Advent Devotional – Week 3
December 5 – Arguing about Christ’s Return
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. —1 THESSALONIANS 4:16
The believing Christian should be living in joyful anticipation of the return of Jesus Christ, and that is such an important segment of truth that the devil has always been geared up to fight it and ridicule it. In fact, one of his big successes is being able to get people to argue and get mad about the details of the Second Coming—rather than looking and waiting for it. Suppose a man has been overseas two or three years, away from his family. Suddenly, a cable arrives for the family with the message: “My work completed here; I will be home today.” After some hours he arrives at the front door with his bags. But in the house the family members are in turmoil. There has been a great argument as to whether he would arrive in the afternoon or evening and what transportation he would be using. So, no one is actually watching for his arrival. You may say, “That is only an illustration.” But what is the situation in the various segments of the Christian community? They are fighting with one another and glaring at each other. They are debating whether He is coming and how He is coming. That is the work of the devil—to make Christian people argue about the details of His coming so they forget the most important thing!
Lord, forgive Your church for arguing needlessly over details of Your return. May we in unity look forward to that glorious day and encourage one another in good deeds until then. Amen.
A. W. Tozer on the Son of God (p. 376). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.
December 6 – What We Shall Be
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son. ROMANS 8:29
We must take a high view of what God has done for us in consummating the plan of salvation for a lost race! The supreme work of Christ in redemption is not just to save us from hell, but to restore us to Godlikeness again. Paul has confirmed this in Romans 8:29, “Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son.” While perfect restoration to the divine image awaits the day of Christ’s appearing, the work of restoration is going on now. There is a slow but steady transmutation of the base metal of human nature into the gold of Godlikeness effected by the faith-filled gaze of the soul at the glory of God—the face of Jesus Christ! We have already moved from what we were to what we are, and we are now moving toward what we shall be. To become like God is and must be the supreme goal of all moral creatures!
Lord, there are days when I feel I am losing ground in my spiritual growth. Help me today to move closer to the image of God’s Son. Amen.
A. W. Tozer on the Son of God (p. 377). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.
December 7 – The Hope We Have
We have this hope as an anchor for our soul. Firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. HEBREWS 6:19
Hope is the music, the drift and direction of the whole Bible. It sets the heartbeat and atmosphere of the Bible, meaning as it does desirable expectation and pleasurable anticipation! Human hopes will fail and throw us down. But the Christian’s hope is alive. The old English word “lively” meant what the word “living” means now; the word coming from God Himself for it is the strongest word in the Bible for life. It is the word used of God Himself when it says He is the Living God. So it is that God takes a Christian’s hope and touches it with Himself and imparts His own “livingness” to the hope of the believer. The true Christian hope is a valid hope! We have been born of God. There has been a new creation. No emptiness there, no vanity, no dreams that can’t come true. We have no great place of beauty in this world—Taj Mahal, Buckingham Palace, or the White House—that can compare with the glory that belongs to the true child of God who has known the major miracle, who has been changed by an inward operation of supernatural grace unto an inheritance, a living hope! Your expectation should rise and you should challenge God, and begin to dream high dreams of faith and spiritual anticipation. Remember, you cannot out-hope the living God!
Heavenly Father, thank You for the hope You have given me in Christ! I praise You that with His coming, I may be confident of the good work You are doing in this world and that You will complete it someday. Amen.
A. W. Tozer on the Son of God (p. 378). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.
December 8 – Take the Right Stance
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God. —1 THESSALONIANS 4:16
We may take one of only two stances in regard to this prophetic “unveiling”—this portraying of the future return of Jesus Christ to this earth, to this world that once rejected Him as Messiah and crucified Him at Calvary. We may ignore it, in effect despising it and jeering at the prospect of a future divine intervention affecting the entire world. Or we may embrace it, cheering for the promised victory of a righteous Ruler, the coming King of kings. Those who ignore Revelation take their place with the many who believe a humanistic view of life is sufficient: that men and women are responsible captains of their own souls. They take their place with the defiant multitude who shout the age-old refrain: “We will not have this Man to rule over us!” Those who take Revelation seriously are convinced of an actual heavenly realm as real as the world we now inhabit. They are persuaded that the day of consummation nears when “the kingdoms of the world” become “the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ,” who “shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:15).
King Jesus, grant that I would take seriously Your second coming and look forward to it with eager anticipation. Amen.
A. W. Tozer on the Son of God (p. 379). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.
December 9 – True Man
This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. —1 JOHN 4:2
Certain religious teachers in apostolic times refused to believe that Jesus was actually God come in the flesh. They were willing to exhaust the language of unctuous flattery to describe His glorious manhood, but they would have none of His deity. Their basic philosophy forbade them to believe that there could ever be a union of God and human flesh. Matter, they said, is essentially evil. God, who is impeccably holy, could never allow Himself contact with evil. Human flesh is matter; therefore, God is not come in the flesh. Certainly it would not be difficult to refute this negative teaching. One would only need to demonstrate the error of the major premise, the essential sinfulness of matter, and the whole thing would collapse. But that would be to match reason against reason and take the mystery of godliness out of the realm of faith and make of it merely another religious philosophy. Then we would have rationalism with a thin Christian veneer. How long before the veneer wore off and we had only rationalism? There is nothing unreasonable about the Christian message, but its appeal is not primarily to reason. At a specific time in a certain place God became flesh, but the transcendence of Christ over the human conscience is not historic; it is intimate, direct, and personal.
Father God, thank You for sending Your Son to become human, so that I might be saved. I pray today that I would be full of faith, trusting Your Word rather than my own logic, and thus grow closer to Your Son. Amen.
A. W. Tozer on the Son of God (p. 380). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.
December 10 – Blue Grass Testimony – Darla Grossman
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – “Be joyful always; pray continually: give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
It has been a difficult year…. a planned hip replacement, followed by a fall breaking my new hip and a vertebral compression fracture. Multiple complications and procedures followed, including panic attacks and depression.
Thank the Lord for good and caring medical professionals.
As true for everyone, life doesn’t always happen as we think it should. Death, illness, disappointment, and despair are all all part of this life on earth. Thank the Lord that we have some instructions and help from the Lord to make through our difficulties.
Paul calls for us to be dependent upon God for our joy. We need not despair over problems, but acknowledge them with thanksgiving. This is not easy to do, but is a choice we make with our mind, and not emotions. May we all have joy and thankfulness in this Advent season.
December 11 – Blue Grass Testimony – LouAnn Shoaff
Psalm 23:5 – You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.
Recently, our small group finished a study by Louie Giglio titled “Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table.” At our last session a question was asked, “What is the best meal you have ever eaten?” I immediately remembered March 16, 2020.
Covid was ramping up and states were shutting down rapidly. At that time, we were in Hilton Head, SC vacationing but we quickly decided that all we wanted to do was to get to our warm Indiana home. We frequently visit Hilton Head in the spring and never do the trip in one day, but this day we were determined to make the entire drive to Evansville.
The interstates were eerily quiet and we flew through Atlanta, GA in 45 minutes…a record we will probably never repeat! We had packed a snack for the road and we were able to fill-up with gas when needed. After traveling approximately 15 hours with a few stretches, we reached Henderson KY. We were tired, hungry, and worried about this threatening virus. Only fast food restaurants were open so we pulled into the drive-thru of Kentucky Fried Chicken and finished our drive home.
Walking into our home that evening was like walking into the arms of God. I let the comfort and warmth of home surround me. And the KFC was the perfect comfort food to console our weary souls. I’ve eaten KFC many times but that time was the best it ever tasted!
Psalm 23:5 says “He prepares a table for me in the presence of my enemies…” My enemy on March 16, 2020 was fear…fear of the unknown. Fear of a virus that was causing disruption of my normal familiar life.
The Kentucky Fried Chicken that evening was my manna. God supplied the manna that day for bodily and spiritual nourishment. God desires to be present at our table to provide and protect us as we journey through life.
Thank you Jesus for coming to earth as a Baby to fulfill your mission. You show how much you love me by protecting me, guiding me with your truths, and dying for me so I may live eternally with you. Help me to have an open heart to allow you a presence at my table. I praise you for providing all that I need in life.