This week’s devotions are based on the Week 3 “A Savior Born for You! (WATCH HERE)
First, a happy birthday to my mom Carol! We are blessed by you and you are a blessing to many! Happy birthday!
Special days call for special clothes. Perhaps some of you have purchased a special Christmas outfit to wear to church on Christmas Eve. Many couples find the Christmas/New Year time a season to also get married. A beautiful dress adorns the bride and a fancy tuxedo the groom. We want to look our best for these special occasions.
What will you wear the day you meet God face to face?
Ever thought of that?
To be honest, it doesn’t really cross my mind when getting up in the morning to ask, “Are these the clothes I want to be wearing if today is my last day on earth?” It’s kind of a morbid thought and who knows even if our earthly clothes have any transferability to heaven.
In fact our outward appearance is secondary to the inward condition of our heart. As the Lord told the prophet Samuel, (1 Samuel 16:7) “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
So what will the Lord see when he looks at your heart? At first reaction, there are lots of things I would wish he didn’t see. I wish he didn’t see my pride, my lust, my greed, my anger, my envy, my jealousy, and much more. I wish these sins didn’t clothe my heart, but rather he would see the opposite.
Here’s where the incredible gift of God’s grace steps in again. In the same words we considered yesterday from Isaiah 61, the Lord gives us another piece of clothing to wear: garments of salvation.
Isaiah 61:10 I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
These beautiful clothes pair nicely with the robes of righteousness. The robes of righteousness convey the perfection of Jesus with which we are covered by his grace. The garments of salvation are parallel in thought, but convey the right clothes to be wearing as we meet the Lord face to face. They are the clothes that guarantee our eternal life in heaven. They are the garments that deliver us from the consequence of our sin and gift us heaven for ever. They are the garments that were purchased, not with gold or silver, but with the precious blood of Jesus. They are the garments that are worn in heaven by the saints of God around the throne of God:
Revelation 7:14 And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
If you receive clothes for Christmas, receive them with thanks…even if they aren’t your favorite gift to receive. However, let these gifts of clothes remind you of two amazing clothing gifts that the Lord gives to you this Christmas…robes of righteousness and the garments of salvation. Enjoy wearing them every day…now and forever!
Apply: Enjoy the gifts of grace God gives you this Christmas!
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for the great gift of your Son who brought to me the robes of righteousness and the garments of salvation that I humbly get to wear every day! AMEN.
PS…Merry Christmas to you all! Devotions next week will be the Scriptures surrounding the birth of Jesus. Enjoy reflecting on them personally and with your family!