Psalm 27 encourages us to “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” (Psalm 27:14) This is a fitting encouragement as we begin Advent this week.
Advent is the time of celebration over the four Sundays leading up to Christmas and ending on Christmas Eve. Although there is no mention of it in the Bible, many people find it not only an enjoyable time but one that is spiritually enriching. It is, like the Psalm suggests, a time of great anticipation, of waiting, expecting, and hoping.
The entire nation of Israel had waited centuries for their Messiah to appear. Luke tells us the devout and righteous Simeon had been “waiting for the consolation of Israel” (Lk 2:25) and the prophetess, Anna, was “looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem” (Lk 2:38).
Read On >>>
Inspiring Awe
You’ve probably heard the story of the scientist who prays to God saying, “God, I’m sorry but we just don’t need you anymore. We have finally figured out how to create life out of nothing. You know, the way you once did right at the beginning.”
“Oh, is that so?” replied God, “Tell Me about it.”
“Well,” says the scientist, “we take dirt and form it, we breathe life into it and, there you have it, we’ve created a man!”
“Amazing,” says God, “that’s very interesting, could you show Me?” The scientist bends down and scrapes up some dirt and begins to mould the dirt into the shape of a man.
“No, no, no…!” interrupts God, “Get your own dirt!” Boom-Tish!
Despite what many presume, only God has the power and intelligence to create life out of nothing. Science observes and experiments, and does wonderful things, but only. . .
Read More >>>
Living Expectantly this Christmas
[Please note I am having a break from blogging during January. Ill be back in full swing in February! SLB]
Christmas Day is almost here and the lead up to it is full of waiting, longing, expecting, and hoping — and not only for children. For centuries Christians have set aside the four Sundays prior to Christmas as a time to rehearse again the anticipation of Christ’s coming.
Advent – the word comes from the Latin meaning ‘coming’, ‘appearance’ or ‘return’ – inspires us to look backward to Christ’s first coming, and to look forward in expectation of his coming into the world and our lives today.![NativityJesus_s[1]](https://stephenlbaxter.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/nativityjesus_s1.jpg)
With a quick look at our Christmas celebrations, one could be excused for concluding our longings consist of cute babies, worshipful farm animals, humble shepherds, and camel-riding astrologers. But these are just the backdrop to a much grander and more profound story – God visits planet earth with the aim of restoration and renewal that is nothing short of a new heaven and a new earth (Isaiah 65:17-25).
Fuelled by the prophetic writings of Isaiah, Jews and Christians alike look forward to a day when God’s Messiah will set the world aright, bringing justice to the nations (Is 42:1) and producing a world of full of peace and harmony (Is 9:1-7; 11:1-9).
It was the same on that first Christmas. The Israelites were looking to God to send the long promised Messiah to rescue them from their plight at the hands of the occupying Roman army. Their world was in turmoil, their future looked bleak, and they cried out to God.
Throughout history, people have longed to be rescued. As the recent siege in Sydney illustrates the world is often a very difficult place to live in. Read More >>>