Christian Reflection and Prayer

(Day 18 of Advent)

Scripture:

Read Isaiah 9:1-7. For to us a Child is born, to us
a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His
shoulder, and His Name shall be called Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of
Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

At the very beginning of the Old Testament, the Word
of God was there with the Father and Holy Spirit,
creating all things. As we have seen, all through the
history of the Old Testament God's promise to send
His Son was repeated and revealed ever more clearly
from generation to generation. Today we pause at one
last Old Testament promise before returning to John's
account of the first Christmas.

King Ahaz did not trust God's promise to deliver Judah
from Israel and Syria, but God was faithful. He handed
those two nations over to the dreaded Assyrian Empire.
The northern kingdom of Israel was hauled off into
captivity and dispersed throughout the Assyrian Empire.
It was a time of great anguish for believers who lived in
Israel.

But God speaks to these believers through His prophet
Isaiah. He singles out two of the northernmost tribes of
Israel-Zebulun and Naphtali-and promises, "The people
who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those
who dwell in a land of deep darkness, on them has light
shined. ... For to us a Child is born" (see Isaiah 9:1-7).

As we return to the Gospel of John, we note a young
virgin living in the northern region of Galilee in a town
called Nazareth. This virgin will miraculously conceive a
child and travel south to the city of David in the land of
Judah. And on a very special night the Virgin Mary will
give birth to her firstborn Son and lay Him in a manger.

THE PRAYER: 

Holy Father, thank You for sending Jesus and fulfilling
Your many promises throughout the Old Testament.
Give me faith that You will keep all Your other promises
as well. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

(Day 17 of Advent)

Scripture:

Read Isaiah 7:1-14.  The Lord Himself will give you
a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a
Son (see Isaiah 7:14).

By the Holy Spirit, King David was a strong man of
faith. Sadly, not all his descendants were. After David's
son Solomon turned from the Lord to worship the false
gods of his many wives, the Lord divided Israel into two
kingdoms. David's descendants ruled the smaller
kingdom called Judah. The other ten tribes formed the
northern kingdom called Israel.

More than a dozen generations after King David, a
descendant named Ahaz ruled Judah. But he found
himself threatened by an alliance of the kings of Israel
and Syria. Ahaz was terrified. God sent the prophet
Isaiah to calm the king and assure him the kings of
Israel and Syria would fail.

In order to strengthen his faith and confidence God
promised to perform any miracle Ahaz chose. But
unbelieving Ahaz dismissed God's offer, already
determined to seek help from another country. So
God Himself chose the sign. It was actually two signs:
the first would be the defeat of the two kings in the
time it took a woman to conceive, bear and wean a
child. Indeed, in that short time Ahaz watched the
kingdom of Assyria sweep through and conquer both
Israel and Syria.

But Ahaz did not live to see the second sign. It is
the one you and I celebrate every Christmas. By the
power of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary conceived
and bore a son-God's own Son Jesus Christ. He
delivered us from a calamity far greater than enemy
nations. Jesus conquered Satan, sin, death and hell
to give us perfect peace and joy forever.

THE PRAYER:

Holy Father, thank You for foretelling the miraculous
conception of Your Son Jesus of the Virgin Mary.
Give me confidence that because Jesus Christ is
both God and Man, He is our Lord and Savior. In J
esus' Name. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

(Day 16 of Advent)

Scripture:

Read 2 Samuel 7:1-16. 

I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall
come from your body, and I will establish his
kingdom (see 2 Samuel 7:12).

The greatest king over Israel in the Old Testament was
King David from the tribe of Judah. He loved and trusted
God. While still a young man he boldly went up against
the giant Goliath and defeated him with a sling. He
became leader of Israel's army and fought many wars
to protect the nation that had descended from Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob. Finally, after many years the enemies
were defeated with God's help, and Israel was at rest
from war.

That's when David sat in his palace and thought about
the Ark of the Covenant. At God's command, Moses built
this symbol of God's presence among His people. After
hundreds of years that Ark was still sitting in the tent
Moses had constructed for it. David proposed to build a
great temple, so the Ark could finally rest inside a
permanent structure.

But through the prophet Nathan, God told David he was
not the king to build a temple, a house for Him. Instead,
God promised to build a house for David-an eternal
kingdom. He promised to raise up one of David's offspring
to be an eternal King; this King would live and reign over
Israel forever and ever.

David recognized that prophecy. It was the same promise
God had given Adam and Eve, the same promise He had
given Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Judah. It said one of their
descendants would be the promised Savior, the Son of
God. We celebrate the fulfillment of that promise again this
Christmas season with the birth of Jesus Christ our King.

THE PRAYER: 

"O come, Thou Key of David, come, And open wide our
heav'nly home; Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery." Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)