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Hear the devotional: https://anchor.fm/eradio-valverde/episodes/A-Birth-Like-No-Other-e1s7m3h
View on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@eradiovalverde/video/7176850537546091818?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1&lang=en
10 Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test.” 13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? 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. 15 He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, 16 for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. (Isaiah 7:10-16 New International Version of The Bible)
A happy and wonderful Wednesday to you, dear Reader. May the blessings of the Lord Jesus give you strength, joy, and peace. May we, in turn, share with others what God has blessed us with. May our prayers continue for the needs shared with us. Pray for another, pray for the Church, and pray for pastors.
We, as the Church, may be rapidly losing our connection to the divine and the sacred in order to remain relevant more to the world than God. We're entering the Christmas season, getting closer to the day when Jesus was born. We have been taught and studied that this was no ordinary birth and it was all about God acting in a supernatural way. Yet, we have reached the point of that old Sunday school joke of the first-time attender to a Sunday school. When she reported back to her parents about what she had learned, she said, "We studied a man named Moses who went up against a king and said he wanted his people set free and called in an air strike which took out the palace and then loaded his people into armed personnel carrers and led through a heavy battle, his people to safety." The ten plagues just don't connect to many nowadays. And, as we study a virgin getting pregnant and giving birth to a son, really doesn't connect to many either. This morning as I read this passage in a certain version, the word virgin was nowhere to be found; the new edition of this version changed to word to young woman. Some might argue that's closer to the original meaning, but it does take us away from the supernatural aspect of Jesus' birth. It lessens the "sign" that the prophet knew God would give to His people. A miraculous birth for a child who was to be named Immanuel, meaning "God with us." That is what Christmas is like. Come to think of it, we have an Apsotle's Creed which outlines the key points of our faith, and the birth, life, death, resurrection and eternal life of Jesus.
Advent means moving forward in faith, yet holding on to the tenets of faith that allowed us to get this far, and to help up face that which is yet to come. Advent means preparing to live lives that choose the right and reject the wrong; in other words, setting an example to others, especially those who do not know the Lord yet. Our example may be the "sermon" that converts themn to a new way of living, and the choosing to make a decision in favor of Jesus for their lives. And it all started with a supernatural birth brought about by a supernatural God!
PRAYER: God of life and peace, grant to us Your grace and peace to bless You and Yours. Guide us to faithfulness and fruitfulness. May the awe and childlike wonder keep us enjoying the mysteries of faith; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Be awed today by what God can do! And tell somebody about it!
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
