Broken Chains: Psalm 102

 

Broken Chains: Psalm 102

 

 

"Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
So that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:
That He looked down from His holy height;
From heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
To hear the groans of the prisoners,
To set free those doomed to die,
That they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord,
And in Jerusalem His praise,
When peoples gather together,
And kingdoms, to worship the Lord.."
~Psalm 102:18-22

Christmas is one of the few times a year when people actually think about Jesus, more specifically in the context of His birth. Very few venture to think farther about what is was that Jesus actually came to do here on earth.

His birth was miraculous.

The very thought that the perfect Son of God humbled himself to be conformed to the likeness of his own creation is mind numbing.

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

Philippians 2:5-8

Ensnared by our own fleshly desires and spiritual rebellion, we, His creation, are prisoners, in the truest sense of the word. We have tied our own knots and bound our own chains in defiance before God; wretched before His sight, yet delighting in that sin because we know nothing else.

That is, until God sent His Son.

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light:
Those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.....
For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given;
And the government shall be upon his shoulders,
And his name shall be Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." ~Isaiah 9:2, 6

Emmanuel. Literally, in the Hebrew it means, "God with Us."

  God looked down upon His earth, upon His rebellious children, and....had grace upon them, upon us. He extended His mercy towards us and sent His Son. Through His sacrifice, the prisoners will be freed.

"But He was wounded for our transgression;
He was crushed for our iniquities;
Upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
And with His stripes we are healed.
We all like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned every one to his own way;
And the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all."
~Isaiah 53:5,6

"But if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’
And believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead,
You will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified,
And with the mouth one confesses and is saved."
~Romans 10:9,10

Through Christ Jesus, WE ARE FREE!!! No longer slaves to sin, but slaves to righteousness. Let this truth transform you.

"But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
 ~Romans 6:22,23

Perhaps the Holy Spirit is moving in your heart today, causing you to hate the life you are living and filling you with an intense desire for something more. That "more" is Christ Jesus.

That same Jesus who was born to a virgin, born in a stable, also is the one who bore your sin, my sin, all the sins of those who would come to faith in Him on the cross.

Never lose sight of this truth. As Christmas passes and life continues on, don’t let this truth become distant in your mind and in your heart.

Christian, you are called, kept and loved by your Savior. You are no longer a prisoner, like is says in Psalm 102. God had grace and mercy on you. Live a life that reflects that.

In this new year, remember who your King is. Remember who your Savior is.

With that awareness, it is a very merry Christmas, indeed.