December is a big month for many reasons, but I like to reflect upon the Advent of Christ being the biggest and most meaningful aspect of this last month of the year! Admittedly, I am not very up to par on the history and even full meaning of Advent, but lately I have been really intrigued by Advent and would like to incorporate it into my traditions around this time of the year. So, for the next few posts (probably the remainder of the month) I will be posting about the Advent of Jesus Christ and how it applies to our lives, and worship.
Advent is a season of time, usually from the fourth Sunday before Christmas through Christmas Eve, that is to build anticipation in the hearts of Christians who are awaiting the arrival of Jesus Christ. We know that Jesus has already come to the earth, according to John 1:1,14, but we are awaiting the second coming of our Lord now. This expectation should be characteristic of us who follow the Lord. We should always be filled with a longing to see our God at work in our lives and the lives of those we love!
Advent not only is a time of expectation, it is a season of preparation as well. This may be one of the key elements of the “why” behind Advent. Whenever we are able to prepare our hearts in order to encounter God it is a “win”! That exercise will never be without great reward. We do not have to wait until a special season in order to do it either, we can examine and prepare our heart condition anytime throughout the year. But there are certain seasons where we are sort of forced into (or out of) different rhythms of life, and when that happens it is a very good thing to contemplate the condition of our hearts and minds.
Advent consists of 4 Weeks of preparation, not necessarily clear to this author on the actual themes of these weeks. It seems to change with different traditions, but here are a few according to Wikipedia:
- The Prophets’ Candle, symbolizing hope; the Bethlehem Candle, symbolizing faith; the Shepherds’ Candle, symbolizing joy; the Angel’s Candle, symbolizing peace
- Hope–Peace–Joy–Love
- Faithfulness–Hope–Joy–Love
- Prophets–Angels–Shepherds–Magi
- Faith–Prepare–Joy–Love
As I write the blogs for this month, I will be using the second four week theme. Hope-Peace-Joy-Love. Each week I will set out to write two blogs on that weeks theme (please bear with me as December is maybe my busiest month of the year), and hopefully we will be able to get the spirit of that week’s theme into our preparation for Christmas.
I will say this too, that Christmas this year has an altogether different feel for me. It seems a bit sweeter and more meaningful to get to this point in 2020, where we are ending a year that has brought about many challenges and also many great victories too! It seems fitting that I feel this way when I look at the first theme though – Hope!
Hope is something that is so important to us. Take a look at this quote by Hal Lindsey:
“Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air…but only for one second without hope.”
― Hal Lindsey
Here are a few Scripture verses that might be great to write down and memorize this week in regard to hope as well:
- “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:31
- “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13
- ”You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety. “ – Job 11:18-19
I particularly like that last one out of Job! Our security is rooted in hope! The hope of a Savior. The hope of Jesus Christ! I hope that you have this security in your life as you read this post. If not, please know that it is available to all who call upon the name of the Lord to be saved (see Acts 4:11-12, and Joel 2:32). If you will just ask Jesus to come into your life and to be the Lord of your life, then you too will experience a hope that you have never experienced before! It is truly amazing to know that there is hope for tomorrow, regardless of the situation we are in today!
Stick with me in the coming weeks as I unpack these themes for Advent. I hope and pray that your Christmas season will be full of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love like you have never had them before. Begin to prepare your heart along with me as we get closer to Christmas, and let’s see how our Christmas season changes as a result of our preparation.
God bless you!
Please comment about your favorite Hope quote/verse. Thank you
