For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and
gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall
arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come
to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
(Isaiah
60:2-3 KJV)
Note: This is a re-post from last year with some
editing. I am currently in the process
of discerning about writing some additional posts looking at Jesus’ birth
prophesied in the Old Testament, so there may be a few additional posts in the coming
weeks.
*A special time of year is upon us—the
season of Advent. On November 27, 2016,
we marked the first Sunday of Advent; this post takes a look at the first
candle—the Candle of Hope (or the Prophet’s Candle). In conducting a quick internet search, I
discovered multiple terms for the candles, so what I am presenting is one
option. To read the first post in my
Advent series please see: Advent.
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| Banner Trinity UMC--Albia, Iowa. Photo Credit: D. Wright |
The people that walked in darkness have
seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon
them hath the light shined. …. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is
given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be
called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace.
(Isaiah 9:2, 6 KJV)
The dictionary defines hope simply, as: “to want something to happen or be true and think that it
could happen or be true”.[1]
The biblical definition of hope differs from the secular
view of hope. Seen from the eyes of
faith, hope is: “…a confident expectation…regardless of temperament or
circumstances, where there is a belief in the living God who intervenes in
human life and who can be trusted to keep…promises…Hope is therefore
inseparable from faith…”[2]
This is the type of Hope we celebrate at Christmas. A Hope that is solid and lasting—it never
fails. The Hope I am referring to is
Jesus.
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| Poinsettias and banner at Trinty UMC--Albia, IA. Photo Credit: D. Wright |
Which type of hope do you experience in your daily life?
On the first Sunday of Advent are reminded that Christ is
our Hope.
Jesus is our Hope; without Him, we are lost and destined for
an eternity that no one should desire.
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and
why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for
the help of his countenance.
(Psalm 42:5 KJV)
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| Photo Credit: P. Whitlach |
On the first Sunday of Advent, we
light the candle of Hope (or in some traditions it is the Prophet’s
Candle). The Old Testament is full of
prophecies about the Messiah—giving details about both comings—sometimes both comings
are seen in the same chapter or verse. The
prophets likely did not realize there were two comings of the promised Messiah,
thus the confusion when Jesus came as Savior (setting up the Kingdom of God in
hearts, rather than as a conquering King (giving victory over Rome).
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| Banner at Trinity UMC--Albia, IA. Photo Credit: D. Wright |
Behold, the days
come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that good thing
which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.
In those days, and
at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David;
and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.
In those days
shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name
wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness.
(Jeremiah 33:14-16
KJV)
Hope came to our world—dark with sin—in the form of a tiny,
vulnerable baby. This child grew and
developed like a normal human child; yet He lived a sinless life. Eventually, He suffered, bled, died, and rose
again to save us from our sins.
As Christians, we are indeed blessed with Hope—hope that the
world does not have and does not understand.
To have hope, means that we can see more than what is right in front of
us. This hope gives us great
confidence—confidence that strengthens and encourages us. It is also something that the world cannot
understand. This hope allows us to
praise God in the darkest times of life.
How have you experienced this type of hope? How have you seen this in the lives of
others?
What will your response be this year to Jesus? He stands ready to come into your heart; He
has already said yes to you. What is
your response?
Take some time this week to consider the following
questions:
What does it mean to have hope?
Where does your hope lie—in Jesus or in something or someone
that cannot save?
Therefore, as we commence this season of Advent let us
prepare our hearts to welcome in Jesus our Savior and Lord! Jesus the One who is our Hope!
Please do not forget your single
friends, family, neighbors, or those in your church who will be alone on
Christmas Day—consider inviting them to join with your family (no matter how
simple and informal the gathering is)—the blessings will flow both ways! Whatever you do, please do not tell them, “Oh, God is with you…” and then walk off,
ignoring their hurting heart and heart-felt desire to fellowship with others on
Christmas Day. Do not assume they want
to spend the day alone. Your family may
be the only family they will get to experience…EVER. My prayer is that churches will not cancel
services on Christmas Day—to do so is to miss the point of the day entirely!
Please join with me in prayer:
Dear
Heavenly Father, thank You for the sure hope we have through Jesus Christ—our
Lord Immanuel—God with us. Help us to
remember that Hope; particularly as we wait in expectation for Christ’s
coming. Guide our thoughts when we
struggle to find Hope in the various situations and challenges of life. We are encouraged through Your Hope; direct
us in sharing that Hope with others. Empower
us to be encouraging and loving to our brothers and sisters in Christ who are struggling
in so many ways as this year winds down—may we be the hands and feet of Jesus for
them and for others. In Jesus’ name we
pray. Amen.
From
My Heart to Yours,
Kim
Yes, Kim, we are so blessed by hope! I do hope you will write a series on the prophets pointing to the coming of the Messiah. So many people, who don't read the Old Testament, have no clue about this; I think it would be an eye-opening, heart-opening experience for them.
ReplyDeleteLove and blessings!
Martha, life is hard enough with hope; without hope, life would hardly be worth living. Perhaps a series on the Old Testament prophets prophecies about Jesus is a good idea. You're correct about many not reading the OT and not knowing about the prophecies concerning Jesus. It will be an interesting series to pull together (after Christmas, may be?) and time consuming.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Hi Kim! I am holding on to hope this Advent, as it seems very difficult for me to have any quiet place to soak in the season. If I didn't have that, and a longing to see the infant Jesus, I think I'd be very sad indeed.
ReplyDeleteCome into my heart Jesus, I need you!
Blessings,
Ceil
Hi Ceil! Holding on to hope is important to do now and throughout the year. Yes, it's easy to find sadness overwhelming us during this season due to so much going on around us (even when we're not all that busy). Without hope we tend to flounder and drift through life without much direction. It's the hope that I have in Christ and heaven that keeps me going.
DeleteI agree with you, "Coming into my heart Jesus, I need you!"
Blessings,
Kim
I love your perspective on the different Advent Candles. It is a wonderful tradition that I enjoy as well, and you have a little different way of offering it than I do, but still with the same message and meaning. Yes, Christmas, Christ's coming does give us GREAT HOPE!!! We could have no hope without Him.
ReplyDeletePam, thank you for your kind words. It's so interesting how we can write about the same thing in such different ways, yet share the same message about the GREAT HOPE we have in Jesus.
DeleteBlessings!