I love the season of Advent as it means renewal, hope, a blessed message from God, His love, redemption and Jesus our Savior all rolled into the story of the season. Personally, December 1 brings memories of my daughter’s arrival from Korea at the age of 3 months. We had been planning and waiting for her arrival but did not know exactly when it would happen. We got a call the night before that she was arriving the morning of December 1 at LAX. We hurriedly booked flights and made our way to Los Angeles. It was a scary but gloriously exciting time for our family and a day I will never forget. Seeing and holding her for the first time, bringing her home to Oakland and having friends and family members there to greet us was amazing. That day and that experience was indelibly imprinted in my memory and on my heart.
The story of Advent, Jesus’ miraculous coming to earth as a babe, is another story that always evokes memories for each of us as we encounter the living Christ in our lives. We are reminded of His humility and sacrifice in coming for us, leaving the grandeur and power of heaven for our sake. It is a sacrifice that imprints itself into the heart of every believer and helps us relive and rejoice each Advent season. Jesus is the reason for this season of the year and what joy He brings to our lives.
I pray that as we journey through this Christmas story of Jesus’ birth and as we experience the many people both earthly and heavenly: that we will be impacted by His coming in a new and fresh way, that we will focus in on the emotions and feeling this story evokes and that each story part will lead us into a deeper understanding of God. May we see God’s hand in each person and circumstance. May it lead us to realize that God is with us and in our lives just as He was that first Christmas.
I’m looking for the joy of the season. This year my verse was Habakkuk 3:18 “yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” and Nehemiah 8:10b “for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Be strong, be filled and Be joyful this season! Jesus is reason enough for JOY!
Linda
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.
Fearless Living 