Prophetic



Prayer: Let our gladness have no end, alleluia!
       For to earth did Christ descend, alleluia!
       On this day God gave us, Christ,
       His Son, to save us
       Prophesied in days of old, alleluia!
       God has sent Him as foretold, alleluia!
       On this day God gave us,
       Christ, His Son, to save us

Read:  Isaiah 44:21–24
http://www.esvbible.org/Isaiah+44%3A21-24/

Think about It: Almost 700 years before Jesus is born, the prophet Isaiah wrote the words we share today for our devotion. They are words of great hope and promise. God has not forgotten the promises for redemption that He made to His people!
     As we enjoy the great birthday celebration of Jesus, we must keep Him connected to His purpose. He came to be the One who would “sweep away our offenses like a cloud.” The Father entices us with the words “Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.” We were lost in our sin, but now we are found.
     Redemption is an interesting concept. Today, we think of redemption in terms of coupons or gift cards. You hold in your hand a slip of paper that says “40% off!” and the price of your purchase is reduced by 40%! You did nothing to earn the coupon. It probably came to you freely in the mail or in a magazine. Now, you get a break on the price of your purchase. God holds us in His hand, but we are sin-filled and unworthy to be with Him. He sends His Son to complete the transaction that brings about our redemption. We are purchased back from the death we deserve because Jesus blood pays the price. The full price for our sin is swept away by the spilling of Jesus blood on our behalf. We are free to sing our praises and worship our holy God. That Isaiah would be given enough of an understanding of this concept that he could utter these prophetic words is a   miracle in and of itself. Taken in context, the passage is even richer. In the verses just before our reading, Isaiah expounds the ridiculousness of idolatry. Why would we worship anything that cannot redeem us from our frightening situation? To do so would be utter foolishness. (He uses a block of wood as his foil. We can replace that with almost anything else – money, sex, fame . . . name your own choice.)
     The Savior is born and with Him comes our full redemption. Why would we go in any other direction?

Prayer:  See, the loveliest blooming rose, alleluia!
       From the branch of Jesse grows, alleluia!
       On this day God gave us, Christ,
       His Son, to save us
       Into flesh is made the Word, alleluia!
       He, our refuge and our Lord, alleluia!
       On this day God gave us,
       Christ, His Son, to save us
Let Our Gladness Have No End . . . LSB 381 – Public Domain

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv
Read more

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl
Read more