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. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
—Isaiah 53:5-6
Christmas is a time of joyous celebration. But how often, when we celebrate Jesus’ birth, do we dwell on the reason He was born? If we did, the gift of His life would transform and mold us. God became personal when Jesus came into the world. Our Creator became the created. He became human for us. Born as an innocent child, He had no sin. He came into the world to take our sins upon Himself so we might forever have a deep and abiding relationship with Him.
The gift of His life at Calvary offers us a personal God, but our “yes” to His grace at work within us gives us a deep personal relationship with Him.
God placed upon Jesus Christ all of our sins, and Jesus took them to the cross for you and me. You can't get much more personal than that. He unconditionally surrendered himself. He gave His life so we might be forgiven, healed, and whole. We can't ignore such an offering of unconditional love. It calls for our response. We either accept God’s love or reject it. If we receive the love of Jesus and allow His grace to challenge and change us, we discover His love’s incredible depth, height, breadth, and length. If we reject Him, we refuse the greatest gift ever offered.
Do we allow Jesus just a little of ourselves and reserve our total surrender? We want to approach Him. We want to come boldly before Him in our time of need, but we have things we don’t want to surrender. Perhaps we want to hold on to something we know is wrong. We must permanently lay down those things God knows will affect our relationship with Him. Sometimes, we hold on to a relationship, a gift, or a calling. God asks us to lay down the importance of these gifts to realize that only our relationship with Him matters. Whatever we have in our lives, He asks us to lay everything down for His sake—just as He laid everything down for ours. Our relationships, gifts, and callings are not ours. When we surrender our lives to Him, we are empowered by His work in us and not by pride.
Jesus was pierced and crushed for our sins. He took our punishment so we could have the peace of an open and beautiful relationship with our Father. We are healed in spirit, soul, and body. If we say “yes” to Jesus’ love and surrender all the bad and the good to Him, we discover this personal God who loves and heals us unconditionally, empowers us with His Spirit, and uses us for His purpose. We find a personal God beyond human imagination—one who reveals Himself to us.
Are you lonely and afraid, hungering for God’s presence? Does dwelling on that sin or struggle bring deliverance? Does dwelling on your loss give you peace? What has your striving gotten you except anguish, stress, and more loss? Why are you afraid to surrender to the Lord who knows you thoroughly—who wants to restore and heal you? If you could give yourself peace, you would. But you can’t. Only Jesus gives you peace because He is the only One who brought peace. God knows you personally. He wants you to know Him deeply and personally. He wants you to know and experience the peace and joy of His abiding presence.
God has placed your sins, sickness, and needs upon His Son, Jesus, who has provided complete restoration and healing for you. You have no debt in Jesus, my friend. Surrender. Open the gift of His life and discover who He declares you to be in His Word. Surrender, and receive His truth. Don’t leave His gift and all its blessings to be unopened. Open His unconditional love for you now. You have a personal God who wants you to know Him as He knows you.
—Isaiah 53:5-6
Christmas is a time of joyous celebration. But how often, when we celebrate Jesus’ birth, do we dwell on the reason He was born? If we did, the gift of His life would transform and mold us. God became personal when Jesus came into the world. Our Creator became the created. He became human for us. Born as an innocent child, He had no sin. He came into the world to take our sins upon Himself so we might forever have a deep and abiding relationship with Him.
The gift of His life at Calvary offers us a personal God, but our “yes” to His grace at work within us gives us a deep personal relationship with Him.
God placed upon Jesus Christ all of our sins, and Jesus took them to the cross for you and me. You can't get much more personal than that. He unconditionally surrendered himself. He gave His life so we might be forgiven, healed, and whole. We can't ignore such an offering of unconditional love. It calls for our response. We either accept God’s love or reject it. If we receive the love of Jesus and allow His grace to challenge and change us, we discover His love’s incredible depth, height, breadth, and length. If we reject Him, we refuse the greatest gift ever offered.
Do we allow Jesus just a little of ourselves and reserve our total surrender? We want to approach Him. We want to come boldly before Him in our time of need, but we have things we don’t want to surrender. Perhaps we want to hold on to something we know is wrong. We must permanently lay down those things God knows will affect our relationship with Him. Sometimes, we hold on to a relationship, a gift, or a calling. God asks us to lay down the importance of these gifts to realize that only our relationship with Him matters. Whatever we have in our lives, He asks us to lay everything down for His sake—just as He laid everything down for ours. Our relationships, gifts, and callings are not ours. When we surrender our lives to Him, we are empowered by His work in us and not by pride.
Jesus was pierced and crushed for our sins. He took our punishment so we could have the peace of an open and beautiful relationship with our Father. We are healed in spirit, soul, and body. If we say “yes” to Jesus’ love and surrender all the bad and the good to Him, we discover this personal God who loves and heals us unconditionally, empowers us with His Spirit, and uses us for His purpose. We find a personal God beyond human imagination—one who reveals Himself to us.
Are you lonely and afraid, hungering for God’s presence? Does dwelling on that sin or struggle bring deliverance? Does dwelling on your loss give you peace? What has your striving gotten you except anguish, stress, and more loss? Why are you afraid to surrender to the Lord who knows you thoroughly—who wants to restore and heal you? If you could give yourself peace, you would. But you can’t. Only Jesus gives you peace because He is the only One who brought peace. God knows you personally. He wants you to know Him deeply and personally. He wants you to know and experience the peace and joy of His abiding presence.
God has placed your sins, sickness, and needs upon His Son, Jesus, who has provided complete restoration and healing for you. You have no debt in Jesus, my friend. Surrender. Open the gift of His life and discover who He declares you to be in His Word. Surrender, and receive His truth. Don’t leave His gift and all its blessings to be unopened. Open His unconditional love for you now. You have a personal God who wants you to know Him as He knows you.
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