Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2020 17:29:36 GMT -5
No Glitz, Just Glory By: Xochitl Dixon
Click on this link for the audio message
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
Psalm 63:3
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Isaiah 53:1–9
Looking at the handmade Christmas ornaments my son, Xavier, crafted over the years and the annual mismatched baubles Grandma had sent him, I couldn’t figure out why I was not content with our decorations. I’d always valued the creativity and memories each ornament represented. So, why did the allure of the retail stores’ holiday displays tempt me to desire a tree adorned with perfectly matched bulbs, shimmering orbs, and satin ribbons?
As I began to turn away from our humble decor, I glimpsed a red, heart-shaped ornament with a simple phrase scripted on it—Jesus, My Savior. How could I have forgotten that my family and my hope in Christ are the reasons I love celebrating Christmas? Our simple tree looked nothing like the trees in the storefronts, but the love behind every decoration made it beautiful.
Like our modest tree, the Messiah didn’t meet the world’s expectations in any way (Isaiah 53:2). Jesus “was despised and rejected” (v. 3). Yet, in an amazing display of love, He still chose to be “pierced for our transgressions” (v. 5). He endured punishment, so we could enjoy peace (v. 5). Nothing is more beautiful than that.
With renewed gratitude for our imperfect decorations and our perfect Savior, I stopped longing for glitz and praised God for His glorious love. Sparkling adornments could never match the beauty of His sacrificial gift—Jesus.
Reflect & Pray
How can you make praising Jesus part of your Christmas celebration? What does His sacrifice on the cross mean to you?
Loving God, please help me see the beautiful love reflected through the magnitude of Your sacrifice.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The book of Isaiah was a vision given by God and recorded by the prophet Isaiah (1:1), whose name means “Yahweh is salvation.” Isaiah ministered in Judah during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (1:1) from about 740 to 680 bc. He appears to have lived in Jerusalem (7:1-3), was the son of Amoz (1:1), was married to a prophetess (8:3), and had two sons given symbolic names (7:3; 8:3). The central theme of the book is God, who does all things for His “own sake” (48:11). The heart of Isaiah’s message is God’s purpose of grace for sinners, as seen in our passage today and elsewhere. Alyson Kieda
Isaiah 53:1-9
King James Version
53 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
Click on this link for the audio message
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
Psalm 63:3
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Isaiah 53:1–9
Looking at the handmade Christmas ornaments my son, Xavier, crafted over the years and the annual mismatched baubles Grandma had sent him, I couldn’t figure out why I was not content with our decorations. I’d always valued the creativity and memories each ornament represented. So, why did the allure of the retail stores’ holiday displays tempt me to desire a tree adorned with perfectly matched bulbs, shimmering orbs, and satin ribbons?
As I began to turn away from our humble decor, I glimpsed a red, heart-shaped ornament with a simple phrase scripted on it—Jesus, My Savior. How could I have forgotten that my family and my hope in Christ are the reasons I love celebrating Christmas? Our simple tree looked nothing like the trees in the storefronts, but the love behind every decoration made it beautiful.
Like our modest tree, the Messiah didn’t meet the world’s expectations in any way (Isaiah 53:2). Jesus “was despised and rejected” (v. 3). Yet, in an amazing display of love, He still chose to be “pierced for our transgressions” (v. 5). He endured punishment, so we could enjoy peace (v. 5). Nothing is more beautiful than that.
With renewed gratitude for our imperfect decorations and our perfect Savior, I stopped longing for glitz and praised God for His glorious love. Sparkling adornments could never match the beauty of His sacrificial gift—Jesus.
Reflect & Pray
How can you make praising Jesus part of your Christmas celebration? What does His sacrifice on the cross mean to you?
Loving God, please help me see the beautiful love reflected through the magnitude of Your sacrifice.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The book of Isaiah was a vision given by God and recorded by the prophet Isaiah (1:1), whose name means “Yahweh is salvation.” Isaiah ministered in Judah during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (1:1) from about 740 to 680 bc. He appears to have lived in Jerusalem (7:1-3), was the son of Amoz (1:1), was married to a prophetess (8:3), and had two sons given symbolic names (7:3; 8:3). The central theme of the book is God, who does all things for His “own sake” (48:11). The heart of Isaiah’s message is God’s purpose of grace for sinners, as seen in our passage today and elsewhere. Alyson Kieda
Isaiah 53:1-9
King James Version
53 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.