Read Luke 1:64-75. TEXT: And immediately his (Zechariah's) mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God (Luke 1:64).

The long months of silence are over. Without a word, Zechariah has had to watch everything transpire-especially those wondrous three months when Mary came to visit with the promised Christ growing in her womb. Now the silence is over. The last time Zechariah spoke, words of unbelief came from his lips. Now they are words of profound praise to God-inspired by the Holy Spirit Himself.

Zechariah chiefly says two things about the Child of Mary-the Christmas Child. He has been raised up as a horn of salvation for us from our enemies. In the Old Testament the horn was a symbol of strength and power. God has raised up Jesus to be our strength and power. He saves us from great and terrible enemies: Satan, sin, death and hell.

Secondly, having been saved from these fearful enemies, we are now able to serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness all our days.

That means because of Jesus' coming at Christmas we can live without fear. No more do we have to worry about upsetting God or receiving His wrath because we didn't do something exactly right. Freed from our fear of God and confident in His provision for our needs on earth, we are free to focus on other people-and how we can serve them. And we can serve them best by sharing the freedom and fearlessness Christ has brought us.

THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, in Your Son, Jesus Christ, You have liberated us from the fear of life, death and hell itself. Enable me now to serve You with joy and share the salvation story of my Lord Jesus Christ. In His Name I pray. Amen.

Today's Bible Readings: Esther 3-5    Revelation 12

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