Weekly Devotional 29th of November 2024
by Bruce Billington
Weekly Devotional 29th of November, 2024
Advent Week 1
For the next four weeks, we are going to be looking at the Advent – the coming of Christ. We begin this first session by looking at the first great gift of the Advent, which is hope.
Christmas is arguably our culture’s biggest secular holiday and celebration. It brings a lot of joy, but also sadness as we tend to remember the loss of loved ones whom we used to celebrate with and also, for those who are alone, the feelings of isolation as everyone else joins with family and friends. But for every situation, Jesus does carry a message of hope.
Incredible that here is the Lord and King of all creation humbling Himself to come amongst us, by being born into a poor family in a lowly part of a house that was normally reserved for animals. As a result, He can identify with the least and most excluded of the human race.
Jesus came because we are too spiritually blind to find our own way. He took on a human body and entered the world because it was the only way that sinners, such as we all are, could be pardoned and set free.
How does this work? He embraces all of humanity and then takes upon Himself the full weight and punishment for sin, and then offers us the ability to have a completely new birth and embrace His life, in place of ours and makes us citizens of a brand-new realm called the Kingdom of God. Incredibly, this was prophesied by Isaiah 700 years before Christ was born. He prophesied,
“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this,”(Isaiah 9:6-7).
Earlier in the chapter Isaiah tells us that people who walk in darkness will experience a great light (Verse 2). So, in this time of darkness, extending even to death, there is great ground for hope because the power and incredible wisdom of God has made a way for us to be restored and redeemed to His glory. Speaking of this Matthew says,
“THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED.” (Matthew 4:16).
From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17).
This is not just speaking to the age that Jesus’s incarnation took place in – it is speaking to and calling to every age that exists until He returns at the end of the allotted time. The four titles given by Isaiah – Wonderful Counsellor, Almighty God; Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace – belong to God alone. The God-man, Jesus Christ, came to earth, suffered, and died and then rose again, and beckons to us to come and join Him in the work He intends to achieve on this planet before His return.
Our hope is given in such an amazing way. Our wonderful Saviour was,
…pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging, we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).
God forgives us, accepts us, and places His holy Spirit within us to renew us from the inside out. How good is this? What sort of Christmas present or gift can compete with this? To accept this gift, we must accept that we are saved by grace, we must follow Jesus, and we must give up control of our own lives.
But our great hope does not stop there. I like the comment made by Preaching Today which says,
Our Hope Is That: Jesus will Bring Forward Good from that Future World into the Mess of this One. Our hope is not just for the life to come; it’s also for this life. Remember: the kingdom is now and not yet. Jesus can and does bring forward good from the age to come, into “this present evil age,” from heaven to earth.
He calls us to come and join Him in that work.
God bless you.