Advent Devotions - Dec 13

Today's devotion comes to us by way of Lutheran Hour Ministries. They have an on-line advent devotion calendar. Today's scripture is Mark 13:22-23.

22False christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. 23But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.

We know that Christ is coming again. We have been told this over and over in Scripture. The book of Revelation spells out in some greater detail what that return will look like, and what it will be all about.

Knowing that Christ is returning means that people will rise up who will do their best to turn believers aside. They will try hard to turn the elect of God away from him. So we MUST be alert. We must be on guard against such actions.

This means that we need to know the truth. If we don't know the truth of who God is, of who Christ is, then how will we know the false from the true?

As today's devotional says

I’m told that those who handle money are taught to look for counterfeit bills in a certain way. They don’t learn about what counterfeits would look like; instead they learn what the genuine article looks like. There are many ways to make false currency, but the real thing is always the same.

The best way to tell truth from false is the know the truth so well that what is false is immediately apparent.

So it is with Jesus. He never changes, but how do we recognize Him when He comes? In John 5:39, Jesus provides the answer: “The scriptures testify about Me.” The Holy Scriptures tell us who Jesus is, why He came, what He did, and what He’s going to do. .... During Advent, as always, it’s important to keep our focus on Jesus so that we won’t be deceived by counterfeits.

Let us know the scriptures so well, that we know Christ so well, that any falsehoods are immediately apparent to us. Let us continue to look forward to the return of the true Christ.