Daily devotion – a time now like no other!
Mat 1:22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
Mat 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Have you ever wished you could have been around when Jesus was born, grew up in Nazareth and hung out with the disciples? We often look back and consider such times as perhaps more wonderful than now where we find ourselves in history.
But I think we miss what an amazing time in the plan of the kingdom of God we find ourselves living in today!
Matthew presents Jesus as the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah, in whom the promises of God were being fulfilled! His favourite formula, which occurs eleven times in his Gospel, is some variation of this – “Now this took place that what was written in the prophets might be fulfilled!”
Therefore Matthew begins his Gospel with the genealogy of Jesus, in which he traces the royal line and specially emphasises Abraham, the founding father of Israel, and David, the ancestor of the Messiah who would be “the Son of David”.
One of Jesus most remarkable sayings was recorded by Matthew, as also by Luke:
Matthew 13: 16 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17 for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
In other words, the Old Testament prophets lived in the time of anticipation; the apostles were living in the time of fulfilment. Their eyes actually seeing, and their ears hearing, what their predecessors’ hand longed to see and hear.
But you and I living today, we can look back in wonder of Christ’s first coming especially as we celebrate Christmas. But we have something equally as exciting as those previous.
We await to be called up to meet Jesus in the air!
1 Thess 4: 13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.[fn]
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
We are living a time like no other! This is why Peter encouraged us to be living in anticipation of Christ’s soon return.
2Pe 3:11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
2Pe 3:12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God,
Every new day we wake we are one day closer to the hour of an event in history like no other – the Rapture of the Church!