One of my favorite parts about the Christmas story is the angels. I love how they show up unannounced. I love how they celebrate the birth of Jesus, and how they tell the shepherds that Messiah was born. I’m sure the angels didn’t all look like this cute little figurine, because Gabriel told both Zechariah and Mary, “Don’t be afraid.”

That’s one of my favorite parts too–the part of him telling them not to be afraid.

I think Zechariah was afraid of the bright and shiny, maybe muscular and gigantic Gabriel, but the scripture tells us that Mary was afraid of his greeting.

“Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:28).

I really love the fact that she wasn’t scared of him. She feared his salutation.

 

Maybe Gabriel looked more like this. Regardless, she wasn’t troubled by the presence of an angelic being in her room, but the call of God.

This week’s Bite of Bread will encourage  us to be brave. Maybe I need these verses, but I’ve got a feeling that some of you may need them too.

What are you afraid of? Is it God’s call? Is it an unanswered prayer? Is it the fear of what tomorrow will bring? I pray that as you read each Bite this week, your faith will grow, and your resolve strengthen.

I pray as we seek God in these scriptures, we will know that our prayers have been heard, and He is with us.

I pray we will be brave.

Jot these verses down or take a screen shot. Journal them. Write about them. Read around them. Chew all day on these words of promise. I like to chew on them in the morning with a cup of steaming hot black coffee, a candle lit, darkness outside, and my journal and pen.

I’ll be sharing my thoughts on each Bite on Periscope at 8:30 ET every morning, and you can join our conversation about the verses on our Fellowship Page. If you can’t watch on Periscope, you can watch the replays on this link. 

And as promised. . . .

I have three journals to give away! The winners are:

Annette Rose`

Jeanne Doyon

Janice Bordeaux

Please e-mail me: wordsbyandylee (at) gmail (dot) com. with your address!

Thank you to everyone who commented and subscribed! I loved hearing from you. As a subscriber you will have more opportunities for exclusive giveaways and special news. :)

Have a great week. See you Wednesday.

 

Jesus loves you,