Luke 2:10-14 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly 
host praising God and saying: 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, good will toward men!” NKJV
This glorious portion of scripture is very poetic and eloquent in the New King James version. The angel proclaimed that good news for all mankind had come in the form of a babe sent from God. He would save us from our sins and it will mean good will towards all men. His coming would bring peace. Does Jesus bring those things to you today? Are you assured of His love and salvation? Remember Ephesians 1:13-14 “ In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” The Holy Spirit living inside us is the guarantee that we belong to Jesus. We are sealed eternally and are His. Be assured today of the hope that is within you and praise Him for coming to save us.
Listen to this glorious chorus and revel in the majesty of that night and the wonder of the shepherds.
Linda
Today is the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor – December 7, 1941. It began 77 years ago at 7:55 am. If you have visited the Memorial over the sunken Arizona where the sailors are still entombed, you are sobered by their sacrifice. War is a terrible thing yet through it men rise to honor and sacrifice for their fellow men. Over 2,400 were killed and 1,000 wounded that day. The most causalities occurred on the USS Arizona as it was hit 4 times by Japanese bombers. A piece of trivia- 37 confirmed pairs or trios of brothers were assigned to the Arizona and this battle cost 62 of these 77 men their lives and 23 sets of brothers died. I can’t imagine the grief those families suffered all in one day. President Franklin D. Roosevelt described it as “a date that will live in infamy.” Just like September 11, 2001 will live on in our minds so should December 7th.
Say a prayer of gratitude today for the sacrifices these men and those brave men and women who continue to sacrifice their lives, time, talents and family time for our freedom.
“For to us a child is born,
Isaiah 60:2-3 “For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
Isaiah 9:2
Blessings,
would provide deliverance. Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” 
exactly the way God said it would affirms God’s sovereignty, omniscience, wisdom and power. How can all this be we ask along with Mary? The angel had it right in verse 37 “ For nothing will be impossible with God.” 
Malachi 3:1 “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the 
me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.” This covenant or agreement with God was His promise to be their God and they would be His people. Jesus was God’s messenger of the covenant and the fulfillment of all God’s promises. He was coming in the flesh to His temple to be with His people bringing a message of love, repentance, restoration and redemption from God. John was going to come in the spirit of Elijah and prepare the way calling mankind to repent and return to God. He was to prepare the hearts of the people so they would be ready to listen to Jesus.
On this first Sunday of Advent, our scripture is Isaiah 40:5.
Isaiah 40:1,3,4 opens the Messiah and that is where our Advent story begins.
bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.
In Psalm 22 David wrote words that described the coming Messiah’s work and anguish while here on earth. When he took the sins of the world upon himself Jesus cried out in agony, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far for the words of my groaning?” (verse 1) The Psalmist describes Jesus’ conditions on the cross, “they have pierced my hands and my feet.” (16b) “They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” (18) These visions of Messiah and what awaited him were given to David. By reading them, we can see proof that Jesus fulfilled each and every prophecy made about him and be assured that He is from God. We catch a glimpse into the Omniscience and Sovereignty of God.
This advent season I will be blogging each day using prophecies about Messiah and His coming as highlighted in Handel’s Messiah. He turned the words of Charles Jennens, his librettist, who created the story from Old and New Testament passages into glorious song. Handel wrote the Messiah in about 3 weeks in the late summer of 1741. His divine inspiration has humbled and inspired audiences ever since. Recently, I got a copy of a handbill that is given out when one attends the Messiah. It contains all the scriptures that the ‘story’ is based upon and their references. Each time someone attends a performance of the Messiah, they are presented with these scriptures in both writing and song. Praise God! He has used Handel and his work ‘The Messiah’ to tell his story to the world since 1741 in this unique way.
