{"id":11,"date":"2013-02-13T12:08:00","date_gmt":"2013-02-13T12:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/2013\/02\/13\/the-40-day-challenge-day-18\/"},"modified":"2013-03-07T16:50:04","modified_gmt":"2013-03-07T16:50:04","slug":"the-40-day-challenge-day-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/the-40-day-challenge-day-18\/","title":{"rendered":"The 40-Day Challenge: day 18"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

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\u201cSo they made signs to his father\u2014what he would have him called. And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, \u2018His name is John.\u2019 So they all marveled. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, \u2018What kind of child will this be?\u2019 And the hand of the Lord was with him.\u201d <\/i>(Luke 1:62-66)<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
It\u2019s interesting to note that the people asked Zacharias what the child\u2019s name would be; they did not believe Elizabeth\u2019s idea and did not accept her decision.<\/p>\n

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But the couple was determined to obey the voice of God.<\/p>\n

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At the beginning of the chapter, it says that they were righteous and lived in a blameless manner before God. Once again, the couple\u2019s righteousness and integrity have been confirmed.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSo they all marveled.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

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\u00a0Why did they marvel?<\/p>\n

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Because of their firm faith and decision.<\/p>\n

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When we are indecisive, we pass on indecision\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/span>\u2014 it’s inevitable.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

But when we trust and are subject to the order and discipline of God, we become grateful; we praise Him instead of complaining.<\/p>\n

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When he wrote down the name of the child, he began to speak: \u201cImmediately, his mouth was opened.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

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Zacharias could have said, \u201cI\u2019ve ben unable to speak for so long\u2026 At last, God has opened my mouth\u2026\u201d But instead of doing that, he praised God!<\/p>\n

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During the time he was unable to speak, he examined himself and thought carefully about what had happened; when he wrote down John\u2019s name, it was a sign that he had accepted what the angel told him.<\/p>\n

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Obedience is constant, unwavering.<\/p>\n

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The first thing he did was to open his mouth and praise God. Why?<\/p>\n

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Because he submitted to God\u2019s discipline and correction; not only did he accept but he also obeyed God\u2019s instructions.<\/p>\n

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When we obey God, we give Him the right to choose what is best for us.<\/p>\n

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To obey is to ignore our own will and submit to what is right, to what God is saying.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

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\u201c\u2026 and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

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Now there was nothing impeding him to speak and, consequently, praise God.<\/p>\n

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When we reap the fruit of our obedience to God, we praise Him spontaneously.<\/p>\n

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Zacharias and Elizabeth were not forced to obey; it happened naturally.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThen fear came on all who dwelt around them.\u201d<\/i> <\/p>\n

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When we obey, we learn our lesson and we allow God to guide our lives. As a result, people around us become fearful and amazed, because it\u2019s not something ordinary.<\/p>\n

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Obedience has to do with fear.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

When we decide to obey, we become radical, determined. We do everything to please God, even if this means displeasing others.<\/p>\n

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\u201c\u2026 and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

\u201cWhat were people talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n

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They were talking about Zacharias\u2019 inability to speak and the couple\u2019s determination to obey. Despite being unable to speak, Zacharias passed on the spirit of faith.<\/p>\n

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What about you?<\/p>\n

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What does you spirit say about your faith? Are you the kind of person who evangelises and saves others, or do lead others to destruction?<\/p>\n

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The fear of God brings answers.<\/p>\n

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No one could explain what was happening to that couple, but they could certainly see that they were different by the way they lived their lives.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAnd all those who heard them kept them in their hearts\u2026\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

Our faith makes us different.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

When we are determined and decisive, people around us admire us; they want to know our secret.<\/p>\n

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But pay attention: the secret is not to be confident about yourself only \u2014 even a proud person is confident about himself and refuses to change his mind. The secret is to live according to the Word of God and not according to your feelings; it is to be free from doubts and accusations because you care about pleasing God, and not people. <\/p>\n

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Herein lies the difference!<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n


<\/span><\/div>\n
Vivi Freitas<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cSo they made signs to his father\u2014what he would have him called. And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, \u2018His name is John.\u2019 So they all marveled. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-40-day-challenge"],"better_featured_image":null,"yoast_head":"\nThe 40-Day Challenge: day 18 - Viviane Freitas<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vivianefreitas.com\/en\/the-40-day-challenge-day-18\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The 40-Day Challenge: day 18 - Viviane Freitas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cSo they made signs to his father\u2014what he would have him called. 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