Sunday, December 2, 2018

Eagerly Waiting – Advent Begins


"The day will come, says the LORD, when I will do for Israel and Judah all the good things I have promised them. In those days and at that time I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David's line. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. In that day Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this will be its name: 'The LORD Is Our Righteousness.'" Jeremiah 33:14-16

In that day…the promised day. The day of the birth of the Son of God…our Lord Jesus Christ. He came to save Judah—and all of Israel—and all of the world.
For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:16-17
The world has been pretty awful towards God—rude, selfish, disrespectful, ignoring Him. But He loves us—the whole world—anyway. Loved us enough to send His only Son to take our sins—our mistakes…our selfish, rude attitudes—to the cross in an act of sacrifice for all the sins since Adam and Eve. One sacrifice for all time…for all mankind. Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety. What a great promise. That promise of salvation and safety our ours too. That has been God’s Christmas Gift to mankind for all ages. We merely need to accept this act of sacrifice as the purging of our sin and acknowledge Jesus as our Savior—our Messiah. I know Jesus is my Messiah…is He yours?

Advent is the season of four weeks before Christmas when we remember why Christ came to earth. It is a time for us to reflect on His influence in our lives and His promise of returning.  Use the Lectionary Scripture provided to help you dig deeper into knowing Christ and applying His Word, the words of the Bible, to your life. These scripture are from the Revised Common Lectionary that is used by churches around the world—as we are all part of the universal church, just as we state in the Nicene Creed, which is an ecumenical creed adopted by most Christian faiths.
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
World without end. Eternal life. Where will you experience that? Heaven or Hell?

Prayer ~ Lord Jesus...Thank You for giving up Your home in Heaven to come spend some time with people on earth two thousand years ago. Thank You for being our Messiah.

Daily Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 12-14 

Advent Lectionary Readings:
Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25:1-10
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
Luke 21:25-36
© 2018 photo and text by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
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