Faithbase

Hey folks, this is the season of Advent, and I don't want to go through this season without taking a little bit of time to really think about this a little more deeply, because it ought to be something that we really celebrate and really turn our attention to. This season of celebrating Jesus is coming, and that's what this means. Advent means coming or arrival, and we ought to be really thinking about this. And this first Sunday, in my tradition, is the Sunday of hope. Now, other traditions celebrate different phrases or ideas, attributes, depending on where they're coming from. Even whether that's Catholic or different veins of Protestantism or Greek Orthodox, it just all looks a little bit different. But for me, in my tradition, it's hope. Hope is this first Sunday. And I want you to kind of think about something that you have really looked forward to. Maybe as a kid, it was the presents on Christmas Day, and that's what it was. Maybe as you got a little bit older, it was, man, I cannot wait for the end of the school year to come, and waiting for that first day of summer. Or maybe it was a vacation that you looked forward to every year, or a summer camp that you went to, something like that. And you just, you thought about it a lot, and you planned in your head what that might be like. Maybe it was something that you you've bought recently, right? Concert tickets, or a book, or a video game, or something like that. You're just waiting for it to arrive, and you can't wait. And the anticipation, the butterflies in your stomach, the excitement, this is a taste of hope. 800 years before Jesus was born, Isaiah gave a prophecy, and he said a couple things about Jesus. This is 714. He says, therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. The Virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel, which means God with us. And then later, he says this, 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. And of the greatness of his government and peace, there will be no end. That was something worth looking forward to for the Israelite people. At this point where Jesus was, they were looking forward to it even more, because they were being occupied by Rome. They were the ones who were governing the region, and they hated it, to be quite frank. And they could not wait for the Messiah to come. In this week, we can celebrate the arrival of Christ in our life. We have chosen to follow him, and he has come and dwelled in us, through the Holy Spirit, and that is worth celebrating. And we also hope for certain things that maybe Christ might do, that he might restore some relationships, that he might bring peace or joy into our life. And maybe we hope for the ultimate coming of Christ, where he makes all things right, and sets all things the way they ought to be. What do you hope for today? Won't you talk to the Lord about that this morning? God bless you.