

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Speaker 1: of us know the story. Gabriel made a surprise visit

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Speaker 1: to Mary and told her she would be having a

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Speaker 1: baby who would be the Son of God. Mary is

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Speaker 1: a young Jewish betrothed virgin living in a society that

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Speaker 1: not merely frowned on unwed pregnant women, but whose law

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Speaker 1: provided for severe punishments for such women. Surprisingly, Mary had

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Speaker 1: only one question regarding how she could become pregnant when

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Speaker 1: she was a virgin, and she was told that, through

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Speaker 1: the miraculous working of the Holy Spirit, she would become

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Speaker 1: the mother of the Son of God. And Mary was satisfied.

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Speaker 1: Mary receives a mess far more unexpected and miraculous than

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Speaker 1: a child waiting for Christmas. And yet her reaction is immediate, humble, trusting.

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Speaker 1: She doesn't demand explanation, she doesn't ask for timing, she

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Speaker 1: doesn't require a roadmap for how it will all unfold.

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Speaker 1: She simply believes. And here's the heart of it. When

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Speaker 1: God's word means more to you than your circumstances, that

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Speaker 1: is faith. Like Mary's. Her circumstances said it was impossible,

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Speaker 1: her culture said it was unthinkable, her future said it

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Speaker 1: was uncertain. But God said, and that's enough. There are

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Speaker 1: two Greek words in the New Testament that we translate

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Speaker 1: into English as word, the logos and the rama. Logos

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Speaker 1: refers to God's revealed truth for all people, his wisdom,

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Speaker 1: his character, his story. Scripture is the logos. Jesus Christ

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Speaker 1: is the Logos made flesh, the full communication of who

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Speaker 1: God is. Earlier in this Advent series, Joy Williams shared

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Speaker 1: beautifully on this in her episode The Wonder of the

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Speaker 1: Word Becoming Flesh. If you missed it, go back and

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Speaker 1: give it a listen. Rama is a specific, personal spirit

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Speaker 1: illuminated word for a particular moment in your life. It's

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Speaker 1: God taking his eternal truth and applying it directly to

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Speaker 1: your circumstances or your heart, or your situation. That's what

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Speaker 1: Mary received from Gabriel, a rama word, and she responded

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Speaker 1: with faith that valued God's word over everything she could

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Speaker 1: see or even understand. Gabriel says that God's rama never fails,

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Speaker 1: and Jesus himself affirms the importance of rama in Matthew

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Speaker 1: four to four. Man shall not live on bread alone,

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Speaker 1: but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

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Speaker 1: That word raima is what nourishes us. Bread feeds the body,

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Speaker 1: but God's spoken word feeds the soul. Maybe this advance

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Speaker 1: season finds you waiting, waiting for direction, healing, breakthrough, clarity, peace.

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Speaker 1: Let me encourage you. The God who spoke to Mary

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Speaker 1: still speaks today. The Holy Spirit still brings scripture alive.

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Speaker 1: He still whispers promise, conviction, guidance, and comfort. But our

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Speaker 1: posture matters. Mary teaches us that faith is choosing to

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Speaker 1: trust God's word above your circumstances. Faith is saying, like

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Speaker 1: she did, I am your servant. Let your word be

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Speaker 1: fulfilled in me. And when God's word means more to

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Speaker 1: you than your circumstance, and says, that's faith that delights heaven.

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Speaker 1: That's faith that burns miracles. That's faith like Mary's. And

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Speaker 1: just like a child waiting for Christmas, we can trust

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Speaker 1: his timing. We can trust God's character, his voice because

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Speaker 1: if he said it, it's coming, you know. To further

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Speaker 1: practice prayerful listening for God, consider doing this activity during advent.

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Speaker 1: I want you to try to make some time every

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Speaker 1: day if you can, to take some time alone and

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Speaker 1: it only takes about thirty to sixty seconds and ask

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Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit a simple question, say, Holy Spirit, what

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Speaker 1: are you inviting me to say yes to this season?

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Speaker 1: And then just be still and listen. Write it down

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Speaker 1: what you get like, write down the scripture or the song,

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Speaker 1: the word, the action or whatever you hear. So again

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Speaker 1: it just ask Holy Spirit, what are you inviting me

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Speaker 1: to say yes to this season? And write it down? Now,

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Speaker 1: don't be afraid to stay longer to get more clarity

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Speaker 1: and time with God is always precious. Now remember, though,

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Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit will never invite you to do anything

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Speaker 1: that would violate the logos word of God found in

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Speaker 1: Jesus and the Bible. Let's pray, Father, thank you for

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Speaker 1: the invitation to draw closer to you and hear your voice,

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Speaker 1: Help us, like Mary, to courageously pursue your will, and

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Speaker 1: bless us with responsive hearts to say yes. Will we

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Speaker 1: clearly hear your voice calling us to do hard things,

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Speaker 1: or even when we hear you telling us to wait

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Speaker 1: on you, Holy Spirit, come, bless this generation to be

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Speaker 1: sensitive to your presence and to seek to walk and

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Speaker 1: step with your perfect will. We love you, Jesus, celebrate

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Speaker 1: the gift of your birth. Because of your great love,

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Speaker 1: you rescued us. You are our God. We pray these

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Speaker 1: things in Jesus's name. Amen,