Advent Devotion – Away Game
1 John 5:19 – The whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
Isaiah 9:6 - A child will be born to us. A son will be given to us. He will rule over us. And He will be calledWonderful Adviser and Mighty God.He will also be called Father Who Lives Foreverand Prince Who Brings Peace.
Luke 2:11 – For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
1 John 3:8 – The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.
Every team prefers to play at home. You know the rink, how the puck bounces off the boards, the layout of the stands is familiar, and the home crowd is rooting you on. It can be tough to play on the road – and some away venues can be intimidating. When playing away, you’re on the opponent’s turf, you’re unfamiliar with the area, and the crowd is hostile. And yet there is a unique satisfaction in winning on the road – a conquering feeling. Christmas is a story of Jesus, Wonderful Advisor and Might God, coming into enemy territory to conquer, to destroy the works of the devil, and establish His name as Prince Who Brings Peace.
Jesus came into a dark area, very different from Heaven. But how bad was it, how dark? We see a picture of mankind apart from God in Romans 3 – “There is none righteous, not even one, there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God, all have turned aside, together they have become useless, there is none who does good, there is not even one. Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving, the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace the have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.” And 1 John 5:19 – The whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And again, 1 Peter 5:8 - Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
When Jesus came to earth, Satan wanted to kill Him, to defeat Him. Matthew 2:13 – “Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you’ for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.” I don’t think it’s a stretch at all to think Satan was pulling the strings here, as the whole world is deceived by the evil one.
Despite Satan’s attempts to destroy Jesus, He would not be defeated – for God is far stronger than the devil (1 John 4:4). On the contrary, Jesus came to shine the light of life - John 1:4-5 – In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. Not only was Jesus not defeated, but He won in stunning fashion – Colossians 2:15 - And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Christmas we celebrate the coming of the Savior, who gave up His throne in heaven and came to earth where He is a light in the darkness. He came to a hostile place, not like His home in heaven, and conquered ‘on the road’ to destroy the works of the evil one. Praise Jesus that we have Emmanuel, God with us.
Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil – are there things in your life where you still need to let Jesus destroy evil works? Scripture tells us that this world is not our home – how can we gain victory in Jesus and overcome the world?
For more reading read Matthew 1:18 –2:23, 1 John 5:4-5