Category: Advent

Advent begins with Love

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The story of the coming Messiah, who was to save his people, began in Genesis 3:15. Adam and Eve had sinned in the Garden of Eden by eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil as God had forbidden. They were deceived by the serpent, Satan, and then cast out of the garden lest they eat of the tree of life and suffer in their sins for eternity. God cursed the serpent and proclaimed there would be enmity between the offspring of Satan and hers. Her child would crush Satan’s head and Satan would bruise his heel. This is the first prophecy of a coming redeemer who would defeat Satan. The Amplified translation gives us some good insights into who is who and what will be accomplished. “And I will put enmity (open hostility) Between you and the woman, And between your seed (offspring) and her Seed; He shall [fatally] bruise your head, And you shall [only] bruise His heel.”

Why start Advent here? There needed to be a compelling reason for God to send His Son to earth to live among mortals and died. John 3:16 gives us God’s motivation for this sacrificially act. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” The Christmas story is all about God’s great love for us. His great desire is to restore the relationship He had with mankind before sin entered the world. Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Even though we are filled with a sinful nature and prone to wander, God loves us and desires to restore man unto himself. Christ came to accomplish this. He was the perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins once for all time. Hebrews 10:10 “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

So as we begin our journey through Advent, we need to remember it is because God loved us and desired a relationship with us that He sent Jesus. What a loving God to fix our problem of sin through His own sacrifice.

Linda

Prepare your heart to be blessed during Advent! 1st Candle lit today!

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I love writing during Advent. It allows me to spend time with the story of Christ’s birth and all the events that lead up to and surround His birth. We see the amazing character of God, promises fulfilled and the moment in history that changed the world. Prepare your heart as Advent begins in my blogs on December 1.

You may have begin preparing for Christmas with an Advent wreath at home or in your church. Since Thanksgiving was late this year, the first Sunday of Advent falls on November 29. The four Sunday’s leading up to Christmas Eve are celebrated by the light of a candle remembering part of the Christmas story. The first is to be lit today. It is the Prophecy candle proclaiming the coming birth of Christ, Isaiah 7:14, and it represents hope. The second is the Bethlehem candle highlighting the manger and coming Christ child, Luke 2:12, and it represent love. The third is the Shepherd’s candle highlighting the announcement to the shepherds of Christ’s birth and it represents joy, Luke 2:8-11. The fourth is the Angel’s candle which represent peace from Luke 2:13-14. The last or center white candle is the Christ candle. This candle is lit on Christmas Eve and represents the arrival of our savior who came to cleanse us from sin, Isaiah 1:18.

Prepare your hearts to be blessed this season as we walk through the story and see what God will teach us together.

Linda

God’s Revelations Through Advent=God’s Abounding Attributes

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Advent of 2019 has been very confirming and uplifting to me.  As I wrote about the Christmas story, Messiah’s long awaited arrival on earth, I was filled with wonder and praise for our Almighty God.  Seeing the story anew through the lens of who-is-godGod’s attributes gave me a glimpse into the magnificence and depth of our God.   I saw God’s accessibility, grace, omniscience, as a person, His incomprehensibility, invisibility, holiness, as a preserver, merciful, a promise-keeper, righteous, sovereign, perfect, omnipotent, provider, merciful again, glorious, Savior, faithful, just, wise, Father, guide, love and eternal.

For 25 days we have looked into the character of God and reflected on how His character could impact us.  God desires that we are accessible to Him and to others.  He gives us grace and asks that we show grace to others.  God alone is omniscient, incomprehensible, invisible, personal, preserver of all things, righteous, sovereign, perfect, omnipotent, glorious, Savior, promise keeper and the giver of eternal life.  He calls us to be holy as He is holy and to wear the righteousness of Christ though faith in Him.  Be merciful towards others and lend them helping hands.  God wants us to be faithful to Him and to those around us, just in our dealings with others, a giver of wise council, good father’s and mothers, guide others towards Him and to be open to His leading.  He wants us to keep our word and follow His Word.  God desires that we love Him and love those He has placed in our life as much as we love ourselves.

David reached the following conclusion about God in Psalm 86:10-13.

psalm 86 10No pagan god is like you, O Lord.
    None can do what you do!
9 All the nations you made
    will come and bow before you, Lord;
    they will praise your holy name.
10 For you are great and perform wonderful deeds.
    You alone are God.

more like JesusThank you for joining me this Advent.  May you be blessed as you endeavor to live for Jesus and grow more and more life Him each day.

Linda

Christmas with Eternity in Focus!

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Merry-Christmas

Today we celebrate the birth of the Christ.  His birth was foretold by the ancient prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born…”   The place was foretold in Micah 5:3  “But you Bethlehem…”.    He came to earth that day born as a human child, yet one who would lead a sinless life and die to save us from our sins.  We believe that only God’s Son, Jesus, could satisfy Holy God and bring us back into relationship with God.  Isaiah foretold in Isaiah 53:5 “But He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him.”   So where does that leave us?  If we believe He was born miraculously as a man who was both fully human and fully God, and He was able to die to save us from our sins, what more is there for us to believe?   return-of-christHe is coming again.  1 Thessalonians 4:16-18  “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will be with the Lord forever.  Therefore encourage each other with these words.” 

As we celebrate Jesus’ birth, we need to remember the story does not end in the manger or at the cross.  The story of the redemption of mankind will end with us living with God for eternity.  Just as His first coming was heralded by angels so will His second coming.  Just as His first coming was miraculous, awesome and breathtaking so will His second coming be worthy of King Jesus when we meet Him in the air.

God eternalWhat do these events say about God?  God is eternal.  God exists outside of time.  He is not measured by anything.  We measure time by the movement of the planets and stars, which God created.  God has always been and always will be.  No one is like Him.  We are not eternal because we have a beginning and an end.  Because God is eternal, He can give us eternal life.  David described God in Psalm 90:2 “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, form everlasting to everlasting you are God.”  John wrote in Revelation 4:8 “Holy, holy, holy is he Lord God Almighty, who was, and is and is to come.”

With our finite minds, the eternality of God is difficult to grasp.  However, we can be assured that God is who He says He is and will do as He has planned for eternity. Jesus is the one who holds the key to our eternal life. john-4-14 John 4:13-14  Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.  Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”   Come to Him this Christmas and be filled with His eternal blessing.  Look  past the manger, past the cross and look forward to His return!

Linda   

 

 

Love, the motivating factor in the story

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In our journey this Advent Season we have walked with Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, Zachariah, Anna, Simeon, the shepherds, the angels and the Wise Men, from Nazareth to Bethlehem to Egypt and back to Nazareth.  We have seen our Omnipotent, Omniscient, Sovereign God in control and guiding all events.  Today, Christmas Eve, let us look at the prophesy Isaiah gave concerning this Christ Child, Emmanuel-God with us.  Let us marvel at God’s Love for us.  The depth, width and scope of what He would do to show His love so we could be reconciled to Him.   Isaiah 9:6-7 was  written 700 years before Christ’s birth.

Isaiah-9-6 For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
    there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
    to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
    from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

God is loveJesus was the full expression of God’s LOVE for us.  He loved us before we first loved Him.  His love is complete, eternal, uncompromising, faithful, true and unchanging.  Scripture tells us that God is love. “ Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:8   Here are a few scriptures describing God’s love:

Deuteronomy 33:12 ““Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long,  and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.”

Psalm 63:3 “Because your love is better than life,  my lips will glorify you.”

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

1 John 4:16 “ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.  God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” 

God loved us so much that He sent His beautiful, wonderful Son to accomplish our reconciliation and redemption.  John 3:16  “ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  Thank you God for loving me so much and saving me.

Linda

 

 

Never doubting their guiding God, Jesus and family return

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Herod the Great died in about 4 B.C. so an angel appeared to Joseph again and gave them the directions they were waiting in Egypt to hear.  

Return to NazarethMatthew 2:19-23:  But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.”

History proved Joseph’s fears to be real and God’s direction faithful as Herod Archelaus  was an incredibly cruel and tyrannical.  He was deposed after 10 years and the Roman’s took over with governors appointed by the emperor.

Joseph followed God’s direction and settled in Galilee in the town of Nazareth.   God was an amazing Guide throughout Joseph’s journey’s.  From leaving Nazareth to travel to Bethlehem with pregnant Mary for the census to Egypt and back to Nazareth,  God led the way.  God was their guide.  God God-is-our-guide-videoleads us in the way we should go.  His Word teaches us how we are to live and think.  Because God gives His children the Holy spirit, they recognize His voice and follow Him.  We can trust God to lead us in the right way.  Without God’s guidance, we would stumble and fall like people in darkness.  Jesus is our guiding light so we can walk with God where He leads us with confidence and assurance.

Just as God was their Guide, He can be our guide in life too.  We just need to listen for His voice, John 10:3, “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”  We can be confident that God will guide and lead us.  Here are a few verses to reassure you can trust Him as your guide:

Psalm 23:2-3 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.   

Psalm 31:3  “For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me;”

Psalm 32:8  “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;  I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”

Psalm 48:14 “that this is God, our God forever and ever.     He will guide us forever”

ps-23-2-3_origMay you follow His leading each day,  knowing that God is faithful and trustworthy.  He will guide you, just as He did Joseph and Mary.

Linda

Where did Jesus go? Escaped to Egypt, just as God promised

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After the visit of the Wise Men to see Herod, it was only a matter of time before Herod discovered Mary, Joseph and Jesus.  The Wise Men did not return to Herod and tell  where they had found Jesus,  but listened to God’s warning and left the country another way.  Matthew 2:13-18  describes what happened next.

egypt“When they had gone (the Wise Men), an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”  14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”    God knew the inquiry of the wise men would stir up jealousy and hatred in Herod, so He sent an angel.  Like before when the angel appeared to Joseph, he was obedient and did not question the wisdom of God.   He took his little family south to Egypt and remained there and waited for further direction from God.

Herod, in the meantime, did not wait to act when he discovered the wise men did not return to tell him of the new king.  He knew they had found him and had slipped away.

“When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

18 “A voice is heard in Ramah,  weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children  and refusing to be comforted,  because they are no more.”  

Leaving a trail of blood, hatred and jealousy is Herod’s legacy.  God knew this would happen and foretold both the fleeing to Egypt and the destruction of innocent lives hundred’s of years beforehand.   Jesus came to fulfill all prophecies concerning Messiah and He did.

Where do you see God in this portion of the story?   Certainly we see God’s foreknowledge of events, His care for Mary, Joseph and Jesus,  His thwarting of Herod, His messaging through an angelic being, His provision of funds for the trip from the Magi’s gifts, His protection…. God showed his fatherly care of this new family and of Jesus’ mission for all mankind.   God is our heavenly Father.  He is the father to all who God-Is-Our-Fatherbelieve in Jesus, His Son.  He gives us His Spirit, adopts us into His family and makes us His children.  He speaks to us through His Word and we can speak to Him through prayer.  God is always good, wise and loving.  He loves and protects, cares, trains and disciplines His children.  As a good Father, God gave us His Word, Sent His Son and then His Holy Spirit to help us live lives pleasing to Him.     John 14:26  “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”  

May you be blessed today as you realize anew the love of your heavenly Father.  He cares for you as no one else can.

Linda

Wise men still seek Him

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Today’s portion of the Christmas Story is one filled with wonder as we consider our All Wise God.  Herod was an evil, jealous king who would do anything to protect his kingship.

wise menNow after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,  2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way.  Matthew 2:1-9

Herod did not know of Jesus’ birth.  Since the Magi had traveled from the east starting when they saw the Bethlehem Star in the sky when Jesus was born,  their arrival could have been 1-2 years after Jesus’ birth.  It would have taken considerable time to come from the east, perhaps Persia.  It would have been customary to come to the current king to inquire of this new baby king-where he was. They probably thought Herod, the current king, would surely know where this baby was, however, He did not.   So they continued their journey….. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with gold-frankincense-and-myrrhMary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.  The gifts they brought were fitting for a king:  gold, incense and myrrh.    The myrrh was presented to Jesus at this birth and was also given to him at the crucifixion as it was a pain reliever.  Jesus refused to dull his pain by taking any (Mark 15:23).   Then the disciples used a mixture of spices and myrrh to prepare His body for burial (John 19:39).  The wise men had followed the star for hundreds of miles, knew that God was directing them towards the new king and undoubtedly realized the greed and jealousy that Herod possessed.  Herod had listened to them but had not been eager to come with them even the short distance to Bethlehem.  He let them do the finding so then he could take care of this new rival king.   So…when God warned, they listened and acted.  12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

wise GodGod is wise.  He is not simply all-knowing.  He uses his knowledge to do exactly what is right.  God’s Word is full of His wisdom.  Both His plan of redemption which sent Jesus and His creation are perfectly wise.  All wisdom comes form God.  Job 12:13 ““To God belong wisdom and power;  counsel and understanding are his.”   These traveling Magi or wise men came seeking the Savior.  God in His wisdom led them to come at just the right time and to the exact place He had chosen.  God protected both the men and Jesus’ family from evil Herod who He knew would seek to kill the babe.  The wise men were truly wise as they listened to God.

What about you?  Do you seek to know God and be filled with His wisdom that is in His Word?  Do you have listening hears to hear God’s wisdom when He gives it to you in prayer or through His Word?   Through faith in Jesus we can know God and understand the wise God we serve.  Ephesians 1:7-8  In him(Jesus) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished ephesians 1 8on us. With all wisdom and understanding,    Knowing Jesus opens up the wisdom of God to believers so  we can read His Word with understanding, seek to know Him better and live a life filled with godly wisdom.  Thank you Jesus.

Linda

Anna, one who sees what Jesus will do

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Mary and Joseph had just encountered Simeon and now they faced an old woman who was known as a prophetess.  There are a few women who speak for God under His guidance in the Bible.  Deborah (Judges 4:4) and  Aaron’s sister Miriam (Exodus 15:20) are the most well known.  Anna was known for her devotion to the Lord and constancy in prayer and worship.

anna“There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.  She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.  She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.  Going up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.”  Luke 2:36-38

Wouldn’t you have loved to have been there that day and heard what she said about Jesus and what He would accomplish?  Her focus was on the redemption of Jerusalem, meaning the Jewish people.  She knew that God was just and that He would redeem and rescue her people with this child  just as He had promised.

justHow is God just?  God’s justice is perfect.  His decisions are always based on His righteous character.  God cannot ignore sin because He is holy.  It would be unjust to ignore wickedness, rebellion and sin. God is just and does not show favoritism.  Every penalty will be fair and right.  God does not treat His children as their sins deserve because Jesus suffered the full punishment for our sins.  Because God is just and merciful, He will never punish His children for the sins for which Jesus paid on the cross.  Anna could see this sacrifice in Jesus’ future that day and knew He was the key to the redemption of all God’s people.

justice__a_cross__by_540_edalbHow are you and I affected by God’s justice?  We can count on God to always be Holy and intolerant of sin.  We can trust that His justice is and has always been perfect as He is unchanging in character and does not show favorites.  God is true to His Word and will do as He promised in Scripture.  He will be victorious over Satan and Jesus will return again.  We have proof of God’s justice.  He dealt with our sin through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus.  Now that our sin has been dealt with, it is over and God’s justice is done!  Praise Him for His Justice and keep pointing others to Jesus.  Live focused on things with eternal value that glorify God.  Cling to God’s promises prayer for justice and mercyin Scripture and pray for those that do not know Jesus as Savior.  Do not judge others but leave justice to God. Trust in God’s justice and mercy it is and always will be perfect and always enough.

Linda

 

Promise fulfilled! Simeon sees His Lord, Jesus the Christ

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fulfilled in ChristJesus said, “ Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Luke 24:44  Jesus came and lived the perfectly sinless life which meant that He made all the right sacrifices at holy days, was circumcised, and followed all the Jewish customs and laws.  In addition, all that was prophesied about Him, all the work He came to accomplish was Yes in Christ.  Today’s story continues in Luke 2:21-25 “And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”   These actions are what we would expect from Mary and Joseph as they would want to observe all the right customs that were required by the Law of Moses with their new child.

God is faithfulLuke 2:25-37 tells us what happened when they came to the temple to present Jesus to the Lord.   As you read, consider our Faithful God.  God knows and loves each  of His own. He will do all He has promised: caring for us, making us strong, forgiving, making us new, protecting and purifying us.  From the beginning God had a plan to restore the world, break the power of sin and reveal His plan to us. We know God is faithful because He sent His Son  to the cross to keep His promise.  He is faithful to himself and His Word.  We can trust Him to keep all His promises.   Here is what happened when they got to the temple:

SimeonNow there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
    according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation
31     that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and for glory to your people Israel.”

33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

How gracious and faithful God was to keep His promise to Simeon that he would not die until He had seen his Savior.  God also confirmed from the beginning that Jesus came to be a light to all- Jew and Gentile.  He also revealed that Jesus would be rejected and it would hurt both Jesus and Mary to the very core of their being.

We-Enjoyed-The-BlessingHow do you see Faithful God work in your own life?  Do you see His caring for you in life’s circumstances, building you up and making you stronger in faith through the trials you face each day, forgiving your sins,  protecting you in body and soul and cleansing you when you confess your sins?   Look today for the faithful hand of God in your life.   You will be amazed and blessed!

Linda