IN TOUCH Devotional 20th December 2023 —Jesus, the Light
You are welcome to Today’s In Touch Daily Devotional written by Dr Charles Stanley and published by In Touch Ministry. Charles F. Stanley is the founder of In Touch Ministries and a New York Times best-selling author. He demonstrates a keen awareness of people’s needs and provides Christ-centered biblically-based principles for everyday life.
Today’s Topic: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
May we never lose our sense of awe at the fact that God chooses to be with us.
Scripture: John 1:4-5; John 1:9
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
John 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
In Touch Daily Devotional – Dr. Charles Stanley 20th December 2023
In the Bible, God’s first spoken words are “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). O Oriens, the next antiphon from “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” is translated “O Dayspring.” Originally meaning the dawn of a new day, the term refers to the illuminating presence that God’s Word brought to the dark and formless world.
The same language describes the new creation that the Lord brings to us (2 Corinthians 5:7). John says that in Jesus—the eternal Word—is life, which is the “Light of mankind [that] shines in the darkness” (John 1:4-5). The other Gospel writers don’t miss the connection either. When Jesus moves to Capernaum after John the Baptist’s arrest, Matthew recalls Isaiah’s prophecy about the light coming to a dark place. People “sitting in darkness … sitting in the land and shadow of death” were visited by that light (Matthew 4:16).
Though parts of the world remain in shadow, we know that the Light has come—and He shines brighter than any sun. Today, ask God to illuminate every corner of your life “to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). And remember: As we “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7), we receive God’s forgiveness and are reconciled to Him. Then He makes us shine in a dark world.
Bible in One Year: Hebrews 10-11
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