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Christmas is about Jesus—God entering the world as a baby to begin the saving work he will complete when he returns as King. For centuries, Christians have used Advent to look back to Jesus’ birth and forward to his promised return, letting our hearts prepare him room and retelling his story to others. This devotional is designed to help us do just that: to remember the good news of Jesus’ first coming, anticipate his second, and find hope in the One “who is and who was and who is to come.
Also it [the beast] was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear: If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.
For all of time, God’s people have been marked by waiting. The Israelites of the Old Testament waited for the Messiah, clinging to the promises of deliverance spoken through the prophets. They waited and they waited. For thousands of years, they waited.
Then, when he finally arrived, he wasn’t quite what they thought they were waiting for. Many in Israel expected the Messiah would rise up to overthrow the kingdoms that oppressed them and restore the nation of Israel. They were looking for a political revolutionary, but what they got was a sacrificial Savior.
The Messiah first came not as a warrior king, but as a baby in a manger. That little child grew up to be the suffering servant and “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
Now the people of God are waiting again. We wait for the Messiah to return and take his final victory tour. Just like for our forefathers, trials and tribulations did not vanish at the first advent of Jesus. So we trust his final words before ascending: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18).
Believers of this age wait for the day when Jesus will deliver us from all our pain and suffering and finally defeat Satan forever. We wait for the day that “he will wipe away every tear … and death shall be no more” (Revelation 21:4).
So this Christmas, as we look back on his first coming and look forward to his second, we worship him who has all authority and power. We worship the God who defeats our greatest enemies—sin, Satan, and death! We worship a God who is with us in our hardship. We worship a God who has written our names in the Lamb’s book of life.
Even though we’ve been waiting for thousands of years, we stand resolute in the certainty of our hope. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Endure. Hold fast. Stand firm. Do not give in to the lies of the Enemy. Jesus rules the world with truth and grace! He has the final word.
Where in your life do you need to endure or persevere? Where do you need to submit to God’s authority? Who in your church family can you invite to pray with you, that you might hope as you both wait?
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