Advent, Hope, Love, Joy, Peace...
1 John 4:7-21 (NASB)
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.
Devotional:
As Christmas draws near you can see people
hustling and bustling everywhere. We go shopping for that elusive
Christmas present. We decorate our homes, streets, and businesses. How
many people have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas? Growing up
people everywhere would say “Merry Christmas” it didn’t matter where you
were from or what you believed. Christmas had a way to draw people
closer to each other. Today you are lucky to even hear “Happy Holidays” in
order not to offend someone. The Christ in Christmas is becoming lost and forgotten.
As Advent approaches I think it is important for us to remember why we celebrate Christmas and to prepare our hearts. There are times when I wonder how many hearts are preparing for the celebration of
Christmas, its true meaning. It seems to me that Advent is also slipping away almost
forgotten. What is advent and what does it really mean? Simply put
Advent as the “Traditional” churches define it is the season to
celebrate the birth of Jesus. It is a period of four weeks before
Christmas. Each week begins on a Sunday. Each Sunday a candle is lit
as a reminder. Each week has its own meaning. Week one is Expectation
or Hope. Week two is for Love, week three is for Joy, and week four is for
Peace. The fifth candle for advent is the Christ candle which is lit on
Christmas day, or at a Christmas Eve service.
There is no special magic in Advent,
nothing spectacular in of itself. What makes advent special and dear to
me is that it is a time to prepare and celebrate. It is a way to
condition my heart and reflect on Christ. It builds upon the
celebration of the birth of our savior. Advent may be a tradition from
your traditional old fashioned churches but it still goes a long way to
remind us of whose birth we celebrate on December 25th.
Nancy reads from a book to our kids every day of advent. They light a
candle, read, pray, and end the moment with a Christmas Carol or two.
The books are stories about events that lead up to the birth of Jesus.
True the stories are fictional and based on children. They do however bring out
the meaning of Christmas. They help prepare our hearts and reflect on
God through this most wonderful time of year. This year I encourage everyone to celebrate Advent. If you need help or have questions you can email me or simply ask your pastor. You can always choose your own way to celebrate Advent. What is important is to remember God is love and His Son was born so that we might have life.
He loved us so much His one and only Son was born and we celebrate His birth on Christmas Day…
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