12/24/12. Luke 1:67-80. JESUS BRINGS SALVATION, LIGHT, AND PEACE-my devotional

Key Verse: 1:69                                                                                   Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF

“ He has raised up a hornof salvation for us in the house of his servant David”

 Dear Lord, thank you for this Christmas. Thank you for being that missing  piece that makes everything right. So many people are looking for the Christmas spirit. But the Christmas Spirit is the Holy Spirit. Anything short of a spiritual Christmas does not satisfy.  I pray that people in this nation will turn their hearts to Christ and taste the true joy that Jesus brings at this season. I pray for John. May he grow in faith this Christmas and be a great missionary to one “Stan” country. May he dwell in the love of God no matter what happens. Please help me to have one word of God in my heart today. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Part 1: Jesus, A Horn of Salvation (67-73).

Zechariah’s silence was broken with a song of praise to God. Look at verses 67-73, “ His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: ⁶⁸ “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. ⁶⁹ He has raised up a hornof salvation for us in the house of his servant David ⁷⁰ (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), ⁷¹ salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us—⁷² to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, ⁷³ the oath he swore to our father Abraham:”

Zechariah saw God, who had come to redeem his people. He sent his Son Jesus who is a mighty horn of salvation…who saves us from our enemies: sin, death, and the devil (A horn is a strong ruler: 2 Sa 22:3; Da 7:24; Rev 17:12). That is what we are celebrating this Christmas. We are celebrating the sending of Jesus in to this world to be our Savior. He came to rescue me from sin, death and the devil. He is recuing me from my lack of forgiveness, from grudge holding, from despair. When the circumstances of life make me feel like crawling into a corner to hide, Jesus saves me. He lets me see things with eyes of hope and freshness and newness. He lets me see the good in people, in situations and in myself. When I would have nothing meaningful and satisfying to think about that pour my heart into, Jesus gives me the gospel. His word is like an ocean for my soul to delve into. When I feel anxious I can take rest in the love and grace of Jesus.

Dark forces want to assail my heart and keep in the darkness of sin and of this world. They are strong rulers. But they are not stronger that the horn of salvation, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the strongest ruler, because he is the Creator God and he conquered the power of sin and death though his suffering, death and resurrection. Because of this Christ, who was born into this world, I can have hope and I can have a new life for he is my strong ruler. Jesus is not like some earthly ruler. He is a ruler who rules my heart with peace and love. Thank you Jesus Christ. May your light shine bright around the world.

Part 2: To Serve God Without Fear (74-75).

There is a great promise to all those who believe im Jesus. Verses 74-75 read, “to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear ⁷⁵ in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.”  Jesus rescues us from our spiritual enemies. Our greatest enemy is sin and death and all of the bad fruits that this brings. Our spiritual enemies plant fear in our hearts and stop us from serving God in holiness and righteousness before God all of our days. First of all, without Jesus we can not serve God in holiness. There is often some girl and guy associated with the preaching of the Gospel. We are more interested in the vacation opportunities than with the Gospel preaching. These are impure motives. But Jesus saves us from unholy motives and fills us with holy desires to please the Lord.

Jesus enables us to serve God without fear. We have so much fear stopping us from serving the Lord. There is fear of rejection. Fear of loss of health. Fear of failure. Fear of loosing ones family. Fear of not knowing what to do. If I go to the north there is fear of health problems, discomfort, and fear of being a victim of crime. There is so much fear trying to stop me from serving the Lord. But faith in Jesus takes away our fears. It is because Jesus is all powerful and all mighty. He cares about us is willing to be with us and come to our aid. Jesus takes away our fears when we hold onto faith.

It is possible for people to try to serve God without being righteous. This is like serving God while living in sin and in bitterness towards God. There are people like that. Jesus enables us to serve God in righteousness. This means that we can serve God while living in a right relationship with God. This righteousness comes from the Gospel. Jesus is our righteousness. Jesus makes us righteous. We can be “right” with God as we serve him only because Jesus makes us righteous.

“All our days”. When we have Jesus in our hearts, we have endurance. We can serve God all of our days. We can have a lifetime of serving the Lord. God has helped me to serve him now for 26 years. I could have another 50 years. I cannot keep going on my own. I can only go on God’s strength. And Jesus provides that strength to making service to God a lifetime event.

Part 3: Salvation, Light, And Peace (76-80).

Verses 76-80, “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, ⁷⁷ to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, ⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven ⁷⁹ to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” ⁸⁰ And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.”

John the Baptist was a prophet of the Most High who went before Jesus to prepare peoples’ hearts to receive Christ. God is still sending his servants on ahead to prepare peoples’ hearts to accept Jesus into their hearts.

In this passage we see the true meaning of Christmas. This is what the tiny baby in a manger accomplished for us. Jesus gives his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. He reveals the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven. His light shines on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death. His light guides our feet into the path of peace.

We all need this Christ. We all need his salvation. I would be so despaired and depressed and lonely if it were not for the gospel. I would have no way to get out of it. But Jesus guides my life and feet and heart. I pray that the light of God may guide the feet of the people in NW Ontario.

Prayer: Lord, I give you thanks and praise for you are my salvation, light, and peace. Let me serve you without fear in holiness and righteousness all my life. May Jesus’ salvation, light, and peace reach more and more people by your tender mercy.

One Word: Jesus is the reason for the season.