Pastor Mike Impact Ministries

In Luke 1:36-56 we find three people that are experiencing real genuine joy! It is interesting that today in America we are hearing from a political party promising to bring us joy. Everyone can rejoice and be happy, because they are going to give us financial prosperity, give us housing, bring down food prices and bring down violence and crime. My friend let me remind you that real joy will never...

In Luke 1:36-38, the angel Gabriel ended his message by giving Mary a word of encouragement. He told Mary that her aged relative Elizabeth was with child, proving that "with God nothing shall be impossible." God gave a similar word to Abraham when He announced the birth of Isaac (Genesis 18:14). That our God can do anything is the witness of many, including Job (Job 42:2), Jeremiah (Jer....

Mary asked the obvious question, "How shall this be” (v. 34). This is a question for us personally! To have Christ formed within us is to be blessed above all. But how can this be? It is not in us to figure it out intellectually and humanly speaking it is impossible. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Jesus gives the answer in John 3! “You must be born again” for the Son of God to...

We can only imagine what must have been going through Mary’s mind as she heard this message from the angel Gabriel. I’m convinced that Mary was a very intelligent young lady who was well versed in the Old Testament prophesies concerning the Messiah. I believe that Mary had a very good memory. In Luke 2:19, after the angels appeared to the shepherds and they visited the manger where the Christ Chil...

In Luke 1 we are looking at what is often called, “The Annunciation”. This is the announcement that the angel Gabriel made to the virgin Mary in the city of Nazareth that changed the world! First the angel told Mary she would have a miraculous and divine conception and give birth to a Son and would call His name JESUS. Yesterday we talked about how Jesus came to save us from our sins, from our sel...

Today we are looking at the greatest announcement ever given or heard by the human race! Can you imagine the excitement that was experienced by everyone in America, and the world for that matter, on May 8, 1945, when the radios and newspapers announced the news that Germany had surrender, and a few months later on September 2, 1945, when Japan surrendered bringing World War II to an end. Over 400,...

"A City of Galilee named Nazareth”   Luke 1:26-33 26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!&quot...

I believe this very first story that Luke shares with us in his Gospel is representative of so many of us. Zacharias has an amazing experience of an appearance of the angel Gabriel sent from the very presence of God to give him a very exciting message and yet he responds with fear, unbelief, and becomes speechless.   Luke tells us what wonderful people Zacharias and his wife were. He says in verse...

Yesterday we mentioned how that God speaks to His people and calls them while they are busy doing their daily task. Zacharias was busy at his appointed duty as a priest. In the previous verses we also read that he and his wife Elizabeth both were “righteous before God”. They were blessed with this testimony by being faithful to fulfill “commandments and ordinances of the Lord ” in every aspect of...

8 So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.   Dear friends, thank you so much for your prayers for Luke yesterday. The surgery went well. They found that a valve on the shunt was not functioning properly and were able to repair it. I thin...

Luke 1:1-5 1 Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that...

Luke 1:1-4 1 Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that...

The other morning, I woke up thinking about our pastor chats on the Gospel of Luke and how it presents us with the reality of Jesus. We live in a day of “Virtual Reality” and “AI”. Virtual Reality (VR) is a computer-generated environment with scenes and objects that appear to be real, making the user feel they are immersed in their surroundings. You are deceived into thinking something is real whe...

A couple of weeks ago as I was reading the Gospel of Luke, I felt impressed by the Lord to go through this wonderful Gospel on our Pastor Chats after we finished the Book of Joshua. It could also be that our grandson Luke has been on our hearts and minds over these past several weeks with his surgeries. He actually is named Michael Luke. And we still can’t thank you enough for your prayers for him...

We have finally arrived at the very last verses of the Book of Joshua. From this wonderful book we have learned that victory in the Christian life comes by faith, not by fighting, or by feelings. We were taught many lessons that reminded us that when we seek the LORD in His Word and prayer, and put Him first, He will make us prosperous and give us good success (Joshua 1:8). But we also saw that wh...

In Joshua 24, Joshua is about to die, and he is challenging the people to make a decision to serve the LORD and Him only. He proclaims that no matter what everyone else does, he and his house will serve the LORD (v. 15). The people responded by also saying, “We will serve the LORD; for He is our God” (v. 18). But Joshua knew it is easy for the people to say something and yet not really have the lo...

But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." Joshua is about to die and here in this last chapter he gives the people his farewell address!  In the first thirteen verses Joshua reminds the people and admonishes them never to forget the LORD’s blessings they have experienced in the past. He knows that a blessed people should be a grateful and thankful people and also motivate them to s...

Joshua 24 could be called Joshua’s farewell address! These are his final words to the nation just before he dies (Joshua 24:29). In chapter 23, Joshua called the leaders of the people together at either Shiloh where the tabernacle was set up, or at Ephraim the home of his inheritance.   In Joshua 24, Joshua gathers all the tribes of Israel and leaders to come to Shechem and present themselves befo...

The book of Joshua teaches us that we can experience victory in our lives every day by faith in the LORD! “And this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith…” (1 John 5:4-5). In this last chapter Joshua reminds the people and admonishes them never to forget the LORD’s blessings they have experienced in the past. A blessed people should be a grateful and thankful people.  Paul warns...

"God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good." Jesus said in Mark 10:18, “…No one is good but One, that is, God.” God is always good because the very nature, attribute, and characteristic of God is that He is good. He is a good God!!!! And that is what we see in Joshua 23 as Joshua gives his last words to the nation of Israel after they conquered the “good land”, the “Promise...

15 Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all the good things have come upon you which the LORD your God promised you, so the LORD will bring upon you all harmful things, until He has destroyed you from this good land which the LORD your God has given you. 16 When you have transgressed the covenant of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed down...

Thank you so much for your prayer for Luke! He went through a very complicated surgery yesterday. They actually placed two shunts in his brain, with two tubes running down to his stomach to drain the excessive brain fluid. The surgeons believe it was successful, and we were able to spend some time with him afterwards and he appeared to be doing fine. It was obvious that he was experiencing pain fr...

Again, I would like to ask for special prayer this morning for my grandson Luke. He will be going back into surgery around 7:15am to replace the shunts and tubing that were taken out because of an infection. He has been in the PICU at Roanoke Memorial for a couple weeks now since that surgery. We have lost count, but I think this is about the 16th or 17th surgery on his little brain to relieve the...

In Joshua 22, the conquest of the Promise Land by the twelve tribes of Israel is complete. The battles have been fought and won. The inheritance of the land has been successfully distributed to all the tribes. It is at this point, after seven years of battles, that Joshua gives an honorable discharge to the two tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh (v. 1). Now they can return to...

In Joshua 22:21-29, the two and a half tribes that had chosen their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan were confronted by the ten tribes because of the great altar they built. These borderline tribes answered the accusations against them by making excuses and blaming God and others for their bad choices and sins. Notice the first things they did was invoke the name of the Lord six times as...