Friday Morning Scripture (Wk51/2021) – Luke 1:26-38

Jesus’ Birth Foretold

26 Now in the sixth month [of Elizabeth’s pregnancy] the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,

27 to a virgin [1]betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

28 And coming to her, the angel said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”

29 But she was greatly perplexed at what he said, and kept carefully considering what kind of greeting this was.

30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

31 Listen carefully: you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.

32 He will be great and eminent and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;

33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob (Israel) forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.”

34 Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin and have no intimacy with any man?”

35 Then the angel replied to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you [like a cloud]; for that reason the holy (pure, sinless) Child shall be called the Son of God.

36 And listen, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.

37 For with God nothing [is or ever] shall be impossible.”

38 Then Mary said, “[3]Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel left her.

Luke 1:26-38 (AMP)

Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – 24.12.21 – Come And Adore Him

Like the kings who travelled following the star of David to find the Messiah. Or like the shepherds who were awoken by the angel announcing the birth of the Messiah, come and rush to be by my side in this season.

Bring your offerings and your worship to me today. Bring them to me and adore me. I am no longer a baby in a manger, but I am the risen and true King. Come and worship me.
In this season of giving gifts, remember me. I am the giver of life; I love to give good things. The gift I am looking for from you is the fullness of your life.

Don’t forget me, my beloved, in this season but come and adore me as I awaken a heart of worship within you.

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;

Psalm 95:6 (NIV)

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

Matthew 2:1-2 (NIV)

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Thursday Morning Scripture (Wk51/2021) – Psalm 150

A Psalm of Praise

1 Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty heavens.

2 Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to [the abundance of] His greatness.

3 Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre.

4 Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flute.

5 Praise Him with resounding cymbals; Praise Him with loud cymbals.

6 Let everything that has breath and every breath of life praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

Psalm 150:1-6 (AMP)

Thursday Morning Scripture (Wk51/2021) – Isaiah 7:10-16

The Child Immanuel

10 Then the Lord spoke again to [King] Ahaz, saying,

11 “Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God [one that will convince you that God has spoken and will keep His word]; make your request as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven.”

12 But Ahaz said, “[1]I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!”

13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too small a thing for you to try the patience of men, but will you try the patience of my God as well?

14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Listen carefully, the [2]virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will call his name Immanuel (God with us).

15 He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to refuse evil and choose good.

16 For before the child will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land (Canaan) whose two kings you dread will be deserted [both Ephraim and Aram].

Isaiah 7:10-16 (AMP)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 7:12 This was a misplaced sense of faithfulness on Ahaz’s part. It is wise not to ask God for a sign, unless He offers one as He did to Ahaz.
  2. Isaiah 7:14 This prophecy of the virgin is declared in Matt 1:22, 23 to be fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. There has been a great deal of discussion over the Hebrew word found here for virgin (almah) and the word that Matthew uses (parthenos). The latter refers unambiguously to a virgin, while the former (almah) has been said to refer to a young woman, in contrast to the Hebrew word bethulah, which is the equivalent of the Gr parthenos. It has also been noted that the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew OT, has parthenos here for almah, and that Matt 1:23 is taken from the Septuagint. Some have wondered why the Septuagint translators used the more specific word parthenos. It is fair to say that this question is the result of oversimplifying the vocabulary and misinterpreting the distinctions. The Hebrew words almahand bethulah can actually refer to the same kind of woman; almah is a youthful woman of marriageable age, one who has not yet had her first child, while bethulahis one who has not been touched in an intimate way. Furthermore, in the present context it would be unthinkable to infer that the woman might have had sexual relations outside of marriage. So the well-known translation of “young woman” for almah, while technically not incorrect, can be viewed as too ambiguous for the Hebrew word and the context. Parthenoswas an appropriate choice in the Greek. Another word, kore (for “girl”) could have been used, but it has a wider range of meaning than the Heb almah (Mark uses a related word, korasion, to translate Jesus’ Aramaic word talitha). It should also be acknowledged from a theological perspective that when Matthew cites the verse with parthenos, he thereby authenticates it as inspired.

Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – 23.12.21 – Live Generously

My people, I have brought you into places of abundance.  I have set before you a banquet of my goodness.  You have eaten of the plenty that has been available.  There has been richness for you to feast on – a richness of my word, of my goodness, and my life.  

Be careful not to gorged yourselves. Do not become over-sated like those at a Roman feast who ate until full then made themselves sick to eat more. You are so over-full that you barely receive from me before moving on to the next, eating indiscriminately of what is available without allowing time for digestion, greedily consuming all in your sight, without it impacting your life and without sharing. Like water flowing into an enclosed pool, it is not flowing as I have designed it to. My rivers of living water are designed to flow into you and out of you, a constantly renewing stream of fresh, life-giving flow. Don’t you know that I have blessed you for you to be a blessing to others? Be discerning and self-controlled about what you consume and when. Allow my words to take root in you, to become life, firstly to you and then to others.

Look around the world you live in. Can you see those that are starving, desperate for my goodness, for my life? Take of the plenty that you have feasted on and share it, life-giving bread for those not so abundantly blessed.

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

Matthew 10:8 (NIV)

And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Hebrews 13:16 (NIV)

This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God.

2 Corinthians 9:8-11 (MSG)

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Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – 22.12.21 – His Name Is Jesus

His name is above every other name; His name is beautiful, powerful, glorious, and majestic. At His name, every knee will bow, in heaven and on the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

How did He get this name? He humbled himself by becoming man, and while being fully God, did not consider equality with him something to be taken advantage of. Instead, He came as a servant in human likeness, and He lived a pure and spotless life, and when the time came, He took upon Himself the sin of the world by dying a death on the cross.

The story didn’t end there, three days, the tomb held Him there, but in victory, He came up out of the grave and took the seat at the right hand of God, where he sits to make intercession for us.  

He sits and makes way for us to draw near to God by His blood. By His name, we are saved, and it is this man we worship and adore, the Man Jesus whose name is sweeter than honey and whose name we celebrate for eternity.

Lift up a shout of praise and adoration to Jesus today, give Him thanks for all He has done. Wonderful God, Prince of Peace, Everlasting Father, we adore you today.

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:9-11 (NIV)

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

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Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – 21.12.21 – Praise Him

Praise Him, you heavens, praise Him all you people on the earth, praise His holy name. Praise Him in the morning; praise Him in the night. Praise Him in your joy and praise Him in your weeping. Praise Him in the valleys and praise Him on the mountaintops. The King of Glory is strong and mighty, glorious in beauty and splendour, abounding steadfast love. He is clothed in mystery and beauty. Praise Him! He is your strong tower and mighty refuge. He is your stand-beside, the faithful witness and a constant companion. Praise Him! Praise Him, for He lives to make intercession for us. He is the first and the last, the way and the truth. He is our bright and shining light. He is the firstborn from the dead and the one who stands victorious over the death. Praise Him because He is worthy of all our praise and adoration.

I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.

Psalm 7:17 (NIV)

I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

Psalm 9:1 (NIV)

I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among the throngs I will praise you.

Psalm 35:18 (NIV)

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Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – 20.12.21 – Servant of All

I am the servant of all. I am calling you to be like me to serve all. Come back to the important things, not your fame, personal glory or platform but to be like me—a servant. As I washed the feet of my disciples as an act of love and service to them, come and wash the feet of those you lead, come low in humility and serve. Find the true joy that serving brings, for I am awakening the servant hearts in my people.This is a season of going low to love and serve others. Ask me how you can love those around you at this time.

so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

John 13:4-5 (NIV)

As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

Luke 7:38 (NIV)

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