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Day Three of Advent

Scripture

“A voice says, ‘Cry!’ And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’ All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news: lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God!’ Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and His arm rules for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in His arms; He will carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.”

— Isaiah 40:6-11

Devotional

While it is not evident to everyone that the glory of the Lord has begun to shine it has dawned. God’s glory has begun to shimmer in the Incarnation. The Incarnation is the breaking of the dawn. No man or woman shines in the face of such glory. Oh, they think they do. But the truth is that people are transient and ephemeral. They are like withered grass and their glory is like dead flowers compared to the word which proceeds from God. And God has said His glory will be revealed. And it is revealed in this way: the Lord, the One who absolutely, eternally and invincibly is, has come to us! No more waiting while Moses is on the mountain to tell us what He said. Here is your God! His Word stands forever. His arm no one can stay. He has come to redeem his people. He has come to reign! Tell it in Jerusalem. Say it in the towns of Judah. Lift up your voice to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

Do not be afraid of the truthfulness of your message. The glory of the Lord has been revealed. Tell them: the Lord has arrived, He has received the fruits of His victory; His wages are the flock of His people, which His victory over death has won, and when He comes again the stars will be darkened and the moon shall not give its light because His glory will be so resplendent. The sun of God’s glory shall run its course until it reaches its noon when the Son of Man shall come, and there it shall remain forever.

Prayer

O that I might believe Your Word that the glory of the Lord will be revealed. Make this my joy, my life and my end, that the Son might receive the reward of His Incarnation. Amen.