December 19, 2016 – 5 Days Until My Head Explodes, Or Devotions to Prepare Us For Christ’s Coming

“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus and His righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean in Jesus’ Name
On Christ the solid Rock I stand All other ground is sinking sand

When darkness seems to hide His face I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale My anchor holds within the veil
On Christ the solid Rock I stand All other ground is sinking sand” (My Hope is Built, hymn Edward Mote, 1797-1874)

Advent is marked by the themes of expectation, of anticipation, of preparation, and of longing. There is a longing for deliverance from sin, death and the devil experienced by persecution, tyranny, injustice and hatred in this world. Our hope is that G-d will redeem all creation – begun in the birth of Jesus, and completed when Christ comes again. It is the hope that G-d will come again in righteousness to reign over G-d’s people and creation. It is that hope that once anticipated, and now anticipates anew, the reign of an Anointed One, a Messiah, who will bring peace and justice and righteousness to the world.
The First Candle (The Candle of HOPE)

The first candle on the Advent Wreath is sometimes called the candle of prophecy because it symbolizes the promises the prophets delivered as messages from God; promises that foretold Christ’s birth. Others consider the candle to be a symbol of the hope we have in Christ and so it is called the Hope candle.

On this date in 1843, Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” is published and 6000 copies are sold. The theme of this play is, of course, one of hope – hope that it is never too late to change our ways, increase our faith, and to stop being so selfish and instead reach out to help those in need. Often people wait until they experience a significant event in their lives before they act. Why not start now instead of waiting for your wakeup call. The visitors to Ebenezer Scrooge are “Spirits” ( Christmas’ past, present and future) – we have a different Spirit to lead and guide us, that of the Holy Spirit. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you into and through this Christmas season to, as Scrooge speaks “…“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!”

Pastor Dave