The Advent of Jesus
“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.
The Prince of Peace
(NRSV) Isaiah 9:6 For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 His authority shall grow continually,
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
Peace is one of the fruits of the Spirit and it is so needful yet somehow so elusive. In Psalm 122:6 we are told to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and so we do. But in 2023 there is no peace in Jerusalem, nor few places in this physical realm.
On December 10, the second Sunday of Advent, liturgical churches* celebrate the peace promised through Jesus. But the peace Jesus conveys is not necessarily the lack of conflict or the absence of chaos. Instead, the peace that Jesus delivers is that assurance that whatever happens, whatever the circumstance, we are in God’s unfailing care.
When I entered the hospital in 2017 for a quadruple bypass, I experienced a peace that can only be described as supernatural. I had no fear at all.
But following my surgery I had an adverse reaction to the pain medication. I had dreams from which I could not awaken and a general feeling of unrest. The peace I had experienced just a couple of days earlier had vanished and was now replaced with fear. Once home, I was able to refocus on Jesus and my fear subsided.
My prayer today as we look forward to the endless peace promised in the Scripture is that Jesus will turn back the tides of anger and dissension that have spread worldwide and fill us to overflowing with His love and His peace. We light the peace candle on the second Sunday of Advent not because we have peace now, but because we know that the Jesus in Whom we have placed our faith will, upon His return, bring a certain and lasting peace.
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
*Liturgical churches partake in communal activities such as reciting the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostle’s Creed, the Great Thanksgiving preceding Holy Communion, and changing of colors, all of which function to enhance corporate worship.
When we All Get to Heaven
(NRSV) Rev 22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; 4 they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
When we all get to Heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be. Do you ever think of which biblical people you want to meet in Heaven? Not just meet, but sit down with them and really listen to their stories.
My go-to answer has always been Isaiah. I’ve heard some scholars say the book of Isaiah was undoubtedly written by more than one man because of the timespan covered, but I’ve always said I want to meet whomever wrote Isaiah 40, my favorite chapter in the entire Bible.
But beyond Isaiah, I long to sit down with Ruth to discover the source of her abiding love and loyalty for her mother-in-law, Naomi. I want to speak with Rahab and explore the depth of her fears as she hid the Hebrew spies, and I want to ask Esther if she understood the importance of being chosen for “such a time as this.”
I will ask Nehemiah, the master builder, of his doubts and fears as he determined to rebuild the wall surrounding Jerusalem. And I will shed tears with Jeremiah as he recounts the heartbreak of speaking doom to his people, knowing that many would never heed his words.
I will spend time with Habakkuk, the questioning prophet, to determine just what brought him to the point where he stopped questioning God and began giving Him thanks —in everything. And I long to sit down with Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, to find out just what she learned at the feet of Jesus, and how that knowledge permeated her heart.
Of course, all of these conversations will have to wait until I have praised my Creator and my Savior for at least ten thousand years, and until I have reconnected with family from whom I have been separated for so many years.
I wonder, who do you look forward to meeting in Heaven? I would love to know.
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The Celebration of Advent
(NRSV) 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
29 “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”
Going Back to the Well
(NIV) Isaiah 12:2-3 Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense;
he has become my salvation. ”
3 With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.
Did any of you ever have a well? When I think of a well I picture a pretty rock structure with a bucket that you let down with a crank. Dry when you release it, the bucket returns with sweet, cold water.
The well on my grandmother’s property was just a cylinder and a cup was sent down and returned with the water. Even as a child I thought it not very practical to have such a small container for water. But when in deep thirst, even a cup makes a difference.
We do not have merely a physical need for water, but each of us has a spiritual need for the living water found only in Christ Jesus. I encourage you to go to the well that never runs dry, and through grace, that unmerited favor given freely to all, draw from the living waters with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Read from the Scripture, speak God’s own words back to Him in prayer, and experience joy bubbling up from the depths of your being.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Seeking Holiness 