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| Prepare Your Hearts |
Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father's home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. John 14:1-3 NLT
Is advent important to you? These are days of preparation in the four weeks before Christmas. Advent means "Coming" in Latin. To some people, these weeks are just getting their homes decorated and presents made or bought to put under their tree. There is more to it than that...or there should be more to it. Prepare your heart and remember the real reason for Christmas. Jesus came to earth as our Savior. The four weeks are symbolized using people and places to remind of the event:
Prophets - Hope
Bethlehem - Faith
Shepherds - Joy
Angels - Peace
I just discovered that some churches even use this Advent time, particularly December 16th--which was a couple of days ago--to get ready for the Second Coming of Christ! I'm all for that! Jesus told us to be prepared. We won't know the hour nor the day, but we should be able to tell the signs of the times. There were people in Jesus' time who missed acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah because they didn't pay attention to the Prophets who gave specific predictions about Him. Look up these scriptures for yourself. More details and additional scripture can be found online at sites like the CBN.com website.
Born in Bethlehem - predicted in Micah 5:2 and fulfilled in Matthew 2:1-6
Born of a virgin - predicted in Isaiah 7:14 and fulfilled in Matthew 1:20-23
The Messiah as a Prophet - predicted in Deuteronomy 18:15 and fulfilled in John 7:40-42
Messiah tempted by Satan - predicted in Psalm 91:10-12 and fulfilled in Matthew 4:5-7
Messiah enters Jerusalem triumphantly - predicted in Zeriahech 9:9 and fulfilled in Matt 21:8-11
Messiah rejected by His own people - predicted in Isaiah 52:1,3 and fulfilled in John 1:10-11
Messiah tried and condemned - predicted in Isaiah 53:8 and fulfilled in Matthew 21:1-2
Messiah died as a sin offering - predicted in Isaiah 53:5-6, 8, 12 and fulfilled in John 1:29
Messiah's Ressurection - predicted in Psalm 16:10 and fulfilled in Matthew 28:5-7
Jesus Himself said that He would return. See John14:2-3. Wait and see. We missed the December 16th emphasize, but don't miss Jesus' return. Be ready spiritually.
Prayer ~ Dear Jesus, help us to focus on You as the Reason for this Advent Season and prepare our hearts daily for the celebration of Your birth and of Your return--whenever.
Daily Bible Reading: 1 Timothy
Only 7 Days Until Christmas
© 2019 Text and drawing by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - https://www.blb.org
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