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Advent 2018December 9, 2018

Advent 2018 – Day 8: Joyful Anticipation

By Alex and Shelby Credle
An image of Salem's 2018 Advent devotional

Today’s Text: Zechariah 9:9-13

Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he. — Zechariah 9:9b

We just feel different at Christmas time. Children are filled with awe as carols are sung, and trees with lights are erected. Christians everywhere look forward to reunions and ways to express our love to one another. The joy we feel surrounds the reason for the season. We pause from our schedules to ponder anew the gracious gift that God gave to us in Jesus.

Much of our focus during this time of the year is the anticipation of the advent of Christ coming to earth as a child. Even though the events of the first advent would not take place for another 540 years, the prophet Zechariah gives us a glimpse of how Christ will change the world at His second advent.

Our feelings are not unique to 2018. The prophet Zechariah wrote in 520 BC a similar feeling of anticipation. The Jewish nation needed a savior. Zechariah imagined the joy that would soon come when the Messiah would return and bless His people. He wrote, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion …. Behold, your king is coming to you” (Zechariah 9:9). As we read his words, we feel the joy of anticipation that God would soon send a King – a Messiah – to save the world.

Zechariah 9:9 tells us some of the characteristics of Jesus when He returns to begin the millennial rule. He is our King. He is just and having salvation. He is lowly and riding on a donkey.

The second advent of Christ will be a victory for the faithful and the end of all who oppose Christ. Zechariah prophesies two things that will happen as a result of the second advent. The first prophecy is that those who have accepted Christ will be freed from the prisons and domination of Satan; they will become prisoners of hope. The second is that those who have fought Christ and His people at every step will be soundly defeated and He will bring everlasting peace.

Our hope is in these prophecies. Christ is coming for us. He came as a child; He comes again as the King of kings. Christ is coming to gather us around Him and destroy the evils of the world. He will take us home. Christ will come to keep His promise of eternal fellowship.

Prayer

Lord thank You for the assurance of knowing that You are coming again and the hope of being with You for eternity. In Jesus’s name, amen.

Previous Advent 2018 – Day 7: A Whisper in the Streets
Next Advent 2018 – Day 9: God’s Steadfast Love

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December 23, 2018

Advent 2018 – Day 11: Everlasting Dominion

December 12, 2018

Advent 2018 – Day 12: Working

December 13, 2018

Advent 2018 – Day 21: Willing?

December 22, 2018
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