25 Days of Anticipation Devotionals
Our Christmas Gift to You!
December 26, 2020
It’s been our pleasure to bring you the mini Bible study, “25 Days of Anticipation” from Love Worth Finding. If you’ve enjoyed the advent journey, we’d love to come alongside you with additional free resources. Here are some ideas to consider. 1) If you’re still unsure about your personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we invite you to listen to some messages from Pastor Adrian Rogers. We think you’ll find both comfort and hope in Pastor Rogers’ simply stated explanation of the Gospel. [Discover Jesus]http://(https://www.lwf.org/discover-jesus) 2) The holidays can be a difficult time for some people. If you’re struggling at this or any time of year, we have some dedicated resources just for you. [Biblical Guidance]http://(https://www.lwf.org/biblical-guidance/problems-troubles) 3) Perhaps you’re a new Christian. If so, welcome to the family! One of the best ways to get started in your new faith walk is to complete the series “What Every Christian Ought to Know,” from Pastor Adrian Rogers, offered free of charge from Love Worth Finding. [What Every Christian Ought to Know]http://(https://www.lwf.org/what-every-christian-ought-to-know-individual-study) 4) If you’ve been with Love Worth Finding for some time, you know that our heart is to bring people to Jesus Christ and mature them in the faith. Maybe God is calling you to support that mission. Find out how to partner with us. [Why LWF]http://(https://www.lwf.org/why-lwf) **Again, thanks so much for joining us. Be sure and check back with us soon at http://lwf.org for more encouragement from Love Worth Finding with Pastor Adrian Rogers.**
Day 25 | Jesus—Soon-Coming King
December 25, 2020
**Prophecy Proclaimed: Isaiah 9:7** **Prophecy Fulfilled: Revelation 19:11-16** # Reading His Story *Read Isaiah 9:7* The word “advent” means “coming” or “arrival.” We have been studying the life of Jesus for the month of December in preparation for the celebration of Jesus’ first advent in Bethlehem. It is also a time to celebrate anew the advent of Jesus as Savior in our own lives and to anticipate His coming again. The fact is Christ has come. He is present in the world today. And He will come again in power. *Read Revelation 19:11-16* This passage should leave us breathless. Despite all the challenges we have faced this year—and in every other difficult year—when Jesus comes again, He will right every wrong. As Isaiah said, “Of the increase of His government and peace, there will be no end.” We do not know the day or the hour, but we can be certain that this prophecy, too, shall be fulfilled—perhaps in only a moment. # Writing Your Story Those who know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Soon-Coming King have a privileged identity and unshakable confidence in this life and are forever safe in His realm. Where is your hope for the coming New Year? For the next decade? For eternity?
Day 24 | The Ascended One
December 24, 2020
**Prophecy Proclaimed: Psalm 68:18** **Prophecy Fulfilled: Mark 16:19** # Reading His Story *Read Psalm 68:18* Through His finished work on the cross, Jesus literally took sin as His prisoner for all time. During this beautiful Christmas season, we have beheld Him as a babe in Mary’s arms, looked Him in the eyes as a friend who walks alongside us, and seen Him through tears as the silent suffering servant on Calvary’s cross. Let’s take a wide-eyed look at Him today as the conquering warrior who defeated death, “led captivity captive,” and, victorious evermore, ascended on high. *Read Mark 16:19* Here are two things to ponder today about Jesus’ position at God’s right hand. 1) Ephesians 1:20-21 says that this position is, "… far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come." 2) Romans 8:34 teaches, "Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us." # Writing Your Story Jesus Christ is the greatest authority of all time. Though He has every right to do so, He does not condemn His sin-ridden subjects. In fact, as believers face the difficulties of this life, He is actually praying for us. Could we have a more powerful prayer warrior than the Ascended One?
Day 23 | Jesus—Our Traveling Companion
December 23, 2020
**Prophecy Proclaimed: Luke 24:13-35** **Prophecy Fulfilled: John 15:26** # Reading His Story *Read Luke 24:13-35* In this astonishing passage, Jesus takes two unnamed disciples on a prophetic journey within a journey. The disciples are traveling on a physical road to a town called Emmaus and Jesus takes them spiritually from Point A of Blindness and Defeat to Point B of Illumination and Hope. “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself.” We can only imagine what that must have felt like. *Read John 15:26* But we don’t have to imagine! Jesus told us, “When the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” We “anonymous disciples” of the 21st Century have the same Traveling Companion on our road as did the two on their way to Emmaus. As we read Scripture, Jesus’ prophecy about the Holy Spirit’s work is fulfilled in our lives, for the Holy Spirit testifies of Jesus, bringing to our minds supernatural understanding and direction. # Writing Your Story? Have you met Jesus on your road? Have you surrendered your life and received the Holy Spirit? Are you walking with Him? If so, write about what you have learned on your journey. If you have not yet established a relationship with the Friend who sticks “closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24), what’s stopping you from heading that direction?
Day 22 | Jesus—The Risen One
December 22, 2020
**Prophecy Proclaimed: Psalm 16:9-10** **Prophecy Fulfilled: Matthew 28:2-7** # Reading His Story *Read Psalm 16:9-10* David counted his own soul as eternally safe because the Messiah, God’s Holy One, would rise again. His flesh could “rest in hope.” Job also trusted in Christ’s resurrection, saying, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God” (Job 19:25-27). These saints believed the resurrection before it happened! How much more should we who have the evidence before us place our hope in the Risen One. *Read Matthew 28:2-7* The evidence is overwhelming. Consider just a few facts. Jesus’ disciples, who ran away like frightened children when He was arrested, became fearless Gospel messengers after the resurrection. They chose to die as martyrs rather than recant their undeniable experience! No body was ever found—if one had been available, either the Jewish or Roman authorities (both loathed the preaching of the resurrection) certainly would have brought it forward. And since, as Paul tells us, some 500 eyewitnesses who saw the Risen Christ were still alive in 56 AD (I Corinthians 15:3-8), even the most skilled liars could not have convinced first-century dwellers the resurrection was anything but true. # Writing Your Story Paul tells us, “If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty” (1 Corinthians 15:14). If, however, He is alive—as David and Job believed beforehand and as Jesus’ disciples confirmed—He has defeated death. He is King Eternal. And we owe Him our allegiance. Where do you stand?
Day 21 | Jesus—Buried with the Rich
December 21, 2020
**Prophecy Proclaimed: Isaiah 53:9** **Prophecy Fulfilled: Matthew 27:57-60** # Reading His Story **Read Isaiah 53:9** As a condemned, so-called criminal with no home, no earthly goods, nothing but the clothes on His back—and those having been gambled for and taken—Jesus was scheduled to have made “His grave with the wicked.” His body might have been buried in an unmarked grave in a place of shame, but that’s not what the prophet foretold, and it’s not something Jesus’ disciple, Joseph of Arimathea, would stand for. **Read Matthew 27:57-60** Joseph, a rich man, lovingly removed Jesus’ body from the cross, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in his own new rock-hewn tomb outside the city. According to a National Geographic report, a team of researchers from the National Technical University of Athens carefully inspected in 2016 a site long marked as the burial site of Jesus Christ and found “evidence to suggest that the identification of the site by representatives of the Roman emperor Constantine may be a reasonable one.” National Geographic’s archeologist-in-residence, Fredrik Hiebert, said at the time, “My knees are shaking a little bit because I wasn't expecting this. …It appears to be visible proof that the location of the tomb has not shifted through time, something that scientists and historians have wondered for decades." # Writing Your Story Whether or not the NG story proves accurate, we can say for certain that the word of God does not shift over time. Every prophecy has been or will be fulfilled. Every promise has been or will be delivered by our God. Thank Him for His faithfulness in your life.
Day 20 | Jesus—Our Wholeness
December 20, 2020
**Prophecy Proclaimed: Psalm 34:20** **Prophecy Fulfilled: John 19:31-37** # Reading His Story *Read Psalm 34:20* Crucifixion was one of the most agonizing forms of capital punishment in history. Though it could be accomplished quickly by suspending the arms above the head, the method for Jesus involved stretching the arms parallel and nailing them to a horizontal bar. To speed death, executioners would often break victims’ legs; with legs broken, those crucified could no longer use their thigh muscles to push their weight up and breathe. This was the plan for Jesus and the two thieves beside Him, specifically because the Jewish leaders wanted the three bodies removed before the Sabbath. *Read John 19:31-37* Why dwell on the grizzly details? While the legs of the thieves were broken, Jesus’ bones were left whole to fulfill prophecy. The blood and water that poured from His pierced side evidenced pericardial fluid around the heart. He did not die because of broken bones; Jesus quite literally died of a broken heart. # Writing Your Story Sin fragments our lives and clouds our futures; as we confess our brokenness, Jesus makes us whole. Use this space today to discuss with Jesus your need for spiritual healing.
Day 19 | Jesus—Our Healer
December 19, 2020
Prophecy Proclaimed: Psalm 22:16 and Isaiah 53 Prophecy Fulfilled: John 19:34 Reading His Story Read Psalm 22:16 and Isaiah 53 The name Isaiah literally means “Salvation of God” or “God Saves.” Isaiah is both prophet and evangelist. Though he is foretelling the future (he is writing about 800 years before Jesus’ birth), he describes the events of Christ’s death vividly as if writing about the past—calling us to respond to the Savior King. “He was wounded for our transgressions,” Isaiah pleads, “bruised for our iniquities…And by His stripes we are healed.” Read John 19:34 Wounded how? Isaiah, along with the Psalmist, paints a highly specific picture of crucifixion before such punishment exists. Healed from what? We are healed from sin—both the burden it adds to our lives on Earth and the punishment it brings us forever in Hell. Sadly, Isaiah’s warnings and John’s confirmation continue to be ignored by people who hold to a dogma against the miracle of prophecy, refusing to accept that a God who created time itself knows the future. Writing Your Story Jesus was pierced for all transgressions for all time. Every sin ever committed hung on the cross with Him. Have you laid your burden at His nail-pierced feet? Do so today, and the prophecy for your life is peace now and forever. List any burdens you still must lay down.
Day 18 | Jesus—Christ Alone
December 18, 2020
Prophecy Proclaimed: Habakkuk 1:13 and Zechariah 13:7 Prophecy Fulfilled: Matthew 26:31, 56 and 27:46 Reading His Story Read Zechariah 13:7 and Habakkuk 1:13 Jesus was completely isolated when He went to the cross. After an evening of fellowship during the Passover meal, Jesus’ disciples progressively abandoned him. They failed to “watch and pray” in the Garden of Gethsemane, leaving Jesus to wrestle alone with the temptation to “let this cup pass.” At His arrest, the disciples departed and denied. Even those at the foot of the cross hopelessly mourned not only His death but also their own loss of hope. Jesus alone remained faithful; He alone accomplished salvation. Read Matthew 26:31, 56 and 27:46 Finally, even the Father, with “purer eyes than to behold evil,” turned His face from Jesus. While David could proclaim in Psalm 23, “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me,” Jesus claimed no such blessing, crying out instead, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” This was a rhetorical question; Jesus knew why His father could not look at Him—He had become sin “that we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Writing Your Story Believer, you do not have to face this world, or the transition to the next, alone. Seeker, Jesus desires your fellowship. He has promised to be with His own “always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Thank Him for His sustaining presence.
Day 17 | Day 17—Passover Lamb, Revisited
December 17, 2020
Prophecy Proclaimed: Exodus 12:13,19 and Jeremiah 23:5-6 Prophecy Fulfilled: 2 Corinthians 5:21 Reading His Story Read Exodus 12:13, 19 and Jeremiah 23:5-6 If you were with us early in this brief study, we discovered on December 4 that Passover lambs were bred and nurtured in Bethlehem, Jesus’ birthplace. Such lambs were considered perfect, symbolic of righteousness before God. Even then, only the best of the best made the five-and-a-half-mile trip to Jerusalem for Passover, the oldest and most important religious festival in Judaism. Read Mark 14:24, Luke 22:20, and 2 Corinthians 5:21 It’s Passover week. Jesus enters Jerusalem through the Eastern Gate; the Passover lambs enter through the Sheep Gate. Jesus cleanses the temple; the Jewish people cleanse their homes of leaven (yeast), a symbol of sin. Jesus introduces the cup of “the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you;” the Jewish people celebrate the Seder meal—retelling the story of the blood on the doorposts. They will miss the deeper meaning, spiritual redemption through the Messiah. Jesus is examined before Pilate; the Passover lambs are scrutinized. Jesus walks to Calvary; the priests sharpen their knives. Jesus commits His spirit to the Father; the Passover lambs lift their chins to the priests. Writing Your Story Christmas is our oldest and most important religious festival. As we mark our traditions, let’s make sure we don’t miss the deeper meaning. Write down your plan for focusing your heart and your home on Jesus.
Day 16 | Day 16—Reviled and Robbed
December 16, 2020
Prophecy Proclaimed: Psalm 22:6-7, 18 Prophecy Fulfilled: Matthew 27:39-44 and John 19:23-24 Reading His Story Read Psalm 22 Psalm 22 provides a graphic prophecy of the Messiah’s death on a cross. Most scholars date the Psalm to about a thousand years before the birth of Jesus. Crucifixion was originated by the Persians in the sixth century BC; the Phoenicians introduced it to Rome in the third century BC. For today’s purposes, notice particularly verses 6-7 and verse 18. Read Matthew 27:39-44 and John 19:23-24 Here we see our first-century contemporaries walking by the cross, reviling Him and “wagging their heads.” Can’t you just see a 21st-century crowd doing the same? The first-century soldiers “cast lots” (gambled) for Jesus’ clothing. Even the finest details of Jesus’ last moments fulfilled prophecies regarding the Messiah. Writing Your Story Did cynicism crucify Christ? Hebrews 3:12 says, “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief.” Ask the Lord to deliver you from cynicism and soften your heart for His use.
Day 15 | Jesus—Silent Sacrifice
December 15, 2020
Prophecy Proclaimed: Isaiah 53:7 Prophecy Fulfilled: John 18:37-38 and 10:18 Reading His Story Read Isaiah 53:7 Jesus stood before the Sanhedrin, Pilate, the soldiers, and the people guiltless and, to their dismay, silent. He was beaten, mocked, maligned, disgraced, disfigured, and sentenced, yet he said nothing in His own defense. Why the silence? Read John 18:37-38 and 10:18 Pilate stood before the Truth and knew the truth. While Jesus staggered under the weight of the cross, Pilate staggered under the weight of his own guilt. “I find no fault in Him,” Pilate said, washing his hands in vain. And so Truth was crucified. Innocence was executed. The demons must have danced that day; little did they know, Jesus’ silence would silence them! Writing Your Story Let’s be silent before Jesus Christ, The Truth, sacrificing our need to explain ourselves or prop ourselves up. Let’s let Him tell us where we need to repent and what crosses we need to bear. What is He telling you today?
Day 14 | Jesus—Man of Sorrows
December 14, 2020
Prophecy Proclaimed: Zechariah 11:12-13 Prophecy Fulfilled: Matthew 26:14-16 and 27:3-10 Reading His Story Read Zechariah 11:12-13 God uses the prophet Zechariah here to pronounce judgment (some 500 years before Jesus Christ) because the people of that day had rejected Zechariah and, by extension, the Lord Himself, as their shepherd. At the same time, the prophet points us to a future day—notice that Zechariah is directed to take “the thirty pieces of silver and (throw) them into the house of the Lord for the potter.” Read Matthew 26:14-16 and 27:3-10 and John 13:26-27 Jesus had been Judas’ shepherd for three close years—guiding, providing, sustaining, and walking beside him. Jesus had treated this man with the same love He showed to all of His disciples; He washed Judas’ feet and sent those feet away in haste toward their appointed treachery saying, “What you do, do quickly.” How the Lord’s heart must have broken in that moment. After betraying Jesus, Judas, with remorse but without repentance, “threw down the pieces of silver in the temple.” The Chief Priests “bought with them the potter’s field” as a burial place for strangers. Writing Your Story No one knows the pain of betrayal better than Jesus, yet He looked on His lost disciple with love, sharing with him a last morsel of bread and a last opportunity to change directions. Have you a betrayer you need to forgive? Have you a course you need to amend?
Day 13 | Jesus—Humble King
December 13, 2020
Prophecy Proclaimed: Zechariah 9:9 Prophecy Fulfilled: Matthew 21:1-11 and Luke 19:37-44 Reading His Story Read Zechariah 9:9 Old Testament scholars looked at the opening of this chapter as evidence that the Messiah would come as a divine warrior to render judgment against Israel’s enemies (9:1-7) and to protect Jerusalem from harm (9:8). Most were not expecting the humility expressed in Zechariah 9:9. Though they understood Him as “just and having salvation,” they missed His nature as “lowly and riding on a donkey.” Read Matthew 21:1-11 and Luke 19:37-44 During Jesus’ triumphal entry on Palm Sunday, we see Zechariah’s prophecy fulfilled; simultaneously, Jesus, humbly and with tears, prophesies another event. Jerusalem will be leveled, He says, by enemies who “will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” Most Bible scholars agree Jesus was speaking of what historians call the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD in which the Roman army captured the city of Jerusalem and destroyed both the city and its Temple. Writing Your Story Have you considered today as the “time of your visitation?” Jesus is a gentleman. He humbly invites you to know Him; He also weeps if you reject “the things that make for your peace.” What will you do to draw closer to Him?
Day 12 | Jesus—Living Water
December 12, 2020
Prophecy Proclaimed: Isaiah 55:1 Prophecy Revealed: John 4:10-14 Reading His Story Read Isaiah 55:1 Until we meet Christ, we are all thirsty for something we can’t quite identify. We sample first one well and then another to slake our powerful thirst. The well of human wisdom offers potions to impart meaning to our existence, the fountain of human love extends a tonic to soothe our emotions, and the spring of accomplishment boosts our self-esteem. These may be acceptable wells, perhaps, but they provide only temporary relief. We even drink polluted water from broken wells of addiction, extensive entertainment, and inappropriate sexual behavior; these leave us dehydrated. Read John 4:10-14 and 7:38 The woman at the well was completely depleted when she met Jesus; ironically, she offered Him water. He countered with the greatest offer of all time…the eternal thirst-quencher, Himself. Jesus promises to fill us and keep filling us. He also gives us the capacity to help water the arid land around us—as “rivers of living water” flow “from our innermost being(s)” we act as divining rods, pointing the way for our friends and families, our country, and our world. Writing Your Story Experiencing drought? Beloved, the abundant life found in Jesus Christ should be our first drink every morning and our last sip before lights out! All day long let us drink from the “Deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free, rolling as a mighty ocean, in its fullness over me” (Mark Ladd/Samuel T. Francis© Warner Chappell Music, Inc.). Write down ideas for how you might make sure you stay spiritually hydrated.