December 26th
Amazing!
By Riqui Ricón*
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant
depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the
face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and
the glory of thy people Israel. (Luke 2.29-32).
This is the prayer
that Simeon made when, moved by the Holy Spirit, saw Jesus in the temple the
day his parents took him to present him before the Lord, according to what is
written in the law. Which is the Salvation that Simeon saw with his eyes? How
big is this salvation that he was able to declare, without doubting, that he
was ready to die and he said his goodbyes in peace?
To answer these questions
let’s pay attention to what Jesus said in his first sermon in Nazareth:
The Spirit of the Lord God is
upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings
unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of
the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in
Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the
garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees
of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
(Isaiah 61.1-3).
Jesus was sent by God
to bring you good news, cheering you if you are downhearted, picking you up if
you have fallen, He has come to heal your heart, make you completely free, free
of fear and death, from diseases, from poverty, from bitterness, loneliness,
sadness and depression.
For the law of the Spirit of life in
Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8.2).
Jesus came to comfort
you and to command, with His Word, that glory instead of ashes, oil instead
of mourning, a cloth of joy instead of the anguished spirit is given to you,
for why you now are called just and you are property of the Lord.
I will greatly rejoice in
the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with
the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself
with her jewels. (Isa 61.10).
Simeon rejoiced in
what his eyes saw. However, how could God fulfill His promise with people that,
despite the often, wonderful, manifestations of His Love and Fidelity towards
them, for more than a thousand years had shown they were stubborn, proud and of
a hard heart?
Remember ye not the former things,
neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it
shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the
wilderness, and rivers in the desert…This people have I formed for myself; they
shall shew forth my praise… I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy
transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. (Isa
43.18-19, 21, 25).
God is not interested
in your sins, or in your continuous failures. He is interested in you! Isn’t
the Love God feels for you amazing?
For as the earth bringeth forth her
bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth;
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth
before all the nations. (Isa 61.11).
Just as earth
produces its own branch, God determined to make of you a completely New
creature through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he
is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become
new. (2 Co 5.17).
This is the most
amazing and wonderful news of the Plan of Redemption that God thought up for
you: by the faith in Jesus Christ, for believing and receiving the Love that
God feels for you (who preferred to give up His own Son before losing you), you
no longer are the same person you were before.
The most beautiful
miracle is this, that through God’s Word, because God has said it, you are now
a Child of God, Born Again.
See how very much our heavenly Father
loves us, for he allows us to be called his children—think of it—and we
really are! But since most people don’t know God, naturally they
don’t understand that we are his children. (1 John 3.1 TLB).
Believe it my loved
one! Thanks to God’s Word, you no longer are the same sinner person you were
before!
Being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for
ever. (1 P 1.23).
It is written! God
has said it and it is the Truth. It doesn’t depend on what you have done or can
do but in what Jesus did for you and what God has established, in His Word,
about you: that you are saved; you are healthy; that in all things you will
come out more than a conqueror, for you can do all in Jesus Christ; that when
facing problems you will have peace and be joyful, for you are a Child of God.
Amazing!
Let’s pray out loud:
Dear heavenly Father,
it really is amazing that, despite of how I was, You love me so much that you
have justified me, forgiven me, sanctified me to give me Eternal Life and make
me part of Your family. Lord Jesus, only with my love and eternal gratitude I
will be able to pay what you did for me. I am determined to believe and receive
this great Love to live in Your Plentitude, from which all Your Children drink.
I will not give fear or doubt a place and I will make Your Word, the Bible, the
maximum norm of my existence. I am what You, Almighty God, say I am, no more, no
less. I am healthy! I am prosperous! I am a Child of God! I am happy! Thank you
Father! I bless Your Name and declare that the best of my life already started.
I Jesus’ name. Amen.
Note of
importance:
How do I become a
Child of God? How do I establish my relationship with the Almighty?
Simply say this
prayer, placing all of your attention and heart into what you’re saying to God:
Lord Jesus, I believe
that you are the Son of God. That you came to this world from the Virgin Mary
to pay for all of my sins, and I have been a sinner. This is why today I tell
you, I accept. I accept your sacrifice on the cross! Yes, I accept Your
precious Blood, spilled to the very last drop, out of love for me! I open my
heart to you and invite you in, because I want you, oh Lord Jesus, to be my one
and only Savior, my God, my King, my Lord. Thank you, God Almighty, for with
this simple prayer and declaration of faith I have come from death to Life, I
have been displaced from the shadows and into Your marvelous Light. Today I
have been Reborn! God I am now Your Child! You are now my Father! I will never
again be alone! Never again will I live defeated. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Ricardo C. Peredo
Jaime © 2012
Reading and
Meditating on God’s Word.
Do these daily
readings and by the end of one year you will have read all the Bible.
December
26 Luke 2.21-52 /
Ez 38-39 / Isa 61
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