Monday

December 14

“And He showed me a pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal, preceding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit of the month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”  Revelation 22:1-5

It may seem strange to begin an advent devotion with a passage of scripture from Revelation. Revelation is supposed to be about the second coming of Christ— not the first. However, this scripture paints such a vivid picture about who Jesus is and why He came that it is actually abundantly appropriate to talk about at Christmas. For everyone throughout the world, 2020 has been a year full of unpredictability and chaos. Sometimes, it feels like all of the bad things that were supposed to happen throughout the 2020s have all happened in this year alone. Despite all of this, however, we can have peace, because our God has made us promises that He will never leave us or forsake us. In this scripture, we see an image of the water of life flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb,    Jesus. How beautiful is that image? Jesus is quite literally our source of deliverance and refreshment! From Jesus, water of life flows. Water that will forever quench thirsty souls, water that will breathe life into dry bones, water that can make faith as tiny as a mustard seed blossom into a beautiful tree.

Isaiah 6:9 tells us, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” The almighty Prince of Peace who was born and laid in a manger 2,000 years ago is the same Prince of Peace who will bring healing to the nations. Jesus knew He needed to come to earth to save us, because without Him we are a very broken and lost people. But because of that first    Christmas, we can be of good cheer, for Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33).

Mia Derks