To serve you well, we need to know you well. Please consider logging in to take full advantage of our digital ministry.
Login to gain access to tons of exclusive features and content libraries. Here are a few free features you will enjoy as a logged in user:
** If you are already a Summit member, please log in to view important information about your home campus.
Error
Christmas is about Jesus—God entering the world as a baby to begin the saving work he will complete when he returns as King. For centuries, Christians have used Advent to look back to Jesus’ birth and forward to his promised return, letting our hearts prepare him room and retelling his story to others. This devotional is designed to help us do just that: to remember the good news of Jesus’ first coming, anticipate his second, and find hope in the One “who is and who was and who is to come.
They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
At the end of the Bible’s narrative, one clear promise gathers all our other hopes into one bright center: We will be with God. John says it with breathtaking simplicity: “They will see his face” (22:4).
Everything in this final vision flows toward that moment. First, John announces the great reversal: “No longer will there be anything accursed” (22:3). The shadow that fell over Eden, the curse on the ground and the sword that barred the way to the tree of life (Genesis 3:17, 24), is finally lifted. What was broken at the beginning is made whole at the end.
With the curse gone, God’s presence fills everything. His throne is no longer distant, but right in the city’s midst. His people will serve him with joyful, unending purpose. This leads to intimacy that was previously unimaginable. Where Moses was once told, “You cannot see my face” (Exodus 33:20), God’s redeemed people will enjoy the grace to look upon their Creator. The Lamb will at last bring us home.
This face-to-face intimacy gives us a new identity. John says God’s “name will be on their foreheads” (22:4). Throughout Revelation, there is a great contrast between those marked by the world’s systems (13:16–17) and those sealed by God (7:3). Here, our allegiance is settled forever. We will bear his name. We will belong to him.
God’s presence crowns the vision with light: “Night will be no more … the Lord God will be their light” (22:5). No more shadows of fear or grief, as God’s own glory will illuminate everything. Finally, we are given back our original blessing: “They will reign forever and ever” (22:5). We will share in Christ’s wise and holy rule over the new creation.
He who calls himself “the root and the descendant of David” (22:16) was cradled in David’s town. The child in a manger at Christmas is the King on the throne. Since he came in humility, we trust he will come in glory and lead us into face-to-face joy.
Schedule unhurried, phone-free, face-to-face time with someone you love. Ask yourself this question: If this joy is a foretaste, what will seeing his face be like?
Use these resources to enrich your prayer life, pray through God's word, and learn why we fast and how to do it.
Use these helpful tips to guide you in daily prayer and times of fasting.
As you pray together as a family, use these markers to help your kids move through an age-appr...
Building habits of grace into the lives of our kids can be a joyfully difficult task—and we be...
This article is an excerpt adapted from Just Ask by J.D. Greear. The book gives specific, prac...
Use this example of how you might read through, meditate on, and respond to a Bible passage th...
Strengthen your prayer life with these six resources recommended by Pastor J.D. and the Summit...
In this article, we share 5 practical tips for cultivating a habit of prayer from Pastor J.D.