IN TOUCH Devotional 23rd December 2023 —Desire of Nations
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: Desire of Nations
Are you praying for the day when our conflicts will end and we will all be united under the King of Peace?
Scripture: Isaiah 60:2-3
2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
In Touch Daily Devotional – Dr. Charles Stanley 23rd December 2023
When nations, communities, and even families are at odds, the list of things that separate us seems long. The divide widens further as more differences are shoved into the gap, until eventually the vision of Revelation—a multitude from every corner of the world worshipping in unity (Revelation 7:9)—becomes impossible to imagine.
But Jesus, our “God with us,” prayed for His followers to have a better life. “I am not asking on behalf of these alone,” He says in John 17, “but also for those who believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one” (John 17:20-21). Though we still see division in the world and even in the church, the promise of God is a kingdom renewed and restored. That’s exactly what we sing and pray with the antiphon O Rex Gentium—that all people would be bound together in their desire for Jesus as King.
Singing “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” often concludes with this verse. It ends with a powerful prayer that Jesus would “bind in one the hearts of all mankind,” that “our sad divisions cease,” and that Jesus Himself would be “our King of Peace.” What a fitting prayer to welcome Christmas, and what an essential prayer to carry into the new year!
Bible in One Year: 1 Peter 1-5
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