Birth Announcement of John the Baptist

Luke 1:12-13 

¹² And Zechariah, visibly shaken when he saw the angel, was seized with fear. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son; you will name him John.

 Luke 1:80 

⁸⁰ And the child kept growing and becoming strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he was revealed to Israel.

Growing stronger

Is my spirit capable of gaining strength and growth?

Is this indispensable to mature in spiritual life?

How then can we measure ... how then will we know?

Is it by the fruit we bear ... the spiritual fruit of life?

How often don’t we sense that our spirit is not too strong?

Not strong enough it seems to control my body and my soul.

Is it not to wonder and hesitate or we really belong

in the hall of faith ... which is ultimately our goal?

When my soul is stimulated and my body is weak

and my stubborn will a hindrance to doing right.

Confused then I stumble on ... acting to see clearly

with undisciplined emotion doing the out of sight.

“When I am weak, then I am strong”, wrote the beloved apostle.

How does that fit in my life ... unless I grow in spirit?

So this is no excuse ... and not worth the hassle

unless I hunger for righteousness and do such in full merit.

Jan Wienen