Tuesday 7 December, 2021

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. Luke 1:26-38 26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” 34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.” 38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

These Scriptures foretell of the birth of Christ.  We know from these passages that it was to be a supernatural event in that a virgin would conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit.  We also learn that the virgin chosen, Mary was engaged to be married at the time and was favoured by God.  The name given to the child would be Immanuel meaning God with us which gives us an inkling that God himself would be living and breathing amongst mankind.

The book of Isaiah was written some 700 years before the birth of Jesus.  That’s a lot of warning about God’s intentions and plans!  God knew human beings needed rescuing from their sins and his answer was to send his son to live amongst us. I take heart in that God always had a plan in mind when it came to restoring our broken relationship with himself.  God’s sovereignty shines through these passages of Scripture.  As followers of Jesus, God also has a plan for each of our lives.  There are no accidents or making it up as you go along but like Mary we need to willingly and humbly agree to it.

Dear Lord, thank you for planning to send Jesus all along.  I also give thanks for the plan you have for my life.  Please help me understand and follow that plan.  Amen

Written by Ps. Ainslie Woods