Thankful And Blessed| Thanksgiving
November 24, 2021
Advent | Peace & Preparation
December 9, 2021
Ding, dong, ring those bells…it’s the Christmas season and I have a reason to hope! Hope was sent into the world as a tiny baby born to an unassuming couple in an unassuming town in an unassuming way. Although the setting was simple, the implications of Jesus’ birth are anything but simple.
I love the trees, the ornaments, Santa and don’t get me started on the Christmas treats!! But, I also love the fact that I get the opportunity to shine a little light on why we celebrate Christmas…why did Jesus come??
I don’t think I’m the only one who loves babies. There’s just something about the hope in their eyes that draws us in and helps us to forget all the other stuff going on around us. I think that’s why we love to tell and retell the Christmas story each year because it’s all about a baby born on a starry night in Bethlehem.
But, I’m so glad that the manger scene was only the prelude to so much more!
Jesus came because I need him…because this world with its war and pestilence is just more than I can handle on my own! I have a reason to hope when my world seems shaken and it’s hope that sustains me.
We have entered into a season that some call Advent, which literally means “coming.” Yes, Jesus came as a baby some 2,000 years ago, but HE’S COMING again.
His birth means much more than a sweet story or a cherished symbol that we set out on our mantles.
Jesus invests our lives with HOPE. No matter what obstacles, worries, or struggles stand in your way right now, Jesus offers a way for you to look up over, under, around or even through your circumstances to the enduring hope he represents and freely offers.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
May the Holy Spirit stir up your hope this season. But, even more than that, I pray that you would grab ahold of the joy and peace that only truly comes as we fix our eyes on the God of hope.
Reach out for him and he will be there for you every time!