Day 91: Home

Zephaniah 1:1-3:20

Revelation 10:1-11

Psalm 138:1-8

Proverbs 30:11-14

Zephaniah 3:14-20

"Sing, Daughter Zion; shout aloud, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. On that day they will say to Jerusalem, 'Do not fear, Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.'

I will remove from you all who mourn over the loss of you appointed festivals, which is a burden and reproach for you. At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you, I will rescue the lame; I will gather the exiles. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they have suffered shame.

At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the people of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes."

"At that time I will bring you home."

This evening my family and I watched "The Santa Clause" with Tim Allen. Not to totally ruin the movie but at the end of the movie Santa brings two gifts to two people who didn't believe in Santa Claus. And they receive the gifts and they realize that Santa is real because he knew what they had always wanted.

For so many people this is the idea that makes Santa so magical...that he could know the very exact thing that you want and give it to you.

I'm sure there are lots of things I want from Santa...my mom asks for a Christmas list every year and I'm always able to think of one or two things at least to tell her. This year I want new glasses and I want a new wallet phone case....these are the sorts of things that I would be pretty amazed if Santa knew I wanted these things and brought them to me.

But Jesus knows THE thing I want, the thing I wouldn't even know I wanted because I need it so desperately: Himself.

On Christmas Day He brought us all THE very exact thing we want and need. And He will continue to give us gifts that we want and need... like the day he "will bring us home."

Doesn't that very phrase make you want to cry? Jesus is going to bring us home! Isn't that what you want the most? C.S. Lewis said, "There have been times when I think we do not desire heaven; but more often I find myself wondering whether, in our heart of hearts, we have ever desired anything else."

In our heart of hearts, Jesus, Heaven, this is the very exact thing we have always wanted. He is the one thing. To be with Him, to know Him, would ruin all other wants for us forever.

This very thing we want the most, is the very thing He has gone to extraordinary measures to give to us.

"At that time I will bring you home."