Dec. 23rd Devotion
Looking for Jesus – Greg Laurie
“Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people” (Luke 2:29-31 NLT).
I don’t know about you, but waiting is not something that I like to do. I am, by nature, an impatient person. My wife (who is very patient, by the way) can attest to this.
We’re all waiting for Christmas, but for children especially, it’s really difficult to wait. They’re filled with anticipation. The Bible tells the story about someone who was waiting for the first Christmas. His name was Simeon, and he was living a godly life at a time when the people of Israel had turned from the Lord in many ways.
They hadn’t heard from the Lord for hundreds of years. Not a single prophet had spoken in the name of the Lord. Not one miracle had been performed. There hadn’t been any angelic appearances. But suddenly the time was right. Everything was set in place.
The Lord had revealed to Simeon that he wouldn’t die until he saw the Messiah, and Simeon held on to the promises of God. Then one day, Simeon saw Mary and Joseph walking into the temple with the baby Jesus, and he knew who they were. How did he know? It’s because Simeon spent time in prayer, and God reveals things to those who seek Him.
The Bible tells us that he took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!” (Luke 2:28-32 NLT).
Just as godly Simeon was eagerly waiting for Jesus to come the first time, we should be eagerly waiting for Jesus to come the second time, because the Bible says that He is coming back again to this earth. The first time, Jesus came to this earth in a manger. But the second time, He will come in glory.
“Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people” (Luke 2:29-31 NLT).
I don’t know about you, but waiting is not something that I like to do. I am, by nature, an impatient person. My wife (who is very patient, by the way) can attest to this.
We’re all waiting for Christmas, but for children especially, it’s really difficult to wait. They’re filled with anticipation. The Bible tells the story about someone who was waiting for the first Christmas. His name was Simeon, and he was living a godly life at a time when the people of Israel had turned from the Lord in many ways.
They hadn’t heard from the Lord for hundreds of years. Not a single prophet had spoken in the name of the Lord. Not one miracle had been performed. There hadn’t been any angelic appearances. But suddenly the time was right. Everything was set in place.
The Lord had revealed to Simeon that he wouldn’t die until he saw the Messiah, and Simeon held on to the promises of God. Then one day, Simeon saw Mary and Joseph walking into the temple with the baby Jesus, and he knew who they were. How did he know? It’s because Simeon spent time in prayer, and God reveals things to those who seek Him.
The Bible tells us that he took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!” (Luke 2:28-32 NLT).
Just as godly Simeon was eagerly waiting for Jesus to come the first time, we should be eagerly waiting for Jesus to come the second time, because the Bible says that He is coming back again to this earth. The first time, Jesus came to this earth in a manger. But the second time, He will come in glory.
Posted in Devotions
Recent
Archive
2024
January
January 1st DevotionDecember 31st follow-upJanuary 2nd DevotionJanuary 3rd DevotionJanuary 4th DevotionJanuary 5th DevotionJanuary 8th DevotionJanuary 7th Follow-upJanuary 9th DevotionJanuary 10th DevotionJanuary 11th DevotionJanuary 12th DevotionJanuary 15th DevotionJanuary 14th Follow-upJanuary 16th DevotionJanuary 17th DevotionJanuary 18th DevotionJanuary 19th DevotionJanuary 21st follow-upJanuary 22nd DevotionJanuary 23rd DevotionJanuary 24th DevotionJanuary 25th DevotionJanuary 26th DevotionJanuary 29th Devotion1-28-24 follow-upJanuary 30th DevotionJanuary 31st Devotion
February
February 1st DevotionFebruary 2nd DevotionFebruary 5th DevotionFebruary 6th DevotionFebruary 4th Follow-upFebruary 7th DevotionFebruary 8th DevotionFebrtuary 9th DevotionFebruary 12th DevotionFebruary 11th Follow-upFebruary 13th DevotionFebruary 14th DevotionFebruary 15th DevotionFebruary 16th DevotionFebruary 19th DevotionFebruary 20th DevotionFebruary 21st DevotionFebruary 22nd DevotionFebruary 23rd DevotionFebruary 26th DevotionFebruary 27th DevotionFebruary 28th DevotionFebruary 29th Devotion
March
March 1st DevotionMarch 4th DevotionMarch 3rd follow-upMarch 5th DevotionMarch 6th DevotionMarch 7th, 2024March 8th DevotionMarch 11th DevotionMarch 12th DevotionMarch 13th DevotionMarch 14th DevotionMarch 15th DevotionMarch 18th DevotionMarch 19th DevotionMarch 20th devotionMarch 21st DevotionMarch 22nd DevotionMarch 25th DevotionMarch 26th DevotionMarch 27th DevotionMarch 28th DevotionMarch 29th Devotion
April
April 1str DevotionApril 2nd DevotionApril 3rd DevotionApril 4th DevotionApril 5th DevotionApril 8th DevotionApril 9th DevotionApril 10th DevotionApril 11th DevotionApril 12th DevotionApril 15th DevotionApril 16th DevotionApril 17th DevotionApril 18th DevotionApril 19th DevotionApril 22nd devotionApril 23rd DevotionApril 24th DevotionApril 25th Devotion
No Comments