Denison: Advent Devotional for Saturday, December 7

Dr. Jim Denison's 2013 collection of Advent devotionals is entitled, "Looking Forward to Christmas", which he describes as "a time to celebrate the Nativity, and Christians around the world look forward to the season ... The details surrounding Christ's birth are a treasured story to each of us but, to the first century population, Jesus was an unexpected gift that most didn't know how to receive. It is still difficult for some people to receive what Jesus was born to give. Maybe that is why we have a Christmas season – to help others receive the most valuable gift, a relationship with the baby in the manger ... The Denison Forum offers this Advent book to help you spend a quiet moment each day, looking forward to Christmas and remembering why the baby in the manger was God's promised Messiah.

CLICK HERE for a free copy of Dr. Denison's complete 2013 Advent Devotional (in a downloadable/printable Adobe .pdf file)

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Saturday, December 7

He said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.'
Psalm 2:7-8

This Psalm of David would ultimately be fulfilled in Christ. "For God so loved the world, he gave his one and only Son . . ." (John 3:16). The Jewish people expected their Messiah to be like David and possess the things of this world. They wanted the power of God so they could be powerful people on earth, conquering those who had conquered them. God loved them enough to send them a higher power. Jesus would inherit the nations and possess the earth, but not in the way the Jewish people were hoping. "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" (John 3:17). Jesus didn't come to conquer the enemies of the Jewish nation, he came to conquer the enemy and save, not just the Jewish nation, but every nation.

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Prior to founding the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture, James C. Denison, Ph.D., was pastor of Park Cities Baptist Church, a 10,000-member congregation in Dallas, Texas. He also pastored churches in Midland and Mansfield, Texas, and in Atlanta, Georgia. He earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion and Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and received a Doctor of Divinity degree from Dallas Baptist University. He is also the the author of seven books.