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“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
    for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
    in the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
    whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

— Luke 1:76-80

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And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
    for he has visited and redeemed his people
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
that we should be saved from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us;
to show the mercy promised to our fathers
    and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.”

— Luke 1:67-75

Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.

— Luke 1:57-66

“He has helped his servant Israel,
    in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
    to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

And Mary remained with [Elizabeth] about three months and returned to her home.

— Luke 1:54-56

There’s virtually no piece of writing that can’t be improved upon by shortening it.

If you’re going to have words, you might as well use them effectively.

“And his mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
    and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
    and the rich he has sent away empty.”

— Luke 1:50-53

This morning, I was all prepared to be interviewed by Kurt and Kate on Moody Radio Florida about my book Victorious. The segment would start at 7:10 Eastern. I had done this kind of thing scores of times with MRF, and I know my book backwards and forwards, and so what could go wrong?

Unfortunately, a lot! Somehow I got my time zones mixed up (perhaps I’m dyslexic with time?), and I thought 7:10 Eastern was the same as 8:10 Central (where I live and move and have my being). Up at 6:00, I assumed I’d have plenty of time to take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast with Christine, and saunter over to the computer, mic, and headphones on my desk.

But as I began my bathroom routine, I heard a knock at the door. It was Christine. Suddenly I realized that 7:10 Eastern is the same as 6:10–not 8:10–Central! I had messed up big time and hurried over to the computer, throwing my robe on over my underwear.

I got ahold of my friend, producer John Blok, and it was agreed that the interview would start at the bottom of the hour. I hated to miss any time with Kurt and Kate, but it was my own fault. They graciously accepted my apology and the show went on.

With all the sudden stress and commotion, I’m not sure I gave my best interview, but I’m trusting that the Lord will bless what I said out of his love and graciousness.

I’m also thankful that the interview was on radio, not television!

Here’s a link to the audio:

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
    For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name.”

— Luke 1:46-49