Isaiah 64: 1 – 4
Oh, that you would rip open the heavens and come down. Mountains then would quake because of your presence. As fire ignites stubble and as fire makes water boil, make your name known to your adversaries. Then nations would quake in your presence. You did amazing things that we did not expect. You came down. Mountains quaked because of your presence. From ancient times no one has heard. No ear has understood.
No eye has seen any god except you, who goes into action for the one who waits for him.
Dear Heavenly Father,
When Your Son, Jesus, was baptized, heaven was ripped open; He linked Himself to our sins. Then Jesus lived a life of perfection for us and went to the cross to defeat the sins that divide all people from You. Our sins made us Your enemies.
You are a Holy, perfect God; no sinful being can survive in Your presence. So Jesus willingly became part of the creation—He made with you—so that Your just anger would be leveled against Him. He came veiled in human flesh because, as Isaiah wrote, even the mountains shake at your presence. When Jesus came to earth, he did something no one expected: he gave up all the glory of heaven to become Your servant to take our punishment into himself. By human wisdom, it does not make sense why He would endure the punishment that was for us, but Your perfect love for us is beyond what we can understand.
For all who reject You and Your word, they reject not only You but also Your love and mercy. So, we ask that you strengthen our faith to hold on to our Savior. For the Old Testament believers, their faith was in a Savior who would come; for us, it is trusting in the One who has come. Jesus—true God and man—came to this earth to save us. So that all who believe in Him will not perish in Hell but have eternal life and salvation.
We ask that you allow us to share the good news of forgiveness with those who do not know you so that they, too, will have eternal life and salvation because heaven was ripped open for all to believe. Amen.
Written through Pastor Roger Emmons
God’s love is astounding: He went into action by coming to earth to restore us to Himself by suffering and dying on the cross for you—so that you will have eternal life.