Silence: Take a moment to get still and ask God to center your heart on him.
Scripture: 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 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. (Hebrews 9:27-28).
Devotional: Yesterday, we discussed the people of Israel’s anticipation of the coming Messiah and how the promise came true in the birth of Jesus. Today, we discuss a new anticipation and another promise made by God.
Advent isn’t just celebration of the truth that Christ came, but also anticipation that he will one day come again! God wants us to be excited about his promise that Jesus will return.
Right now in my life, I’m anticipating the birth of our baby boy! Anticipation for me looks like personal excitement, getting our house ready for another baby, reading everything I can about parenting a boy, and a little bit of nervousness! I believe God desires something similar for us.
He wants us to be excited, living a life that honors him, and reading our Bibles to learn everything we can about him. I think he’s also ok with a little nervousness!
Hebrews 9 speaks of a lot of topics. Death, judgement, sin, offering, Jesus’ second coming and salvation. Let me sum it all up for you. Jesus died for the sins of those who would confess with their mouth and believe in their hearts that he is Lord. One day we will all die and face judgement, but we don’t have to fear judgement because if we believe in him Jesus is going to save all those of us who are eagerly waiting on him! That means that he’s going to save all those who are anticipating his arrival!
So this Advent, let us not just celebrate the fact that he came, but let us anticipate with great excitement his promise that Jesus will come again and save us!
Question: What are you anticipating in your life right now and how do you feel about it?
Action: Do one thing this Advent season that helps you get as excited about Jesus’ return as you are to your answer to today’s question. That could be praying more for God to help you get excited, reading about Christ’s return or meeting with your bible study to discuss it together!
Prayer: God, thank you for sending Jesus into the world and for the promise that one day he will come again. Help us get as excited about his second coming as we are about other things in our life. Help us to be eagerly awaiting the day we see him again. Amen.