Ordinary Normal

“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, ‘Hail, favoured one! The Lord is with you; but she was greatly troubled at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be. And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end.’" Luke 1:26-33

Those who meet angels are reminded of their mortality and so fear is a natural reaction. When it says she was greatly troubled, she was just a teenager of a normal family in a normal land in a normal world. What we must always remember is that God wants to do extraordinary things in the lives of all of us, especially those who seem ordinary on the outside.


Take care to know God’s Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene


PS: New Request: Pray for Eddie, brain surgery & possible stroke & his family. Continue to pray for: Leslie’s recovery from cancer surgery. Nancy (for patience as she recovers from her near critical head injury), Rachael (for hope & clarity of purpose); Adrian (life changes); Barb (needs satisfying work). Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines). Tim & Barb (encouragement). God’s grace on USA. Billy & Michelle (recovery). Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Virgil, Poetry, Gary, Adrian and Jack.

Unbelievable !!

“And Zacharias said to the angel, ‘How shall I know this for certain? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.’ And the angel answered and said to him, ‘I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God; and I have been sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news, ‘And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which shall be fulfilled in their proper time.’” Luke 1:18-20

Does it seem strange to you that the angel struck Zacharias dumb? Perhaps it was because the angel sensed that he would go out of the temple and express his doubt to others and perhaps draw others to doubt with him.
 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry.” II Timothy 4:3-5
 Take care to know God’s Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene


PS: New Request: Pray for Annette’s friend Leslie’s recovery from cancer surgery. Continue to pray for: Fred’s wife, Nancy (for patience as she recovers from her near critical head injury), Rachael (for hope & clarity of purpose); Nancy (recovery from brain surgery); Adrian (life changes); Barb (needs satisfying work). Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines). Tim & Barb (encouragement). God’s grace on USA. Billy & Michelle (recovery). Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Virgil, Poetry, Gary, Adrian and Jack.

Job Description

“And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear gripped him. But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. And you will have joy and gladness and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine or liquor; and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, while yet in his mother’s womb. And he will turn back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. And it is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous; so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’” Luke 1:11-17

What an amazing job description for John: he will, first and most importantly, be great in the sight of the Lord, he will be temperate, obedient, yielded, filled and ready to be used by the infilling Holy Spirit from before birth. What qualities to pray for in our own lives! The result of this short life was to reawaken an entire people to the reality of God’s love for them and His plan for the world.

 Take care to know God’s Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene

 PS: New Request: Pray for Leslie, Annette’s friend recent cancer surgery. Continue to pray for: Fred’s wife, Nancy (for patience as she recovers from her near critical head injury), Rachael (for hope & clarity of purpose); Nancy (recovery from brain surgery); Adrian (life changes); Barb (needs satisfying work). Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines). Tim & Barb (encouragement). God’s grace on USA. Billy & Michelle (recovery). Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Virgil, Poetry, Gary, Adrian and Jack.

Routine Duties

“Now it came about while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering.” Luke 1:8-10


Zachariah was one of the 24 groups of priests divided by families and structures as God had instructed. Each of the groups took turns serving in the temple for one week, twice a year, and for major festivals. However, an individual priest could only offer the incense at the daily sacrifice only ONCE in his lifetime. Zachariah had learned from those before and SERVED his entire lifetime in the temple. Here was his first chance to enter this holy place. He would have entered with reverential fear and hopeful expectation for God’s people. God has not changed!


“Remember those who led you, who spoke the Word of God to you; and consider the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever.” Hebrews 13:7-8

 Take care to know God’s Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene

 PS: New Request: Pray for Leslie, Annette’s friend recent cancer surgery. Continue to pray for: Fred’s wife, Nancy (for patience as she recovers from her near critical head injury), Rachael (for hope & clarity of purpose); Nancy (recovery from brain surgery); Adrian (life changes); Barb (needs satisfying work). Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines). Tim & Barb (encouragement). God’s grace on USA. Billy & Michelle (recovery). Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Virgil, Poetry, Gary, Adrian and Jack.

Future of Hope

“In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a certain priest named Zacarias, of the division of Abjah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.” Luke 1:5-7

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it all the men of old gained approval.” Hebrews 11:1-2


As we grow up our perspective of everything changes. Large things suddenly seem smaller than before; small things annoy us in ways we never imagined. Noises are now too loud or we can’t hear because everyone seems to be whispering. Our senses seem to change or deepen. The young often regard growing older as unlikely at best; at worst, the curse of old people. Sometimes growing older means being ignored more; and sometimes it mean you’re listened to more. It can feel like there’s little left to do or so much left to do we can’t be bothered. In the greatest story of hope in the world, it began with two people, well past their prime, who never gave up hope. For this hope they were rewarded with the harbinger of the future of all hope!


Take care to know God’s Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene


PS: New Request: Pray for Leslie, Annette’s friend who just had cancer surgery yesterday. Continue to pray for: Fred’s wife, Nancy - recover from a near critical head injury, Rachael for hope & clarity of purpose; Nancy’s recovery from brain surgery; Adrian with life changes; Barb to find satisfying work. Isaias’ mission work in Philippines – family’s safety. Tim & Barb to be encouraged. God’s grace on USA. Billy & Michelle for recovery. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Virgil, Poetry, Gary, Adrian and Jack.

Second Tithe

“Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear, and I return to my father’s house in safety, then the Lord will be my God. And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God’s house; and of all that Thou doest give me I will surely give a tenth to Thee.’ Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the sons of the east.” Genesis 28:20 – 29:1


Jacob had no hope of returning hope, but he hoped in the God of his father and that is what motivated him to make his personal promise of a tenth of his wealth to the Father. It was not require, it was offered. God does not need our money; He only needs our hearts. If He has our hearts, what is money to us?



Take care to know God’s Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene



PS: New Request: Pray for Leslie, Annette’s friend who just had cancer surgery yesterday. Continue to pray for: Fred’s wife, Nancy - recover from a near critical head injury, Rachael for hope & clarity of purpose; Nancy’s recovery from brain surgery; Adrian with life changes; Barb to find satisfying work. Isaias’ mission work in Philippines – family’s safety. Tim & Barb to be encouraged. God’s grace on USA. Billy & Michelle for recovery. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Virgil, Poetry, Gary, Adrian and Jack.

Our Father's Faithfulness

“Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran. And he camet to a certain place and spent the night there, because the son had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place. And he had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, ‘I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. Your descendants shall also be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south’ and in you and in your descendants shall all the familes of the earth be blessed. And behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’” Genesis 28:10-15


Jacob was discouraged, fearful, regretful, homeless, lost his family and was likely VERY tired of all that was happening in his life. Yet God was there with him every step of his journey and did not forget His promise to this family of the future of His plan. It is important for us to remember how faithful He is, even when we are not.



Take care to know God’s Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene



PS: Continue to pray for: Fred’s wife, Nancy, to recover from a near critical head injury, Rachael for hope & clarity of purpose; Nancy’s recovery from brain surgery; Adrian with life changes; Barb to find satisfying work. Isaias’ mission work in Philippines. Tim & Barb to be encouraged. God’s grace on USA. Billy & Michelle for recovery. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Virgil, Poetry, Gary, Adrian and Jack.