What is the longest time you had to wait for something? We wait a matter of minutes for food at a restaurant and it feels like a long time. We wait 5 years to start kindergarten classes at school. We wait 20 to 30 years to find a spouse. As a people, we do not wait well, no matter how great the reward may be.
The Advent of Christ is also a story of waiting. The time between the Old and New Testaments total 400 years. This time span moves from Nehemiah to the birth of Jesus Christ. These years are known as the intertestamental period, but they are often called the “silent” years. A time when people were waiting to hear something from God.
The New Testament gospels give us more than a whisper. They announce the long-awaited birth of the Messiah, the Desire of nations, the Son of David, the Prince of Peace. Jesus arrives as our Emmanuel. Jesus arrives as our Redeemer, Savior, and King. The most precious gift we could receive.
His birth shows the faithful promise of God to provide salvation. His birth allows God and sinners to be reconciled. His birth brings light and life to a world that has only known darkness and death. Jesus was born that mankind may have life, a second birth, a home beyond this world.
We celebrate the Advent of Christ on earth. We celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and the deliverance that it brings.
Now we wait again. We wait on the second Advent of Christ and His promised return. May God hasten the day when we can finally see Jesus, the one pierced for our transgressions, the one crushed for our iniquities, the one who died so that we may have eternal life.
God Squad 
The Light of the World
Posted in Christian Living, News & Commentary, Worship, tagged advent, Christmas, Jesus, light of the world, prepare heart on December 24, 2018|
Today is Christmas Eve. Our day is focused on completing tasks, chores, and jobs before families and friends gather together. We are quick to make our homes ready. But there is an older Christian practice of making our hearts ready.
As the world waits to proclaim that Jesus is the Light of the World, let us prepare our hearts to receive the message of Jesus again. Though you have heard the songs and scripture verses before, let the truth and joy of the message change you. Hear the promise of God’s Messiah arriving on earth and let it change you. Imagine a gracious Savior coming to earth for you to be redeemed and let it change you.
Christians are called to be changed people. We are called to live in a way different than the world. But change only comes when we experience Jesus. Those who have experienced Him are no longer the same. We are called to be transformed and to be children of light. People who now live in the love that they have received from Christ. We are called to be this group. One who puts off the old self and puts on the new. A person transformed by the grace of Jesus. Someone who can never be the same because of Jesus.
Precious God, allow us to make our hearts ready. May we hear the message of Christmas and feel the joy and love of Jesus in our hearts. We were once in darkness. Now we live in the light. Allow us to be transformed people who follow after Jesus, the Light of the World.
Share this:
Like this:
Read Full Post »