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Good Morning Saints! ‘Tis the Season to be Jolly… Silent Night, Holy Night… and Santa Claus is Coming to Town, along with hundreds of other familiar Christmas songs, are playing across the airwaves. In the Beavers’ household, a rule exists that no Christmas songs can be played until after Thanksgiving so that we cherish them leading up to Christmas. Regardless, Christmas is upon us, and we have no choice; it’s coming like a freight train. Don’t get me wrong, I love this time of year.
As Christians, we are most excited about celebrating the coming of Jesus Christ. This is Advent, a Latin word meaning “coming.” Advent is the time of year that we journey together to Bethlehem in observation and preparation, waiting for Jesus, our coming King, with great hope and anticipation. The first Sunday in Advent is the fourth Sunday before Christmas; Advent ends on Christmas Eve. Jesus is coming.
Jesus’ coming manifests itself in three ways; today’s devotion explores this more deeply:
Jesus is coming celebrates His first coming. His birth. He was born in flesh and weakness into a dark world to save mankind. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus is coming celebrates Jesus as both God and man. “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” Jesus is coming.
Jesus is coming celebrates His middle coming. The middle coming is Christ's coming in the present through His Word and focuses on His ministry within us and among us, giving us hope, joy, and peace through the Spirit, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Jesus' middle coming celebrates God’s Word, which is living and active within us. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” The middle coming has been described as life’s road lived as Christians, a road that leads us from Jesus' first coming to His last. Jesus is coming.
Jesus is coming celebrates His last coming at the end of time. “And again another Scripture says, ‘They will look on him whom they have pierced.’” Jesus’ last coming celebrates His power and great glory. "Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." His last coming will be glorious for those who believe and confess Jesus is Lord, and we eagerly await, “So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.” Jesus is coming.
Saints, as you listen and hear Santa Claus is Coming to Town this Christmas season, smile and remember the truth and real Reason for the Season: Jesus Christ. Yes, you better watch out, and I am telling you why: Jesus Christ is coming! Amen!
In the love of Christ,
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