A couple of years ago, I wrote out a self-published e-book of Advent Devotions. You can still buy it from Amazon.com here: Advent Reflections. However, I’m going to re-use the whole thing for daily blog posts here on the blog this year. Next year I may have the opportunity to write a new one, I certainly hope to, but hopes and reality sometimes do not meet. The e-book is laid out on a sliding schedule, to use on respective days and weeks of Advent.
It should be noted that I drew inspiration from many works and many ideas. If you feel I have taken an idea without credit, please let me know so I can fix it.
Hymn numbers are from the 2008 Baptist Hymnal/Worship Hymnal from Lifeway.
Week One Day Three: King of the Spiritual World
“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.” Job 1:6[1]
There are things around us that we cannot see. Some people do not accept this to be true, because the idea of invisible reality is too much. Most of us lean into this direction, though we do not like to admit it.
We are, generally, cynical people who barely trust our own senses. Scrooge inspires us when he attributes Marley's Ghost to underdone potato above truth. Down in, though, we fear that we're wrong. We worry about shades and spectres, the paranormal and the supernatural.
These scare us because we cannot see them. What we cannot see, we so not understand. What we do not understand, we will never control. Fear is often that: the human response to lacking control.
Yet Jesus is King of the Spiritual World as well as the visible, material one. His time here demonstrated that, as stories of casting out demons and stifling unclean spirits show. Even before Christmas, Job's story shows that angels and demons answer to Him. The time since His Ascension shows the spiritual realm still answers to His Word.
Approaching the manger, it is hard to imagine that this small child rules anything, much less the unseen realms. Scripture does not tell us He abdicated the throne, only that He emptied His glory to put on flesh.
Today, consider this: all the minor and major things that have happened to put you where you are, these are in His control. The powers that work for and against good in this world, they answer to Him.
Is it any wonder that the angels celebrated His birth? Whether they sing or say, joy is the theme of their exaltation that night. He was born, not just King of Humanity, but their King as well.
It is the opposite of weakness to come before this baby in worship and reverence. Even the strong know when help is needed, when their strength is overmatched. Be strong enough to admit your fears, your terrors to Him. Let the King in the hay be your Guide and Protector against that which you do not understand.
Scripture passage for the day: John 1:4-5 (NIV)
“In him was life,
and that life was the light of all mankind.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Hymn for the day: Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Prayer: My Lord and My God, I do not understand all that that I see, much less the things that I do not see. I ask Your help in this, that I will trust that You control the many that are for us, against those set against us. Help my faith to grow and strengthen my defense against the evil ones. Let the Word of God be the strong sword I need, as I stand for You, Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.
[1] The word Lord renders the Hebrew covenant name for God and should be understood as distinguishing the God of the Bible from the other gods of the regions around Israel. See the inset panel on page 65 of The Baker Illustrated Bible Handbook from Baker Books or the introductory material on the NASB, NIV, or NLT about the Name. Sons of God in this context refers to angelic beings.
No comments:
Post a Comment
To deal with SPAM comments, all comments are moderated. I'm typically willing to post contrary views...but I also only check the list once a day, so if you posted within the last 24 hours, I may not be to it yet.