An Advent Prayer: The Sacrificial Tenderness of Jesus Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering. Isa. 53:1-4 (NIV) Dear Lord Jesus, your manger was a veritable garden of grace, for there the Father very planted you as the tender shoot of Isaiah’s vision. Hallelujah, you are root of life that has broken through the dry ground of our fallen world and hearts. I am truly in awe, this morning, at the sacrificial tenderness of your incarnation. You created beauty, yet you became the one with “no beauty,” for us. You took the vileness and ugliness of my sin, that I might become pure and beautiful in you. O holy merciful mystery. Though you have always enjoyed the delight of the Godhead, you became the despised one—the rejected one for us, for me. What wondrous love is this, indeed? You—the fountain of pleasures, whose laughter fills heaven, whose joy is our strength; you became the man of suffering and sorrows for us—for me. And though you didn’t remain a “tender shoot,” you have retained all tenderness. In taking up your cross, you took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows; you bore our guilt and exhausted our judgment—once and for all. What a wonderful, merciful, tender Savior you are. O to esteem and love you, as you deserve, Lord Jesus. May your tenderness grow in my heart and be real to my family. So very Amen I pray, in your beautiful and grace-full name. ~Scotty Smith VIEW COMMENTS A Prayer for the 4th Sunday of Advent Dec 21, 2014 | Scotty Smith When they [the Magi] saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. Matt. 2:10-11 (NIV) Dear Lord Jesus, whether magicians or kings, astrologers or otherwise: and whether there were three, seven, or twelve of them, it makes zero difference. The Magi were wise men, and they show us the way of true wisdom, because they lead us to the incarnation of Wisdom itself—to you Lord Jesus. It would take an eternity of eternities to begin to show you the worship you deserve for becoming wisdom from God for us—that is, “our righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30). Because of you, we are alive, forgiven, and free. Because of you we are welcome, wanted, and enjoyed by the three-times holy God of eternity. Though the Magi came to you, you are the real seeker in the story. Promises of your coming and an irrepressible calling; a providential star and a Spirit-generated joy—how we praise you for drawing men and women to yourself from every period of history, every family of humanity, and every segment of society. Come Herod or high water, those you’ve come to save will come to you, Lord Jesus. In this fourth week of Advent, we declare our awe of you and our love for you, Lord Jesus. Open the eyes of our hearts to behold even more of your beauty; expand the chambers of our hearts to make room even more of your grace and glory. Free us to be generous and joyful as the Magi. Free us to love as you love us; to forgive as you have forgiven us; and to pursue others as you so faithfully seek us. So very Amen we pray, in your trustworthy and worship-worthy name. ~Scotty Smith
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 14:45:10 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015