2024 Advent Deeper Christmas Devotion Day 6: a greater present for Christmas!

Would you like to know the end before you begin? Imagine the pain of a parent of a child who knows of the short and painful lifespan of their child before birth or even conception. The Father God knew of what His beloved Son would go through even before the foundation of the earth. Jesus knew. He was there together with the Creator Father God and the Holy Spirit from the very beginning of this earth and mankind. What greatness in love for them to have agreed to let Jesus come to earth for the most excruciating painful assignment in spite of the foreknowledge of the eventual outcome This is what we need to think upon today as we walk with Jesus to the deeper end during this Advent (Sun, Dec 1, 2024 – Tue, Dec 24, 2024). 

What is Advent? the arrival of a notable person or thing. The first season of the Church year, leading up to Christmas and including the four preceding Sundays.

Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Jesus’s birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, often referred to as Advent Sunday. The name comes from Latin adventus (‘coming; arrival’), translating the Greek parousia from the New Testament, originally referring to the Second Coming.

The first coming dealt with the salvation and redemption of mankind. What about the Second Coming? 

The Second Coming: Bible verses (Excerpts quoted from NLT Bible unless otherwise specified)

Matthew 24:36–44: “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. 37 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day.

Luke 21:25–28: 27 Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory. 28 So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!”.  

John 5:28–29: 28 Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, 29 and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment.

1 Thessalonians 4:16–17: 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 

Revelation 1:7: Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven.

And everyone will see him—

    even those who pierced him.

And all the nations of the world

    will mourn for him.

Yes! Amen!.

Hebrews 9:27–28 (NKJV): 27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

Matthew 24:26–31 (NKJV): “27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” “29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days … 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, 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. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. “ (Three times in the NT we are told about the “trumpet call of God” which is always associated with the second Advent and the great resurrection of the dead. Matt. 24:31; 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess. 4:16.)

1 Thessalonians 5:1–3 (NKJV): But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.

1 Corinthians 15:51–52: 51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 

John 14:1–3: ““Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”

The Good News of the Second Coming of Jesus gives hope and assurance of a secured future. This brings Christmas to another level of depth about the grace and truth that came through Jesus’ first coming. 

Application: Continue to meditate on the goodness and love of God through giving all mankind Jesus, the ultimate present!

2024-12-16