Today is the beginning of Advent, which means coming so, as we prepare to celebrate the coming of Christ at Christmas, we also prepare our hearts for the Second Coming of Christ as prophesied & promised in Scripture. We’ll do this by looking back at the events of that first Christmas and then looking ahead in anticipation of, and preparation for, the next.
Each week we will focus on a them marked by one or the four virtues that Jesus gives us: Hope, Peace, Joy, & Love. Coincidentally, these are four things that our world is starving for these days.
So, for this first week of Advent, we will focus on the HOPE of Christ’s coming. The dictionary defines Hope as follows…
HOPE – a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.
This isn’t a matter of “I really hope The Bills win the Super Bowl this year”. I mean, yes, I certainly desire that but I can’t really expect it—especially since there is no past precedent. But when it comes to placing our Hope in Christ we only need to look at all of the prophesies from the Old Testament that Jesus fulfilled in the New to trust that he will continue to be true to his word and his promise to return.
For example it says in Matthew 12:17-21, after Jesus had been healing people, “This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah concerning him: “Look at my Servant, whom I have chosen. He is my Beloved, who pleases me. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not fight or shout or raise his voice in public. He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. Finally he will cause justice to be victorious. And his name will be the hope of all the world.”
And so, as we begin this 2022 Advent journey, I encourage you to spend time in prayer, reflecting on Scripture, and trusting in Jesus—who is the HOPE of all the world!
Come back throughout the week as we look at what it means to long for the Messiah and why he is worth waiting for.
Refill with Randy 