Welcome to Day 150 of the “Manna for the Mind” devotional! This series is about finding nourishment in the Word of God to get us through the day. In each devotional, I take a variety of scripture passages (typically 1-3 verses each) and build our understanding of what they teach via their context and connecting scripture. My goal is to help you understand how to be the type of human God created you to be.

Today’s passage is Luke 1:68-70. We’ll talk about this song of praise from Zechariah about the birth of Jesus.

Luke 1:68-70

NASB	NLT	VOICE
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,	68 “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people.	68 ZECHARIAH: May the Lord God be blessed indeed! For God’s intervention has begun, and He has moved to rescue us, the people of God.
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David –	69 He has sent us a mighty Savior from the royal line of his servant David,	69 And the Lord has raise up a powerful sign of liberation for us from among the descendants of God’s servant, King David.
70 Just as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient times –	70 just as he promised through his holy prophets long ago.	70 As was prophesied through the mouths of His holy prophets in ancient times:

Zacharias has started to see God’s redemptive plan for Israel beginning. God has come to earth through the birth of this baby to save them from their bondage to sin. This baby aligned with the prophecy told from the Hebrew Bible, sharing the key facts and focus points that are important to the Israelites.

Psalm 41:13

NASB	NLT	VOICE
13 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, From everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.	13 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and amen!	13 Blessed is the Eternal, the True God of Israel. Always and Eternal. Amen and Amen

The book of Psalms is divided into five books, each ending with a doxology (expression of praise to God.) The first book of Psalms (Psalms 1-41) takes us through suffering, sorrow, and great joy. It teaches us about God’s eternal love and care for us and how we should trust him in daily life experiences. The birth of Jesus was God’s ultimate sign of love and care, showing that he was willing to sacrifice his only son to save us from the bondage of sin and have a perfect and just relationship with him so that we may have eternal life. With these gifts, we can go through life that God will do what is best for us and that we must trust that God’s way is right. We just need to trust and obey.

Psalm 111:9

NASB	NLT	VOICE
9 He has sent redemption to His people; He has ordained his covenant forever; Holy and awesome is His name.	9 He has paid a full ransom for his people. He has guaranteed his covenant with them forever. What a holy, awe-inspiring name he has.	9 He has sent redemption to His people; He has ordained His covenant forever; Holy and awesome is His name.

The ransom describes the rescue by God of the Israelites from Egypt and the future return from their captivity in Babylon. A ransom is the recovery of something or someone upon paying a price! All people created were held in slavery by their sins until Jesus paid the price to free us – the payment being giving his life as the perfect sacrifice for sin. Before Jesus did this, anyone couldn’t enter God’s presence. This was only for the Levite priests, and this was only on specific days of the year. Today, all believers can freely approach God through Jesus, our high priest, and experience God’s presence with us through the Holy Spirit. Imagine today only talking to God directly through your pastor or small group leaders and knowing they could only talk to God on certain days of the year. We’d yearn to interact with the Almighty Savior who can save us from sin. Before Jesus’ sacrifice, we interacted with God in the flesh. Understanding what it means to live a godly life, how to have compassion for our neighbor, and how to worship our Almighty Creator.

1 Samuel 2:1-10

NASB	NLT	VOICE
1 Then Hannah praised and said, “My heart rejoices in the Lord; My horn is exalted in the Lord, My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation.	1 Then Hannah prayed: “My heart rejoices in the Lord! The Lord has made me strong. Now I have an answer for my enemies; I rejoice because you rescued me.	1 Then Hannah prayed out her deepest feelings. HANNAH: My heart rejoices in the Eternal One; my strength grows strong in the Eternal. My mouth can mock my enemies because I celebrate how You have saved me!
2 There is no one holy like the Lord, Indeed, there is no one besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.	2 No one is holy like the Lord! There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.	2 No one is holy like the Eternal One – no, no one but You; and there is no rock as sold as our True God.
3 Do not go on boasting so very proudly, Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth; For the Lord is a God of knowledge, And with Him actions are weighed.	3 “Stop acting so proud and haughty! Don’t speak with such arrogance! For the Lord is a God who knows what you have done; he will judge your actions.	3 Stop talking so proudly, and don’t let such arrogance flow from your lips, For the Eternal One is a True God who knows, and He weights the actions He sees.
4 The bows of the mighty are broken to pieces, But those who have stumbled strap on strength.	4 The bow of the mighty is now broken, and those who stumbled are now strong.	4 The bows of the mighty crack in two, but the feeble are given new strength.
5 Those who were full hire themselves out for bread, But those who were hungry cease to be hungry. Even the infertile woman gives birth to seven, But she who has many children languishes.	5 Those who were well fed are now starving, and those who were starving are now full. The childless woman now has seven children, and the woman with many children wastes away.	5 Those who were full have had to work hard so they can eat, but those who were starving have become fat with rich food. The one who was infertile has borne seven children, while the one who bore many sits alone in sadness.
6 The Lord puts to death and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and brings up.	6 The Lord gives both death and life; he brings some down to the grave but raises others up.	6 The Eternal One kills and brings to life; He sends down to the grave and raises up new life.
7 The Lord makes poor and rich; He humbles, He also exalts.	7 The Lord makes some poor and others rich; he brings some down and lifts others up.	7 The Eternal One makes both poor and rich; some He humbles, and others He honors.
8 He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the garbage heap To seat them with nobles, And He gives them a seat of honor as an inheritance; For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, And He set the world on them.	8 He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes, placing them in seats of honor. For all the earth is the Lord’s, and he has set the world in order.	8 He lifts the poor up out of the dust, the needy from the trash heap. He raises them to sit with princes and seats them on a glorious throne. For the pillars of the earth are the Eternal One’s, and on them, He has set the world.
9 He watches over the feet of His godly ones, But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; For not by might shall a person prevail.	9 “He will protect his faithful ones, but the wicked will disappear in darkness. No one will succeed by strength alone.	9 He will watch over the foot steps of the faithful, but the wicked will be made silent in the darkness, for one does not win by strength alone.
10 Those who contend with the Lord will be terrified; Against them He will thunder in the heavens, The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; And He will give strength to His king, And will exalt the horn of His anointed.	10 Those who fight against the Lord will be shattered. He thunders against them from heaven; the Lord judges throughout the earth. He gives power to his king; he increases the strength of his anointed one.”	10 The Eternal One will shatter His foes; from His throne in heaven, He will thunder will rage. The Eternal One will be judge to the ends of the earth; He gives strength to His king, And power to the one He chooses to rule.

Hannah praised God for Him answering her prayer for a son. Her confidence in God’s power and her gratitude for everything he had done became the themes of her poetic prayer. Mary, Jesus’ mother, modeled her praise song after this (the Magnificat). Like Hannah and Mary, we should be confident in God’s ultimate control over what happens to us and be thankful for how God has blessed us. By praising God for all the good gifts, we acknowledge his ultimate control over all parts of our lives. We can find small things to be thankful for. We can find small things to be grateful for, especially in times of chaos. We can find God in the different parts of life through the different things and people we interact with.

Acts 3:21

NASB	NLT	VOICE
21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things, about which God spoke by the mouths of His holy prophets from ancient times.	21 For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets.	21 He is in heaven now and must remain there until the day of universal restoration comes – the restoration which in ancient times God announced through the holy prophets.

The “time for the final restoration of all things” refers to Jesus’ return to earth, the Last Judgment, and the removal of sin from the world. We’re talking about the birth and the thankfulness of Jesus, so why is this part of today’s devotional? The works of Jesus were prophesied long ago, including the fact that Jesus will return to the world, defeat sin overall, and begin the creation of the New Heaven and the New Eden. This is a reminder to keep an eye on the importance of texts from the Old Testament prophets so that we can adequately prepare ourselves for the works of Jesus in our world.

Romans 1:2-4

NASB	NLT	VOICE
2 which he promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,	2 God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures.	2 of the things promised long ago by God, spoken by prophets, and recorded in the Holy Scriptures.
3 concerning his Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh,	3 The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life, he was born into King David’s family line,	3 All of this good news is about His son: who was (from a human perspective) born of David’s royal line
4 who was declared the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,	4 and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.	4 and ultimately designated to be the true Son of God with power upon His resurrection from the dead by the Spirit of holiness. I am speaking of Jesus, the Anointed One, our Lord.

Paul declares that Jesus is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, and the resurrected Lord. Paul calls Jesus a descendant of King David to emphasize that Jesus fulfilled the OT Scriptures, predicting that the Messiah would come from David’s line. With this statement, Paul declares his agreement with the teaching of all Scripture and the other apostles. Paul shared the Gospel with the Roman audience before his trip to Rome. He wanted to share what his trip would be about and what he believed in. Paul affirms the teachings of the Hebrew Bible and the gospel stories of Jesus’ ministry. He shares his beliefs in an attempt to follow Jesus’ command to share the Gospel with the people in all corners of the world.

BREATHE IN: Go out and…

BREATHE OUT: …share Jesus.

Until next time, stay blessed!