“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and
redeemed his people,” – Luke 1: 68
A cheerful visit from
a good friend is a wonderful thing. We all feel complemented when we
invite a house guest over, and they oblige. It brings a certain closeness to
have someone grace your home. However,
the visitation is always (or at least should be) proceed by an invitation, and
not every house guest is perfect.
Sometimes, not every house guest is welcome. However, that cheerful visit with a good
friend, is indeed a blessing.
The prophets
instructed the people that there would be a coming of the Messiah. For
hundreds of years the people waited for the coming. Waited in prayer, in worship and in
dedication. Waiting for the salvation of
Israel, waiting for the coming of the king.
Here at the birth of Christ, when Zacharias tongue was loosed after he
obeyed God, he was filled with the Holy Ghost.
He spoke by the Spirit, a truth that generations had been waiting to
hear, though many would reject. This truth was that the wait was over. The Messiah had come, and this Messiah was
Jesus Christ. God had visited and redeemed his people. The truth of this statement has echoed
through the ages and will continue too. Jesus has visited and redeemed his people.
He has brought liberty to the
captive and the opening of the prison
to them that are bound. Everyone,
everywhere, regardless of race, creed, color, social or economic stature can be
redeemed. They can be delivered form the power of darkness, set free from
the bondage of sin, and brought back into fellowship with Almighty God. This is all because Jesus visited and redeemed His people. He brought full salvation to mankind. We all are born with red in our ledger.
We have sin within that produces sin without.
This sin binds us and causes us to create bonds. Bonds of: pride, covetousness, malice, hate,
and envy. Shackles of jealousy, care and
worry. Bonds of addiction, of substance
abuse, of violence, of theft and lies.
The balance sheet is heavy with red, and we are in desperate need of a
Savoir. Not just a cancellation of the debt, but a liberation from the
reason we were there in the first place.
We need complete and total redemption.
Only a visitation from Jesus Christ will bring that pass. No one else can do what Jesus can do, only
Jesus Christ can save your soul; through the manifestation of the Holy Spirit
in your heart.
Jesus is the perfect
house guest, he will not come in uninvited, and he will not stay where he is
not welcome. He can and will forgive you of all your sin, if you
confess. He can and will send the Holy Ghost
to sanctify your heart, if you sacrifice. He is faithful and just to
forgive and cleanse from all unrighteousness,
but we must be willing. We must break
with the world, flesh, ourselves, and the devil; break and invite the Savior
in. Invite him to visit our hearts and abide. Then we can sing: ‘I’m redeemed by love
divine. Oh glory, glory, Christ is mine!” We can say with the Zacharias he has visited and redeemed his people.
