Today's Reading: Hebrews 1:1-12

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 58:1-59:3, 14-21; Luke 1:26-38

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, (Hebrews 1:3)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A blessed and joy filled Christmas to all the Saints of God!  The glory of God is in the manger wrapped in swaddling clothes.  He is the perfection of God in the flesh.  The baby in the manger is the creator of all things and in Him all things came into existence.  Our God has come to us in the flesh to redeem flesh by flesh.  The author of Hebrews delivers to us the message of satisfaction.  Jesus is the satisfaction for the sins of the world.  He is the Holy, unblemished, first-born sacrifice for all the sins of the world.

Christ Jesus will make purification for our sins. Sin which we have inherited from Adam brought death and condemnation into the world.  No longer is the world deemed “good” as God declared it in the first two chapters of Genesis.  In sin, death was brought into the world.  The desires of Adam and Even were to be like God.  They bought into the lie of Satan and ate the forbidden fruit.  The consequences of their selfishness were that mankind would be condemned to eternal damnation.  Nothing that we could ever do would make it right.  We could not and can not make satisfaction for our sin.  We are no longer pure.  We are no longer Holy as God created us.  We needed to be restored from outside of ourselves.

It was at just the right time that Jesus came into this world to make satisfaction for our sins.  Jesus’ fulfillment of all the requirements of the law brought our purification.  He lived the perfect life that we can not live.  He died the perfect sacrificial death that was the purification of our sins.  He conquered the grave so that we may have life eternal.  He restores the dead creation to life by His life.  Now we wait.  Just as the first Christmas came in long expectation we wait for the return of Christ.  Christmas is more than just about looking back but it is also about looking forward to the return of Christ on the last day when He will raise our lowly immortal bodies to immortality. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

The infant Priest was holy born  For us unholy and forlorn; From fleshly temple forth came He, Anointed from eternity. (LSB 624-The Infant Priest was Holy Born stz 1)

-Pastor Timothy Paul Davis is Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church  in Athens Georgia.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.