PEACE BE WITHIN YOU

After being invited to join a group of worshippers on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, we read in verse 2 that the psalmist begins a song of gratitude for having been there.

We love to read Hebrews 11—Faith’s Hall of Fame—and rightly so as it is a wonderful reminder of our great forebears in the faith.

How many Christmases do you want? This really begs a further question. What does Christmas mean to you?

There is a similar call that rings through each of these readings assigned for today.

It does not matter what time frame one is living in, God’s hands are always powerfully delivering and protecting His children from the enemy.

Psalm 124 speaks to God’s unfailing protection and deliverance in perilous times. It invites us to constantly remember and give thanks for His intervention in our lives as it emphasizes our dependency on God.

Advent presents us with an opportunity to reassess the way God is at work in our lives. Times of waiting will do this for us if we are honest. If it had not been for the Lord…This refrain repeats over and over…

Jesus was born about seven hundred years after Isaiah describes the kind of future that God’s people were going to have. There is so much encouragement in realizing that there is hope for salvation.

In this season, Isaiah reminds us of the coming Messiah and what that Messiah will do with and for the people of Zion. This includes us today.

In this passage, Isaiah addressed the period of exile in which Jerusalem had been destroyed, and the majority of Judeans were taken to live in Babylon.

Old stories carry the power to attract, to invite, and to open a window into another place and time.

The middle of December for many means that gifts are being planned out and bought, homes have been or will be decorated; lawns and houses glow brightly with yuletide, snowmen, reindeer, and all things lights.

The Apostle Paul wrote a mighty treatise and passionate document to a group of Roman Christians. In this letter, most likely read in public in many house churches, he addressed his passion for preaching Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected.

We find in the Old Testament that our Chosen Jewish friends were to be examples for the world and to live life in accordance with the instructions from the God who called them as a people.

In the first five verses of chapter one of Ruth we see human drama and pain playing out in real life.

Verse 9 reminds us of the glorious patience of the Lord! He is waiting, not forcing the issue but waiting for us to respond to His wonderful grace as applied to both redemption and edification.

This is the Messiah for whom we eagerly await at Advent. This is the one we celebrate each Christmas as God’s gift to the world: the Messiah whose kingdom is established for eternity! God’s power, concern for the needy, justice, and eternal reign are manifest in the Christ child, our Lord and Savior.

God is at work around us, the smells from the heavenly kitchen are wafting our way like the aromas from grandmother’s kitchen. God is calling us this advent to start setting the table.

Near my home is a trench drain that collects water during the rainy season. If you live in Colorado, you well know that an abundance of collected water is not typical.

Advent keeps us mindful that we are a people of waiting. This season mirrors the time God’s people endured waiting for the promise of redemption and reconciliation to be fulfilled. We wait, but we do not wait passively.

I have been thirsty–long hikes, limited water, and miles before the next source. I read the map, looking for the blue water drops printed next to the known sources of water.