“Repent, Then, And Turn To God”
“Now, fellow Israelites, I know that
you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what
he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer.
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times
of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has
been appointed for you—even Jesus. Heaven must receive him until the time comes
for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy
prophets. For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet
like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you.
Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their
people.’
“Indeed,
beginning with Samuel, all the prophets who have spoken have foretold these
days. And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your
fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will
be blessed.’ When God raised up his servant, he sent him first
to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”
Isaiah 42:1-4
Jesus could
have come to earth in power like a hurricane, but instead He came quietly and
slowly like the winter snow falling softly in the night outside our windows. He
was born in an unlikely place, a humble dwelling outside Bethlehem. And He
slept in the only bed available, a manger. Instead of being attended by royalty
and government officials, Jesus was welcomed by lowly shepherds. Instead of
having wealth, Jesus’s parents could only afford the inexpensive sacrifice of
two birds when they presented Him at the temple.
The unassuming
way Jesus entered the world was foreshadowed by the prophet Isaiah, who
prophesied the coming Savior would “not should or cry out, nor would He come in
power that might break a damaged reed or extinguish a struggling flame.
Instead, He came gently in order to draw us to Himself with His offer of peace
with God – a peace still available to anyone who believes the unexpected story
of a Savior born in a manger.
How silently, how silently the
wondrous gift is given.
Our Daily Bread – December 25, 2018