We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)
Nothing. No amount of rules, resolutions, self help and discipline can fix our hearts, broken by sin and shame.
Except Immanuel.
We all walked away long ago, from the maker of our souls, the one who made us a garden of delights, who engraved our names upon the palm of his hands, who cares for us, and whom we forget again and again. We want to live the goodness we glimpse but like the Apostle Paul, we find it to be impossible:
I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:21-24)
Where is our hope? In a stable where“unto us a Son is given” (Isaiah 9:6) - and eventually on an altar where the Son lay down, drank the cup that paid for our iniquity in full, and cried “Tetelestai - It is finished!”Where our efforts failed, His succeeded!
“O Come O Come Emmanuel!”
Prayer Prompt: Dear Lord, thank you that Christmas reminds me that you came for the very purpose of taking away my guilt and my shame. Thank you for the price you paid to buy me back, so that I will never be alone. For every moment of my life, every crisis, every difficult pathway, even to the valley of the shadow of death, you promised to walk with me, and never to leave me. Thank you for being Immanuel, God with us!
Song of the Day: I am Not Alone, Kari Jobe
