DEVOTION: Blessed is He Who Comes - by Kathi Macias

          When Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem one week prior to His crucifixion, crowds lined the streets, waving palm branches and crying out, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” But when He made His entrance into the world as a tiny, helpless baby, no one was there to call out a welcome. His mother and stepfather had to settle for a bed of hay in which to lay their newborn Son, with the only visible spectators to the great event being the animals who inhabited the humble little outside dwelling.
            But were there invisible witnesses to this amazing occurrence? No doubt there were. If angels were dispatched to announce the birth to shepherds in a field, isn’t it logical to think there were also angels sent to the place of the birth itself? And it is equally logical to imagine that those angels were crying out, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”
            Though Joseph and Mary may not have heard those angelic declarations, all those who dwell in that “other realm” of the heavenlies did—Satan and his demonic hordes included. What a ripple of terror and anguish must have rolled through those evil ranks that first Christmas morning! The One who comes in the name of the Lord had arrived—and nothing on earth would ever be the same again.
            Yes, Satan continued to operate on this planet, even to the point of having enjoyed a temporary victory when the One who had come in the name of the Lord was crucified and buried. But oh, how the earth shook and the demons trembled when He was raised again from the dead! And how much more will those demons cower in fear when that One comes again to take up His rightful throne, where we who have received Him as Lord and Savior will rule and reign with Him throughout all eternity!
            Do you have that assurance that you belong to Him, that He lives in your heart and is coming again—for you? Then rejoice, beloved, regardless of the reception you receive (or not!) here on this earth. When you show up to preach, teach, write, sing, or in any way proclaim the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ, even if you don’t hear a single voice call out to you in welcome, remember that the host of heaven is standing by in the heavenly realm, proclaiming in a triumphant voice, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” If we belong to Him, then He has called us to go out in His name and spread the Good News of His triumph over sin and death. Go boldly, dear friends, for we are always in good company when we go forth “in the name of the Lord.”



Kathi Macias is a wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother—as well as an “occasional radio host” and an award-winning author of more than thirty books, including her popular international Extreme Devotion fiction series from New Hope Publishers.  Visit her website at http://www.kathimacias.com/