Daily devotion – Christmas excitement lasts forever!
🎄 Christmas Joy and Our Lord’s Soon Return
We are heading into the back straight of 2026! The final school term is beginning, and before we know it, Christmas will be upon us — just 77 days away!
This is a time of year I look forward to with great anticipation. We prepare for warmer weather and look forward to catching up with friends and family after another busy year of work and ministry.
Though Helen and I are now in our senior years, we are still young at heart, especially when it comes to our walk with the Lord. Each new day brings fresh excitement as we grow closer to the imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ to take His Church to be with Him.
God’s mercies are new every morning, and His promises never grow old!
Lamentations 3:22–23
It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
Helen and I have walked with the Lord for nearly 50 years, yet our eyes have never stopped looking up! Our hearts have never ceased longing for that glorious moment when Jesus comes for His Church. The passing of time has not diminished our anticipation; if anything, it has deepened our longing to see our Saviour face to face.
The Apostle Peter also looked ahead to the Lord’s coming and reminded believers that the promise of His return should make a difference in how we live today.
2 Peter 3:10–11, 13–14
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
Peter’s message is clear: the anticipation of Christ’s return should not lead us to sit idle, but to live holy, godly, and faithful lives as we wait for Him. We are not simply waiting for an event; we are waiting for a Person — our wonderful Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!
Already, my thoughts are turning towards that little town of Bethlehem, where our Saviour entered this world in humility. Having visited Bethlehem and the fields where the shepherds watched over their flocks, I am reminded of the wonder of that first Christmas night.
The joy on the faces of little children as Christmas approaches reflects something of the excitement that still fills our own hearts. After all these years, we have not lost the wonder of our coming Saviour. We rejoice in remembering His first coming, while eagerly anticipating His promised return to gather His Church and take us to be with Him forever.
At Christmas, we celebrate the Saviour who came to redeem us. As we look forward to His return, we anticipate the day when faith will become sight, and we will be forever in His presence!
Dear brothers and sisters, do not allow the weeds and cares of this world to choke out your joy in the Lord or diminish your expectation of His soon return. The busyness of Christmas, the demands of family, the pressures of work, and the distractions of everyday life can easily draw our attention away from the glorious hope we have in Christ.
Let us enjoy the blessings of this season, love our families, encourage one another, and share the good news of Jesus Christ with those who have yet to know Him. But above all, let us keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus!
The manger reminds us that He came. The cross reminds us why He came. The empty tomb declares that He is risen. And His promise assures us that He is coming again!
May we continue to live each day with hearts full of Christmas joy and eyes lifted towards heaven, eagerly awaiting our Lord’s return.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Revelation 22:20 — “Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”