Anticipating
Christmas
For to us a child is born, to us a
son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be
called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 NIV
What are you looking for this
Christmas? Maybe you’re trying to process a difficult decision, and you’re in
need of a Wonderful Counselor. Perhaps you’re feeling like you’ve reached the
end of yourself, and you’re looking for a Mighty God. Maybe you aren’t able to
be with your family this Christmas, and you need an Everlasting Father. Or
maybe your thoughts are waging war, and you’re in desperate need of the Prince
of Peace.
So often, the holidays come and go
before we’ve had a chance to focus on the true reason for Christmas … but it
doesn’t have to be this way.
Advent serves as a season of
anticipation and reflection leading up to Christmas. Translated from the
original Latin, Advent means important arrival, approach, or coming.
It’s a time marked with remembrance for all God has done and anticipation for
all He is going to do.
Advent is our way of remembering
that God came to be with us, is still with us, and will come again. We have
access to God’s mighty, everlasting counsel and peace because He sent His Son
to become Immanuel, “God with us.” We wait in prayerful expectation for
the return of our Savior, the same way the Israelites eagerly awaited the
fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah.
Christmas marks the beginning of
God’s process to restore our relationship with Him through a New Covenant. The
world waited thousands of years for God’s promised Savior, and then, finally,
He was here. The One who would forever defeat sin and death became God with us.
As we enter this Advent season,
focus on the fulfillment of God's first promise. Recognize that God is true to
His Word, and meditate on the truth that He loves you so much that He sent His
perfect Son to be born into a sinful world so that He could have a relationship
with you.
Themes of Advent: hope, peace, joy,
and love.
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