ISAIAH 7:14

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

TO PONDER

I remember as a kid how much anticipation went ahead of Christmas, the advent of Christmas morning was almost too much to bear, the thought of the presents in separate piles (a separate pile for each of the four kids) would drive my imagination months before.

I realised pretty early that a wishful list of hoped for presents demanded time to make sure what I asked for in the letter to Santa was actually what I really wanted and not something I would regret within a few days.

Today’s verse is part of the prophecy given by Isaiah about the coming Messiah, given about 700 years before the actual virgin birth but God’s advent-ure plan was announced all the way back in Genesis 3:15 in regards to the crucifixion and victorious resurrection of God’s planned Immanuel.

Ephesians 1:3-6 takes God’s advent plan back to even before there was a before, “Long before he laid down earth’s foundations” God already had a plan to restore us to himself through Jesus.

Reread the above paragraph, its not a typing mistake, before God created time, from eternity God had his grand advent-ure already planned. Before there was a before God planned to send Jesus so that we would be an us, his family via the virgin birth. 

PRAYER:  God with us, I thank you that your advent was planned from eternity, from before the creation told of in Genesis, from before the fall of humanity, from before Isaiah’s prophecy, from before the angel’s visit to Mary, from before the birth of our saviour. Your grand advent-ure was a sure thing from before there was a beginning, thought out, planned, expected and accomplished as an act of grace. Thank you, Amen.

Today's devotion written by Dany Brock, LifeWay Westside