The purpose of this devotional is to help prepare you for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. You may do this as your own quiet time, but we would encourage you to gather some family or loved ones to go through it together.

Simeon was waiting for the consolation of Israel. Consolation means the hope and comfort of Israel. Simeon knew that God was going to send the Messiah. He knew the Old Testament prophecies and was waiting for God’s promise. At this point Simeon believed the prophecies, but soon he would experience their fulfillment. For my eyes have seen your salvation, Simeon was now experiencing what he had believed by faith. He was now seeing the salvation that God had promised with his own eyes.

In the Bible, Hope and Faith are solid, not abstract. Hebrews 11:1 tells us “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Faith is our confidence and assurance of what we cannot see. Maybe you grew up or are growing up in a Christian family or going to church. You hear the Bible stories and you know the facts of the Bible, but there comes a day for all of us where we must experience these truths for ourselves. We like Simeon must “see” or experience God’s salvation for ourselves. It can no longer be our parents’ or grandparents’ faith but it must become our hope, our confidence, our assurance.

Have you seen God’s salvation? Jesus came to seek and save the lost. His coming to set us free from sin is why we celebrate Christmas. We celebrate God’s gift of salvation for each one of us.

-Rob Bogle, Groups Pastor