Today is Wednesday the Eighteenth day of Advent. Our word for today is "Holy Spirit."Luke 1:26 During Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin. She was engaged to marry a man named Joseph from the family of David. Her name was Mary. 28 The angel came to her and said, “Greetings! The Lord has blessed you and is with you.”
29 But Mary was very startled by what the angel said and wondered what this greeting might mean.
30 The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary; God has shown you his grace. 31 Listen! You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of King David, his ancestor. 33 He will rule over the people of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.”
34 Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you. For this reason the baby will be holy and will be called the Son of God. 36 Now Elizabeth, your relative, is also pregnant with a son though she is very old. Everyone thought she could not have a baby, but she has been pregnant for six months. 37 God can do anything!”
38 Mary said, “I am the servant of the Lord. Let this happen to me as you say!” Then the angel went away.(NCV)
Notice that in the preceding Scripture passage the three persons of what we believers refer to as the Trinity are mentioned. Referenced are God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Most often during the Christmas season we refer to God the Father and God the Son, but God the Holy Spirit is often left out.
God the Father was the central figure in the Old Testament as He gives word through His prophets that a Savior-King would be born. In the Gospels Jesus the Christ, the promised one, was the central figure. Certainly during the time of this first Christmas Christ the Son is the central figure.
But I want you to note verses 35 and 36 in the forgoing passage. Mary ask the angel how it was possible for her to have a child since she was a virgin. The angel told her it would be made possible through the power of the Holy Spirit. There is one God but He is manifest in three persons. I cannot really understand that, but since the Scripture teaches it I believe it. So the entire Trinity was involved this first Christmas.
If the Old Testament seemed to high light the work of God the Father, and the Gospels seem to emphasis the work of God the Son, so in the Book of Acts and the spread of the church, it is the work of the Holy Spirit that is emphasised.
In our lives today we have many times we could call, our "How can this be?" moment. And the answer is, "The power of the Holy Spirit." It was the work of the Holy Spirit that brought about the birth of Jesus the Christ. Today it is the work of the Holy Spirit that convinces us of our need for forgiveness and salvation through Christ. (see John 16). It is the Holy Spirit that brings about our redemption and new birth. It is the Holy Spirit that gives us the power to live the Christian life.
You may be asking, Lord, how can I deal with this tragedy, this financial reversal, this family problem, this important decision etc. The answer is, through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the job of the Holy Spirit to point us to Christ, to make the promises of Christ become real in our lives.
Would you take time today to praise the work of the Holy Spirit in your life? If you do not know Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, allow the Holy Spirit to bring you to Him. You cannot really celebrate Christmas without the power of the Holy Spirit.
YOU MAY HAVE THE HOLY SPIRIT BUT DOES THE HOLY SPIRIT HAVE ALL OF YOU?
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