Psalms 34:18 ESV “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” I’m sure that many of us have experienced a situation in life that resulted in a broken heart. I recall one specific break-up in high school that left me with swollen eyes that could hardly…
The birth of Jesus began a new period known as Anno Domini (AD). English dates were once written as “In the Year of Our Lord.” The years before and after Christ, BC and AD, were recognized by all, even the nonreligious. Then, along came skeptic intellectuals who challenged the existence of Jesus. They decided that history could not justify this man as worthy of splitting time. Now Before Christ (BC) is known as Before Common Era (BCE) and after Christ is Common Era (CE). Their only concession to this change in the Gregorian calendar was that the split continues to be the year Jesus is thought to have been born.
What did the local scoffers say when the shepherds received the good news of the birth of a Savior? What did onlookers at the crucifixion say when the sun hid from the calamity? What will the ones who have denied Jesus say at the judgement?
For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. (Romans 14:11, Holy Bible, New King James)
All will acknowledge Jesus as the Savior, the divider of time.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, Your birth divided time. In the few years You lived on this earth, You brought hope to those of your generation. With Your death, You brought hope to all generations. Amen.
Devotion by Violet Carr Moore
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5, Holy Bible, King James Version)
How strange it must have been to hear the prophet Isaiah foretell of the death of the great Redeemer less than thirty years after the promise of His birth. Could it be possible that the anticipated Savior might have a similar short time on earth?
“A time to be born, and a time to die” (Ecclesiastes 3:2), the words of another Old Testament wise man says we each have a span of time. From the moment the angel announced the birth of the Savior to the shepherds until the day He was crucified, about the same number of years between the promised birth and death, Jesus accomplished all that was needed to change the future.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, in the short years You lived as a man on this earth, You brought hope to those of your generation. With Your death, You brought hope to all generations. Amen.
Devotion by Violet Carr Moore