Day 11: The Purifying Son

Theme For The Series: In this 21 day Advent devotional we are focusing on anticipation and the Incarnation, Christ’s presence In the world, and the return of the King.

Intro Prayer: “Jesus, please help me in this time to be fully present to You and to myself that I may commune with You for the sake of your glory and the world around me.”

Silence: In this time, try and become silent before the Lord both internally and externally for 5 minutes. If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to stillness.

Praise: Bless the Lord by declaring these truths about Him!

“You are the everlasting Father, who encourages His people. You are enthroned as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You are Emmanuel- God with us and you are engaging and not aloof. Nothing can separate us from your everlasting love.”

Devotional: When you meet someone, one of the first things you do in an introduction is to find out the person's name and probably a bit about their relationships and their work or study.

Here's an example: "Hi my name is John, I am married to Jane, and we have three kids. I am an assistant principal at a middle school."

With Jesus it is no different. As we meet Him, the writer of Hebrews begins to give us an introduction to who Jesus is both relationally and vocationally. We see that He has a unique relationship with God, he is God's Son. When we speak of Jesus being God's son, we do not mean that he was born of God, or created by God. Christians believe that Jesus is uncreated and eternal. When we say he is God's son, we are saying that He is of the same essence as God the Father and God the Spirit.

As God's Son, God speaks uniquely through Jesus to the extent that Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact representation of his being. To put it simply, when you see Jesus you have seen God. When you hear Jesus, you have listened to God. It's not just that Jesus is like God the Father, but also that God the Father is like Jesus.

The author of Hebrews also tells us about Jesus's vocation: to provide purification for sin and to sit as a King over all.

So as we look to Jesus this Christmas, we see one who has come to show us the Father, to purify us from sin, and to be our King.

Scripture: Read today’s text slowly. Feed your spirit on the words. Your goal in this time is to commune with Jesus through His Word. Take note as you sense His Presence.

Hebrews 1.1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

Worship: Worship forms the truths of Scripture deep within our lives. This week we will be worshipping to the song O Holy Night performed by Matt Nickel Music. Lyrics are listed below as well. (If you are reading this via email, here is the link to the video.)

“O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

Till He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!

O night divine, O night when Christ was born;

O night divine, O night, O night Divine.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,

With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.

So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,

Here come the wise men from the Orient land.

The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;

In all our trials born to be our friend.

He knows our need, to our weaknesses no stranger,

Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!

Behold your King, Before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;

And in His name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

Let all within us praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,

His power and glory evermore proclaim.

His power and glory evermore proclaim.”

Listen: Take time to listen to the Holy Spirit. Write down anything you sense the Lord speaking.

Obedience: What from today is the Lord calling you to put in practice? Could be to pray for someone, to call someone, to serve someone etc.