Monday's SOAP - Isaiah 7:13-15

 ¹³ Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? ¹⁴ All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). ¹⁵ By the time this child is old enough to choose what is right and reject what is wrong, he will be eating yogurt and honey.

S(cripture) - All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).

O(bservation) - Going off on a tangent here for a second . . . The word in Hebrew for "virgin" is better translated "young woman." Skeptics have brought this forward to suggest that this was not a prophecy that supported the Gospel story or that because Matthew references it, Mary was not a virgin (and therefore Jesus was not God's son). First, the "magic word" is context. From Isaiah's perspective what kind of "sign" would have a young girl getting pregnant? That sounds pretty common. Like to understand the Hebrew (and Greek) behind the word for young maiden? Here's a link to an excellent site. Secondly, the context in Luke and Matthew is quite clear across the breath of both conception narratives. Here's a well done blog on this if you want to read more.

But the heart of this text is in the words "God is with us." Could the readers of Isaiah even conceive of what this really meant? Could they possibly understand God's great plan? Hey, after the fact, we still find it hard for our brains to wrap around! This week, we'll begin to explore the Truth that we cannot fully understand - that Jesus was fully God and fully man. And that he was uniquely God incarnate (God in the flesh) - no other sons of God - no way for mere humans to become divine. Jesus - God's ONE and ONLY BEGOTTEN SON.  This is the central tenant of the Christian faith. A Mystery. A Stumbling Block. I won't hesistate to state that this mere blog can not do this Truth justice (then again what mere words can describe the grandeur, awe, and beauty of Jesus Christ? How can words ever be enough to explain the Word (John 1:1-14)?  But one of the best books for any reader is Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola's Jesus Manifesto. As I have read this book, I've found myself immersed in worship of Jesus.

A(pplication) - I want moments this season to be immersed in worship. Yesterday at the Vine was one of those days. So was LIFEgroup. Now I sense it in my soul - in my quiet time - enough time to get alone, get still with God - to marvel at the incarnation.

If Jesus really is "the reason for the season," then He deserves more than a passing thought as I decorate (mostly Michelle!), buy presents, and bake cookies (mostly Becca!). The Advent Conspiracy has helped keep me on point, but if not careful, I can just as easily get caught up in "conspiring" and miss out on worshiping the Christ Child. Are you making time to worship - truly worship this season?

P(rayer) - Abba, I just sense a call to fall on my knees. My favorite carol is running through my thoughts. Chains shall he break. Chains shall he break. And in his name, all oppression shall cease. Maranatha. Come quickly, Lord. God be with us again.