In this Season, Will We . . .
As children of God, we are given—
- The strength to be strong in the Lord, in the power of His might.
- The ultimate peace to be clothed in His righteousness, through His Truth & His Grace.
- The indwelling of His Spirit to bear fruit, the Fruit of the Spirit, accessible to us through Him. &
- The obedience and the patience required to suffer as He allows, following the example of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross;
(The Letter of Paul to the Colossians 1: 19-20 NASB)
through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”
This is the season of Advent, the arrival of the babe in the manger, of Jesus. Amazingly, Advent comes on the heels of the season of Thanksgiving, the season of gratitude. We (who have believed in the work of Jesus on the cross and in the grave) have so much to be grateful, to be thankful—in Jesus. Life can be filled with challenges, but we can see these as areas for our growth. Life is full of trouble, but we can focus on the blessings of God, instead. We live in a broken world, the one Jesus came to restore, but we can place our eyes on Jesus and see what is right in the world where we live. Yes, our days may be filled with struggles, with turmoil, with health issues, and even with loss. However, as the church, as the body of Jesus Christ, as HIS children—We can choose to sing unto our Lord, to have hearts full of gratitude.
“O LORD my God,
(The Psalms 30: 2-4 & 10-12 NASB)
I cried to You for help, and You healed me.
O LORD, You have brought up my soul from Sheol;
You have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit.
Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones,
And give thanks to His holy name.
. . .
“Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me;
O LORD, be my helper.”
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,
That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.”
In this season of Advent, may we lift our voices in praise to God because He stepped down from heaven and took human flesh to become a human being (like us). Why would God come to us through His only begotten Son, born to Mary, a servant called by God? The Father came to us through Jesus because God loves us. The prophet Isaiah wrote to proclaim this so.
“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
(The Book of Isaiah 9: 6 NASB)
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”
- During this season of Advent, will we pause in our hustle and bustle—to hurry into God’s presence?
- During this season, will we be refreshed by the Lord Jesus—to worship the One for whom the season of Advent exists?
- During this season of Christmas, will we create space for Christ—to meet Jesus in the peace He provides?
May we notice the significance of the verses the apostle John wrote.
“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory,
(The Gospel According to John 1:14-18 NASB)
glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John [the Baptist, the forerunner sent from God to testify about the light] testified about Him [proclaimed the truth about Jesus] and cried out, saying,
“This was He of whom I said,
‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ “
For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.
For the Law was given through Moses;
grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
No one has seen God at any time;
the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father,
He has explained Him.”