Behold, a Child Born of a Virgin is Born of a Promise

Because we sin, we are in the shadow of death. We usually don't like to think about or deal with death at Christmas time. Bret Favre's dad, Irv, recently died as you are probably aware. I have heard some on TV say that this was especially sad because it happened just before Christmas. There was an episode of M*A*S*H where BJ Honeycutt decides to keep a mortally wounded soldier alive until just after midnight because "The children shouldn't think of Christmas as the day their father died." But we all know people who died at Christmas. My maternal grandmother died the day after Christmas and a cousin died a week after Christmas. The baby born in Bethlehem's stable came to die and he came to take away the sting of death. Because that baby came, death is no longer a feared subject, but we take comfort that that baby defeated death and our loved ones are now in eternal glory with Bethlehem's baby.

Because of sin the Law is now a yoke that burdens us. Jesus himself speaks of this yoke when he tells the Jews of his day, "You track down Gentiles then make them more a slave to the Law than you are." We strive to keep the Law to earn our salvation-all the while receiving no comfort and never knowing if our efforts are good enough. This burden of the Law also places blinders on us so that we have a myopic vision of ourselves and fail to see that others around us are also hurting and suffering from sin. Often we exclude them because they don't live up to standards we ourselves establish.

And this culminates in a battle. Satan battles us with temptations, we battle each other over minutiae as we each seek to find favor in God's eyes through our own efforts. Sometimes we battle God himself. I'm sure you've heard people say, "God can't really mean what he says in his Word." That sentiment was first spoken by Satan to Eve in Eden; he continues whispering that lie to each and every one of us. So, is there any hope? Can we find some light? Can we escape the shadow of death? Can this yoke be lifted from us and the battle won for us? Isaiah goes on to talk about the baby

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