Verse of the Day 12/23
Matthew 1:21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." English Standard Version (ESV)
At Christmas we celebrate and sing about "our dear Savior's birth" (O Holy Night). Jesus came to earth because "God so loved the world" (John 3:16) and His purpose was to save us from our sins. He did so by His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead to show that He has the power to conquer death once and for all. He also came to intercede for us having experienced life in human form.
The wise men came to honor and worship Him and we celebrate that as part of the Christmas story. Many of us will be going to church over the next few days to celebrate and sing praises to Him not in our name, but in the name of Jesus. I read the following in a recent Grace Gems devotional the other day by Henry Law. Reading through it should help us to remember, to consider all that we can praise and worship Him for this Christmas and every day of our lives.
We come not in our own name, seeking Your compassionate grace. We bring the name of Your dear Son before You in the arms of our faith. In whatever we have robbed You of obedience, we offer His blood to pay the debt. Impute to our account:
His worthiness, for our unworthiness;
His sinlessness, for our sinfulness;
His purity, for our impurity;
His sincerity, for our deceit;
His truth, for our lies;
His meekness, for our pride;
His steadfastness, for our backslidings;
His love, for our enmity;
His fullness, for our emptiness;
His glory, for our shame;
His perfect obedience, for our incessant disobedience;
His beauty, for our deformity;
His devotedness to Your will, for our waywardness;
His holy life, for our unholy ways;
His perfect righteousness, for our manifold unrighteousnesses.
As you enter His courts with praise and thanksgiving in the next few days, whether it be in church or in your living room, may the attitude in our hearts be – " We bring the name of Your dear Son before You in the arms of our faith."
-- In Christ, Mike Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace. NIV
Matthew 1:18-25 English Standard Version (ESV)
The Birth of Jesus Christ
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ[a] took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed[b] to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel"
(which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
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