The Advent of Jesus

Pastor Carol Grace ♦ December 6, 2023 ♦ Leave a comment

“O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appears.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.”

Advent 2023 began Dec 3 and we devote this first week to the theme of hope.

Psalm 25:4-6 Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

Romans 5:2-5 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Hope is that innate quality born into each one of us. As children our hopes are necessarily child-like. We “hope” the Tooth Fairy will leave some coins under our pillow and we “hope” we will get the presents we want for our birthday and Christmas.

But as we grow older our hopes change. We may go through periods where we hope we have enough money to make it through until the next payday. Or perhaps we hope we will finally get the promotion for which we have waited and we well deserve. Then there is the hope that our loved one will recover from illness or accident, but that hope is sometimes dashed against the rock of disillusionment when recovery does not occur. Yet hope remains.

As Christians our hope is in the God of our salvation, the

Mighty One of Israel, our Rock and our Defender. Hope fans the fires of faith, and faith strengthens our belief. Keep faith alive by spending time with your Heavenly Father, recognizing that He wants only the best for you.

When life takes its toll on you, turn to God, the Author and Finisher of your faith. Time spent in prayer is never wasted. Tell Him of your needs, thank Him for all He has done in the past, and praise Him for Who He is and what He is getting ready to do for you now.

Prayer: Dear God, may the hope you have planted deep inside of us rise to the surface and feed our faith at the times when we need you the most. Thank you for fulfilling our hope through Jesus and his birth, and sustain us as we hope in the second Advent of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In Jesus name, Amen.