WEEK 52, Day 3, Wednesday, 23 December 2020

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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Wednesday, 23 December 20:

Zechariah 9:9-12 — Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey [see John 12:14]. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth [see Matthew 28:18-20]. As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you [see Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; and 1 Corinthians 11:25], I will set your prisoners free [see Galatians 5:1] from the waterless pit [see John 7:38; and Revelation 7:17]. Return to your stronghold [see Psalm 27:1], O prisoners of hope [see Ephesians 3:1 and 4:1].

Zechariah 9:16, 17 — On that day the Lord their God will save them, as the flock of his people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land. For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!

Revelation 20:11-15 — Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it…. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Christmas is a day to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of so many prophecies of the Old Testament such as Zechariah’s prophecy referenced above and written around 520 B.C. It is also a day to proclaim our hope (complete confidence), as “prisoners of hope” in our salvation and in Christ’s eventual return when He will make all things new and reign over a new heaven and earth.

Today and every day, rejoice in the salvation you have in Christ alone, and give thanks that on Judgment Day, there is another book, the book of life, which trumps the book of rights and wrongs (upon which no one can stand).

• Romans 6:23 — For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
• Ephesians 2:8-9 – For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
• Romans 3:21 — But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it….
• Romans 3:28 — For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
• Romans 1:16-17 — For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
• Romans 8:1-4 — There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
• Romans 5:1 — Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 23 December 20: Today and every day, as you rejoice in the Lord, proclaim the Gospel to as many as you can.