Luke 1:26–38 (NIV) 26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth , a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this

Colossians 1:15–20 (NIV) 15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20

Thou shalt not bear false witness... unless you need to. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 112 Q. What is God’s will for you in the ninth commandment? A. God’s will is that I never give false testimony against anyone, twist no one’s words, not gossip or slander, nor join in condemning anyone without a hearing or without a just cause. Rather, in court and everywhere else, I should avoid lying and deceit of every kind; these are devices the devil himself uses, and they would call down on me God’s intense anger. I should love the truth, speak it candidly, and openly acknowledge it. And I should do what I can to guard and advance my neighbor’s good name. Summary King Saul knows what's at stake when he said to his son Jonathan, "As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established (v31)." It would have been in Jonathan's best interest to let his father eliminate David, so that Jonathan would inherit the throne. It would have been so easy for Jonathan to rat David out, let Saul do the dirty work, and be all but guaranteed that the kingdom would be his. But Jonathan both honored God's will and loved his friend David, and he demonstrated that love and commitment by not only sacrificing his own future, but putting himself in grave danger to defend David's honor. When Saul demanded that David be hauled in and killed, Jonathan lied in order to, as the Catechism teaches us, "guard and advance his neighbor's good name." Any curiosity that David & Jonathan had regarding Saul's intentions were settled when Saul's spear went hurling across the room towards Jonathan. Jonathan continued to put himself in danger by secretly messaging David that he needed to flee. Dig Deeper It's ironic that in this particular incident, Jonathan needed to lie in order to ultimately keep the 9th commandment to not bear false witness. Being truthful about David's whereabouts would have not only ended David's life, but would have put an end to the line that would ultimately lead to Christ. It would have been a greater betrayal of truth for Jonathan not to lie in this situation. But Jonathan is not the only righteous liar that helped usher in our redemption. When Pharaoh ordered the midwives to kill the Hebrew newborns, the midwives lied and said the Hebrew moms always gave birth before they arrived. Rahab lied to her fellow citizens about the Jewish spies she hid, which led to Jericho's defeat. The wise men didn't report the location of baby Jesus to murderous King Herod as they'd been ordered to do. Christian ethics are not always simple. Sometimes doing the right thing forces a person to do what would otherwise be considered the wrong thing. When you find yourself stuck between an ethical rock and a hard place, don't try to figure it out on your own. Spend much time in prayer, study God's Word, and lean on the wisdom of the Christian community God has placed you in. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, the King of kings and the Lord of lords; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for wisdom in dealing with complicated ethical situations; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - John 10

Romans 5:1-8 (NIV) 5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now from the end of v2 to the beginning of v6: You've been justified and therefore have peace with God (v1-2) Today: Matthew 24

Daniel 12:1-3 (NIV) CONTEXT: Daniel has been experiencing "a prophetic (and very selective) vision of But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. 2  Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   37: The Last Judgment (Part 1)

John 3:1-7 (NIV) Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2  He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come Today: 1 Thessalonians 2

Isaiah 45:1-7 (NIV) “This is what the LORD says to his anointed ( mā·šîaḥ ), to Cyrus, whose kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: 2   for the good of those who love the LORD, who have been called according to His purpose ( Romans 8:28

Revelation 1:4–8 (NIV) Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from Dig Deeper Our society generally has a favorable opinion of Jesus of Nazareth, the man who lived 2,000

God gives them two overarching commands: 1) Pray for their new city, which is what grabs our attention today, and 2) don't listen to the 'prophets' among them; these were the guys who presented God's will God's name in every way; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 2

God's ordinary means of grace ordinarily produce extraordinary people. 1 John 4:11-17 (NIV) 11  Dear Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 29: The Marks of the True Church Dig Deeper Article 29 of our Confession is well known for the three marks it gives for identifying the did in Paul's miraculous conversion), but ordinarily He works in ordinary ways (as He did in raising Timothy Today: Titus 1