Category: Advent 2015

The Seventh Day of Advent

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. Luke 2: 1-7

If God is our hope, why are we ever discouraged? Do we think our trials indicate God is not loving or in control? The story of Jesus’ birth tells us differently. Only God has power so great as to create all the circumstances of Jesus’ birth just as He said. Caesar Augustus’ military power appeared to control the census that took Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem. But only God’s universal power could create historic events so Jesus was born from the lineage of King David in Bethlehem, exactly as the inspired prophets declared centuries before.

History is not controlled by the strength of nations and power of leaders. This is our Father’s world and everything is designed and sustained by Him for a glorious purpose. Our lives are not controlled by random events and unpredictable circumstances. With loving precision God designs our lives with a purpose – that we would know Him and love Him. He sent Jesus into the world to demonstrate His unfailing love for you. This Christmas will you refocus your heart on God and His love for you in Jesus? Let Him be the focus of all your hopes.

For family discussion:

• When have you wondered if God loved you?
• What does God’s design in Jesus’ birth say about His purpose for your life?
• What adjustment will you make to refocus your heart on God’s love for you in Jesus?

Barbara Reaoch

This week’s Re:Verse passage is Matthew 1:18 – 2:12

The Sixth Day of Advent
 
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever,just as he promised our ancestors.” Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. Luke 1:46-56 New International Version (NIV)

This is known as Mary’s Song. Inside Mary was the hope of the world and for all humanity. This is a literal as well as spiritual thought. Inside Mary was Jesus- the Savior of the world and mankind. Mary was a teenage girl when she had Jesus. As a teenage girl I can’t imagine the overwhelming responsibility of raising the Son of God. In that way, she had hope literally inside her. More importantly, she carried hope for all people. In the scripture above it states, “His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation.” This demonstrates our eternal hope because his mercy goes from generation to generation. He never stops loving us and that gives us hope. In verse 53 it states, “He has filled the hungry with good things…” The Lord provides for our needs.  The Lord gives us hope. Through Him we will be blessed now, for generations to come, and throughout eternity. He is merciful, loving and kind.  My hope is in the Lord! Are there ways you can share this hope with others today?

Danielle King

This week’s Re:Verse passage is Matthew 1:18 – 2:12

The Fifth Day of Advent

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she’s now in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.” Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her. Luke 1:26-38 (NLT)

As I read these verses, events are happening worldwide where evil, mated to chaos, appears to be on the advance. Much as it was in Mary’s day, wolves are at the door. At that time, for Mary, for Israel, for all men, the situation seemed hopeless and insurmountable.

But Hope was on the move and the impossible was happening quickly. An elderly couple who had been barren for decades was expecting a child. A small, backwater village would produce the Savior of all mankind. A young teenage virgin was chosen to be the mother of the Son of God. And this Holy Baby would rule forever.

This was all so unfathomable that it caused Mary’s head to spin. Mary spoke for all mankind when she asked, “how can this happen?” How can the impossible happen? The answer was succinct and to the point, “nothing is impossible with God.” Only the Most High God could sow these seeds of Hope in the midst of advancing evil. The world could only watch and wonder as the Holy Spirit moved at breakneck speed.

What was Mary’s response to God’s impossible Hope? This poor, uneducated, unsophisticated teenage girl chose to let go of her reputation, her family and her own plans for the future, in order to place herself completely into the hands of God. In our own impossible situations we can we follow Mary’s example, we can let go and trust in the God of impossible hope.

Tony Gerloff

This week’s Re:Verse passage is Matthew 1:18 – 2:12

The Fourth Day of Advent

Again Isaiah says,

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:12-13 (NASB)

Southern and Eastern Africa have always been enamored with the Baobab tree. It is a conundrum to many: how can a tree so large, survive the dry and sometime drought- ridden winter months of the savanna. The answer lies with the tree’s extensive network of roots, hundreds of organic pipes pulling in water across the ground. Romans 15: 7-13 tells us of a root that comes from the line of Jesse, a root that like the roots of the Baobab tree, is the source of life in a dry land. Hope has come to the Gentiles through Christ; Matthew 12:21 testifies of this, proclaiming that the Gentiles will place their hope in Jesus. We are getting closer and closer to Christmas, a time when most people in our culture concentrate more on gifts and family than the hope the holiday truly represents. Many miss it. The gentile kings who brought gifts to the LORD missed it: Yes, He was born King of the Jews, but He was also the great beacon of hope to the Gentiles. He is the hope to the nations. This Christmas, we must embrace the truth that this holiday represents: Christ is the great hope that brings us life.

Kwenje Banda

This week’s Re:Verse passage is Matthew 1:18 – 2:12

The Third Day of Advent

“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel [God with us].” Isaiah 7:14 KJV

“Bread of the Angels, is made bread
​for mankind;
Gifted bread of Heaven of all
​imaginings the end;
Oh, thing miraculous! This body of
​God
Will nourish the poor, the servile, and
​the humble.”
–Thomas Aquinas

“Flesh had blinded thee, flesh heals thee; for Christ came and overthrew the vices of the flesh.” –Augustine

Our society constantly claims a monopoly on the secrets of the body and its desires. As Christians, we far too often fall prey to this lie, either taking the body for granted or writing it off as nothing but an occasion for sin. However, to discard the body is to discard what Jesus accomplished in His Incarnation, Crucifixion, and Resurrection, namely the redemption not only of the spirit, but of the body as well. The Bible reveals the extent to which God desires to restore his physical creation, the culmination of which is the human body, for just as sin was introduced into the human race through the body of Adam, so the sanctification of the human race has entered the world through the body of Christ. Christ, by assuming into His own Person a human body, came not to liberate us from our bodies, but to liberate our bodies from sin, and thus in His Person all matter is glorified. May our lives give flesh to the Incarnational spirit of Christmas, as Old-Testament shadow becomes New-Testament substance, Old-Testament figure becomes New-Testament fulfillment, and earthly exile becomes everlasting communion through the bodily and spiritual suffering of our Lord.

Garner Richardson

This week’s Re:Verse passage is Matthew 1:18 – 2:12

The Second Day of Advent

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. A voice of one calling:  “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”  Isaiah 40:1-5 

Hope…Trust…Faith.  The word hope is translated in the French language as J’espère  (I hope). J’espère is not the expression “I hope I can do such and such”.  It is to know for certain “I will do such and such”.  It is not a wishful saying.  When you read the first 5 verses of Isaiah 40, you can hear God saying “My people will be comforted, their sin is paid for and forgiven.  My people will have one who prepares the way of the Lord, the pathway will be made straight for the coming of the Lord, the preparation is ready and being completed for the One to come to save the people.”  As we have just come out of the celebration of Thanksgiving and look to the celebration of the birth of Christ, may our hearts be full of the Hope (espère )in Christ.  Yes, He has come, yes, He has provided for restoration for the people unto Holy God and yes, He has given us His Spirit to live and dwell within us … He is coming again.  Is your heart ready for His return?  Just as HOPE was given to the nation of Israel through Isaiah, do you see the HOPE given today for the return of Christ.  Be comforted, be of great hope, this time Jesus is coming not as a baby, but as the Coming and Reigning King.  The celebration of His birth, the celebration of His resurrection, the celebration of His return, ALL is wrapped up in this time of remembering the birth of our Savior.  Be of great Hope.

Larry Boggs

This week’s Re:Verse passage is Matthew 1:18 – 2:12

The First Day of Advent

“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them. . . For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace.”—Isaiah 9:2, 6-7. (NASV)

Where was Isaiah when this vision came to him? I wonder. Was he in prayer? In a meeting? For months, a growing despair had settled like a wet, cold fog on the people of Judah. Great challenges faced the nation. Real fears. Inadequate kings.

In an unforgettable moment, God found the young prophet and filled his heart and mind with a vision of a coming, capable King!

Now, words seemed inadequate. This coming Prince would be God! A man, but with all the attributes of God. Wisdom. Eternality. Might. God-sized results would come with Him. Peace. Increase without end. The prophet could hardly imagine, much less describe, what he was seeing.

In a moment, Isaiah understood. It is not freedom that men need. It is government. Only a strong, fair, just, wise King could lead the nation to safety. Self-rule is a deep and deepening darkness. Trusting people is always a disappointment.

We see in retrospect what Isaiah saw in prospect. When Jesus came the light shined. The King we need is finally here.

Don Guthrie

This week’s Re:Verse passage is Matthew 1:18 – 2:12