This Sunday is the first Sunday in the Advent season. The first week is a time to prepare for Jesus’ birth which was foretold by the prophets throughout the Old Testament. Jeremiah wrote of the coming Messiah…
“‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. 15 “‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.’ (NIV) Jeremiah 33:14-16
Nearly 2000 years after that “righteous Branch,” Jesus, was born. We are to prepare to celebrate with joy and confidence the birth of Him who came to save our souls from sin. But, Jesus came not only to save us from our sins, He also came to transform our lives by His grace. So let us renew our commitment to live out the reality of Christ in our lives…
May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 13 May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. (NIV) 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13
And let us look hopefully to our future home, heaven, and the Kingdom of God’s glory…
Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8:23
…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (NIV) Philippians 1:6
May hope for today, and hope for the future blaze in your heart today as we prepare to celebrate our Savior’s birth!
