A HUMBLE BIRTH

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”  (Luke 2:11)

Politicians compete for the highest offices. Business tycoons scramble for a bigger and bigger piece of the pie. Armies march and scientists study and philosophers philosophize and preachers preach and laborers sweat. But in that silent baby, lying in that humble manger, there pulses more potential power and wisdom and grace and aliveness than all the rest of us can imagine.

-- Brian D. McLaren


#4731

GOING BACK TO LOOK FORWARD

“For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”  (Isaiah 9:6-7 NKJV)

The Advent season is that time when we seek to, in a manner of speaking, mute our memory of what has already happened, that we might brighten our joy that it happened. We leave the already of His advent to taste the bitter of the not yet. We, in short, go back, that we might look forward to His coming. 

-- R. C. Sproul

#4729

SOMETHING ON THE HORIZON

“’The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah. In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line; He will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: ‘The LORD Our Righteous Savior.'”  (Jeremiah 33:14-16 NIV)

The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before ... What is possible is to not see it, to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you. And you begin to grasp what it was you missed, like Moses in the cleft of the rock, watching God’s [back] fade in the distance. So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running. For rushing. For worrying. For pushing. For now, stay. Wait. Something is on the horizon.

-- Jan L. Richardson

#4728

OH, COME, LET US ADORE HIM

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” says St. John in the prologue to his gospel (1:1). And what a mighty Word He is! Words communicate important information. In person Jesus came to reveal the true God to mankind: a God who is kind, wise, omnipotent, and who loves people.

When Satan outs himself, when he and his demons take possession of a human being, they abuse and destroy. Jesus’ humble presence in His little manger is a foretaste of His humility on the cross, the mighty work through which God’s wrath was diverted from us onto Himself, and through which God’s favor was diverted from Him onto us. By faith we can experience this amazing swap -- you give Christ all your sins and He gives you the Father’s forgiveness.

What can we say in response to this but glory be to God in the highest! What can we do but worship Him. Oh, come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

-- Adapted from “An Advent Playlist: Hymn-Based Devotions”


#4727

FAR AS THE CURSE IS FOUND

“No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found.”  (The third verse of “Joy to the World” by Isaac Watts)

The reversal of the curse is promised in the coming of the Messiah and the fulfillment of His atoning work. Implicit in this third verse is the promise of the new creation. We live in light of that promise, even as we look back to Bethlehem and as we celebrate Christmas.

But look carefully at the reference to the curse. Christ’s victory over sin is declared to extend “far as the curse is found.”…

He redeemed us from the curse by becoming a curse for us. The sinless Son of God became incarnate as the Word became flesh and dwelled among us. That sinless Son of God became sin for us, in order that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). He became a curse for us, by hanging on a tree, in fulfillment of Scripture…

How far does the gospel reach, and to what lengths must it be taken? Far as the curse is found. Go and preach. Go and tell. Teach the good news that Christ has redeemed us from the curse by becoming a curse for us.

Joy to the world! The Lord is come.

-- R. Albert Mohler, Jr.


#4726