Isaiah 66:7-13
Before she was in labor, she gave birth;
Before her pain came,
She delivered a male child.
8 Who has heard such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day?
Or shall a nation be born at once?
For as soon as Zion was in labor,
She gave birth to her children.
9 Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?” says the Lord. “Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?” says your God.
10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem,
And be glad with her, all you who love her;
Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her;
11 That you may feed and be satisfied
With the consolation of her bosom,
That you may drink deeply and be delighted
With the abundance of her glory.”
12 For thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river,
And the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream.
Then you shall feed;
On her sides shall you be carried,
And be dandled on her knees.
13 As one whom his mother comforts,
So I will comfort you;
And you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”
God chose Israel, even though they sometimes acted like other nations and worshipped false gods. They became so proud of themselves that they forgot about God. But God still found those who believed in Him alone and didn’t worship worthless idols. From that small group of people who loved Him above all, God would bring forth His righteousness and send His Redeemer King into the world. He will come to judge the unbelievers, but he will be the rock of salvation for all those who believe. God is the only one who controls the whole world, and it’s all His creation. We are a special people who trust our lives to Him, believing in the mercy and goodness of our Lord and Savior. God’s promises have been and will continue to be fulfilled in Jesus Christ alone!
John 14:13-18 13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. 15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
When we gather together and invite Him in, He’s right there with us. When we invite Him into our lives, no matter how messy they may be, He’s there…we just need to listen to that still, small voice of the Holy Spirit in us. Christ within is the hope of God’s glory in our lives.
1 Peter 2:4-8 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.” 7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.
Jesus is the chief cornerstone of God’s Kingdom and He will never leave nor forsake those who place their trust in Him alone. Carla
The reference to the Lord in 1 Peter 1:3 prompts Peter to discuss the relationship between Christ and the people of God. He draws on two Old Testament passages to emphasize Christ’s worth in God’s eyes despite the world’s rejection of Him (Psalms 118:22; Isaiah 28:16). Living stones describes the status of Christians in relation to Christ, the cornerstone of the temple in this metaphor. Believers function as building blocks in the spiritual house of God (the temple); they do this by virtue of their new life in Christ. Peter explains the transfer of priesthood language from Israel to the Church in a later verse. Peter reminds his audience of the priesthood’s ultimate purpose: to offer God praise and thanksgiving. Here Peter cites Isaiah 28:16 to emphasize the precious nature of Christ as the cornerstone of the spiritual temple.
The citation of Isaiah also serves as a reminder that believers will not ultimately experience shame, despite their present sufferings for honoring Christ. The Greek word used here for consigned, tithēmi, is also used in 1 Peter 2:6, and thus may be literally rendered as “set,” as in the setting of the stone in verse 6. This reveals that Peter’s point is not that some people are preordained to destruction, but that some will stumble over the “cornerstone,” Jesus.
The cornerstone is set firmly in place, so for those who do not acknowledge it, it is a stumbling block and thus offensive—it is viewed as being in the way of their perceived path. Faithlife Study Bible
Jesus, as a living stone, is superior to the Old Testament temple. It may also may be a subtle attack on the dead stone idols that the Gentiles worshiped prior to becoming Christians.
Thus Jesus is greater than the traditions received from the fathers, He is greater than the temple in Jerusalem, and He is greater than the traditions of the Gentiles with their lifeless stone idols. The new building of God, of which Jesus is the Cornerstone, is living: it is the assembly of all believers, the church.
Not to receive Christ is to reject Him.
Christians are part of God’s great spiritual building project. Stones here refers to stones that are shaped and ready for use in construction, as opposed to natural rock. Unlike the Old Testament priesthood, in which only those who were born into a certain tribe could be priests, all who are reborn into God’s family, that is, all believers, are priests who have the privilege and responsibility of offering spiritual sacrifices to God (Romans 12:1, 2; Hebrews 13:15, 16).
Jesus is the foundation stone from which the placement of all other living stones in the spiritual house is determined. In ancient buildings, the cornerstone was first situated on the foundation and then all of the other stones were aligned to it. Thus as part of the house of God, we need to keep our focus on our Cornerstone (Hebrews 12:2).
Those who trust in Jesus will never be embarrassed by making Him the focus of their lives. Rejected suggests that unbelievers, after examining Jesus to see if He meets their needs, declared Him to be useless or undesirable. Though He was not what they wanted, He is specifically the One whom God the Father has chosen to be the foundation of His eternal work. Unbelievers, because they do not follow God’s Word, find Jesus to be repugnant, an obstacle in their way and a cause for disapproval and anger. The NKJV Study Bible
Matthew 2:2 (ESV) "saying, 'Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. '"
Just as God sent a star to guide the wise men, He sent His own Son as the Light of the world to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). When we put our faith in Jesus, He forever rescues us from spiritual darkness, and His Spirit resides in our hearts as the Guide of our steps (Ephesians 3:16-17). We can be fully confident of Jesus' location today: He is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, where He prays for us and defends us against the enemy (Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1).
This Christmas Day, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, may we learn from the wise men to seek Him with our whole hearts, willingly go where He guides, and worship Him as the King of kings. First5
A Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all.
And gratitude to Sabbath Moment friend Michael Citrini, for our poem to carry with us this week.
“Real Presence
Making room for Jesus isn't easy;
Cleaning out stables of hatred is tough.
Forgiving mean innkeepers is trying;
Loving what's unlovable is rough.
We live in a world of division -
In our hearts, in our homes, in our minds;
Sometimes deaf to the insight and wisdom
To treat ourselves and our neighbors more kind.
Yet on a cold winter's night in Bethlehem,
Someone no one suspected would call -
Came into our world of confusion,
Modeling Peace, Love, and Justice for all.
So as we follow the stars on our journey -
Seeking salvation in faraway lands,
Let's remember the life-saving Presence
Made real in our hearts and our hands.”
Michael Citrini (excerpt from Sabbath Moments)
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