12/15/2018 0 Comments Day 15 - Advent DevotionalRead: Isaiah 7:10-14,9:6-7, 53:1-12 Then the Lord spoke again to Ahaz: “Ask for a sign from the Lord your God — it can be as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven.” But Ahaz replied, “I will not ask. I will not test the Lord .” Isaiah said, “Listen, house of David! Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men? Will you also try the patience of my God? Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel. For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this. Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He didn’t have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at him, no appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; he was despised, and we didn’t value him. Yet he himself bore our sicknesses, and he carried our pains; but we in turn regarded him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds. We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished him for the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not open his mouth. He was taken away because of oppression and judgment; and who considered his fate? For he was cut off from the land of the living; he was struck because of my people’s rebellion. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, but he was with a rich man at his death, because he had done no violence and had not spoken deceitfully. Yet the Lord was pleased to crush him severely. When you make him a guilt offering, he will see his seed, he will prolong his days, and by his hand, the Lord ’s pleasure will be accomplished. After his anguish, he will see light and be satisfied. By his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many, and he will carry their iniquities. Therefore I will give him the many as a portion, and he will receive the mighty as spoil, because he willingly submitted to death, and was counted among the rebels; yet he bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels. Think:
Each of these passages is a prophesy foretelling of Jesus 700-years before He was even born (there are 20 in Isaiah alone)! How do you need Jesus right now as your “Immanuel” (God with us), Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, and Suffering Servant? Hope: What’s amazing about Jesus is that He both understands all of the struggles we go through (Isaiah 53) AND He is sufficient to meet every one of those needs (Philippians 4:19). When Jesus came to the Earth, He was the “Messiah” or “Savior” the world had been aching for. He is what your heart has been aching for. Pray: Jesus, thank you for humbling yourself enough to come to this Earth, to suffer for me, and to be the Savior that I’ve been searching for. Help me to turn to you when I am in need rather than things that won’t heal the ache. Apply: Volunteer for your church’s Christmas Eve service. Get your family involved!
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