/bant/ - International/Random » Thread #13961259

[8 / 3 / ?]

Advent Devotional: December 2

Anonymous ID:bTCW1ZLL Thu 02 Dec 2021 21:20:29 No.13961259 View View Reply Original Report

Quoted By:

Reader: ““Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,”
Response: “because he has visited and redeemed his people.”

Scripture: Luke 1:68-79

>“Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
>because he has visited and redeemed his people.
>He has sent us a mighty Savior
>from the royal line of his servant David,
>just as he promised
>through his holy prophets long ago.
>Now we will be saved from our enemies
>and from all who hate us.
>He has been merciful to our ancestors
>by remembering his sacred covenant—
>the covenant he swore with an oath
>to our ancestor Abraham.
>We have been rescued from our enemies
>so we can serve God without fear,
>in holiness and righteousness
>for as long as we live.
>“And you, my little son,
>will be called the prophet of the Most High,
>because you will prepare the way for the Lord.
>You will tell his people how to find salvation
>through forgiveness of their sins.
>Because of God’s tender mercy,
>the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us,
>to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
>and to guide us to the path of peace.”

Anonymous

Anonymous ID:bTCW1ZLL Thu 02 Dec 2021 21:21:19 No.13961264 Report

Quoted By: >>13961265

Some thoughts:

You know the context. Zechariah, the man who spoke this prophecy was the father of John the Baptist. You’ll recall the last book in the First Testament ended with the prediction of an Elijah heralding the coming of the Messiah. Then four hundred years of prophetic silence. With the visitation of the angel Gabriel to Zechariah in the Temple, we come to the end of the Old Testament and the onset of the New Testament. The First Testament focused on the nation of Israel, the New Testament on the Incarnate Son of God. (For more background information on Zechariah see Dec.9 of Advent Devotion 2020.) I want us today to look at this prophetic canticle, the song of this old priest. The question had been raised among the people, since the birth was so unique, wondering if this baby boy would turn out to be someone special. It appeared the Lord’s hand was upon this child. Afterall, his birth was a true miracle!

While we don’t know how quickly he responded to the comment regarding the uniqueness of his newborn son, note the depth and perspective of Zechariah’s response. He draws a parallel between God coming down from heaven and “visiting” and redeeming his people from a hopeless situation, bondage in Egypt, and coming down again, but this time it isn’t just to get them out of trouble, it is to bring to them lasting salvation―the ultimate Promised Land―heaven in the presence of God.

This Savior will be from the royal line of King David as the First Testament prophets had foretold. These hundreds of years old prophecies were being fulfilled now. On the surface the expectation was that God would save the Jews from their occupying enemies, the Romans. But the salvation offered here had a far larger scope and significance. It was a salvation from guilt, from the power of sin, Satan, evil and death.

Anonymous

Anonymous ID:bTCW1ZLL Thu 02 Dec 2021 21:21:35 No.13961265 Report

Quoted By:

>>13961264
All too often I’m afraid we are looking in our day for a cheaper salvation, something from God that will get us out of the mess we are in rather than a core foundational salvation. Will solving a surface problem on earth bring ultimate peace when hearts are in rebellion against the Lord of heaven and earth? I’m afraid at times our prayers are too shallow. We wind up praying to be the solvers of the troubles. The thing that always strikes me is God’s relentless promise to “be with us.” Have you noticed the Bible never says, “try harder,” “try again,” or “pick yourself up, you can do it”? The emphasis is always on “I will be with you” ―Emmanuel.

In the next portion of Zechariah’s hymn, he moves from speaking about the coming Messiah to words concerning his baby son to prophesying that he will be called the Prophet of the Most High. John’s mission will be clear and direct; repent of your sins to find salvation. God is about to bring light to a dark world. Due to God’s mercy, the fear of death is about to be extinguished forever with the arrival of the Messiah. Good news!

So where does this leave us? In many ways we are in the same place as the people surrounding Zechariah when he uttered this song. We too are awaiting the final visit of God to complete the salvation of his people. The Savior will most certainly come again to establish his eternal kingdom. Like John the Baptist, we can tell people all around us “who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death” how to find salvation through the forgiveness of their sin. Use your voice to speak Truth this day. . . even to yourself. Repentance is undervalued.

Anonymous

Anonymous ID:bTCW1ZLL Thu 02 Dec 2021 21:22:57 No.13961275 Report

Quoted By:

Music: “On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIr21lLgFpg

Bonus: Song of Zechariah

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rYw41Tkk_c Choral chant of Zechariah’s text

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, save me entirely from sin. I know I am righteous through the righteousness of another, but I pant and pine for likeness to thyself. I am thy child and should bear thy image. All too often it is tainted. Enable me to recognize my death unto sin and when it tempts me may I be deaf unto its voice. Give me a will to refuse its call. Thou art merciful toward all who call on thee. Again, I answer the call of John the Baptist and repent and turn to again rest in thee, my Savior and my Lord. Amen. ―adapted Daniel Sharp from Valley of Vision, p.92

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO .png, 1MiB, 669x1200

Anonymous ID:y/Af7zLQ Thu 02 Dec 2021 21:23:31 No.13961279 Report

Quoted By:

>>>/x/

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO brap.png, 573KiB, 1024x831

Anonymous ID:Epl+fKYE Thu 02 Dec 2021 21:24:59 No.13961286 Report

Quoted By: >>13961292 >>13961303

Hehehehe, stinky poopy time
Ah lets just get settled down here...
*nom nom nom*
Mmmm I love kidney beans
>W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING PEPE?
>DONT... DONT DO THIS TO ME PLEASE!
*toot*
Huh? What was that? Sorry I couldnt hear you
>PLEASE NO
*gurgle*
Ugh my tummy's starting to gurgle, hey would you mind smelling it to make sure it isnt rotten?
>N-NO NO NOOOOOOOOOOO
*BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPP*
>*COUGH COUGH COUGH*
>UGH HOW COULD YOU D-
*EARTH SHATTERINGLY LOUD BRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP*
>*Cough cough*
>I cant... breathe...
Shut up down there, I'm trying to concentrate
*PFPFPFFFFFFFFFFFFPOFSDEHFFFFFFFFFFFPFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT FART BRAP SQUELCH*
>ACK
Ah, another kike worshipper down

Anonymous

Anonymous ID:bTCW1ZLL Thu 02 Dec 2021 21:26:15 No.13961292 Report

Quoted By:

>>13961286
>>>/d/

Anonymous

Anonymous ID:Orlb9S3w Thu 02 Dec 2021 21:27:36 No.13961303 Report

Quoted By:

>>13961286
keklad...

Capcode	All Only User Posts Only Verified Posts Only Moderator Posts Only Manager Posts Only Admin Posts Only Developer Posts Only Founder Posts
Show Posts	All Only With Images Only Without Images Only Spoiler Images Only Non-Spoiler Images
Deleted Posts	All Only Deleted Posts Only Non-Deleted Posts
Ghost Posts	All Only Ghost Posts Only Non-Ghost Posts
Post Type	All Only Sticky Threads Only Opening Posts Only Reply Posts
Results	All Grouped By Threads
Order	Latest Posts First Oldest Posts First

On these archives

Your latest searches

Advent Devotional: December 2