Banquet With The King: Faith – Hope

Monday, December 22, 2025

Faith – Hope – Peace - Love

Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors. He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote: "For this, I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing praises to your name." And in another place it is written, "Rejoice with his people, you Gentiles."(Deuteronomy 32:43) And yet again, "Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles. Praise him, all you people of the earth."(Psalm 117:1) And in another place Isaiah said, "The heir to David's throne will come, and he will rule over the Gentiles. They will place their hope on him."(Isaiah 11:10) I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. I am fully convinced, my dear brothers and sisters, that you are full of goodness. You know these things so well you can teach each other all about them. Romans 15:8-14 (Emphasis underlined.)

Meditate on hope, peace, joy, and love.

Hope, peace, joy, and love are the elements of the Advent celebration.

Jesus is the Light of the World.
He is our Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.

Hope. Our hope is depicted in knowing that Jesus is the light of the world—so we don’t have to be in the darkness. Darkness hides or perpetrates evil. Jesus delivers us from evil (Matthew 6:13) and protects us. He is the great light. Shine, Jesus, shine.

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. Isaiah 9:2

Peace. Beyond a feeling in our hearts and lives, peace is a desire of people around the world. Peace on earth. This was a declaration at the birth of Jesus.

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, "Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased." Luke 2:13-14

Joy. Another year-round emotion that is evoked at the mere thought of our Savior. He came for all people.

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! Luke 2:8-11

Love. God is Love as noted in 1 John 4:7-8.

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father's one and only Son. John 1:14

Love, joy, peace, and hope are provided by Jesus at His birth for all mankind.

Prayer – Lord Jesus…Thank You for being the ultimate sacrifice. We look forward Your return. “We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18. We continue to praise You—day by day until we see You face to face.

Verses of Salvation ~ [For my hope is] that their hearts may be encouraged as they are knit together in [unselfish] love, so that they may have all the riches that come from the full assurance of understanding [the joy of salvation], resulting in a true [and more intimate] knowledge of the mystery of God, that is, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge [regarding the word and purposes of God]. Colossians 2:2-3 AMP

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP),

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.

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