"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it." 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
In the rhythm of The Church Calendar, today marks the beginning of The Advent Season. Long celebrated by Christians of all stripes across the ages, it is a season of preparation. First, for the celebration of The Messiah who has come and second, for His Return. Each week is traditionally celebrated with the lighting of candles displayed in an Advent Wreath. Each candle represents a different weekly theme of Hope, Peace, Love and Joy. Purple is the color of each candle to represent the royalty of Christ except for the third--the Love Candle--which is a pink or rose color. Finally, sitting in the center of the wreath is the larger, white Christ Candle which is lit on Christmas Eve. Churches and families are encouraged to read and share Scripture and Devotions around the theme of each week. It is a wonderful tradition that passes on the central tenets of our faith--that our Redeemer has come, He lives and He will come again to fulfill the fullness of His Kingdom. As faithful children of The King, we must prepare ourselves and focus our hearts to Celebrate this Truth, Live Out this Truth, and to Anticipate the Coming Truth of His Judgement and Final Restoration of His Kingdom. The season of Advent is offered as means of grace to that end.
Today, our focus is on the word HOPE. Do you have HOPE? More importantly, do you WANT to have HOPE? Paul David Tripp, in his book "New Morning Mercies" (Crossway Books) reminds us that we "serve a dissatisfied Redeemer". Jesus' goal is the "final renewal of all things". Our problem, is "we are all too easily satisfied". We are satisfied with being a little bit redeemed, while Christ wants to complete His image within us. We are satisfied with stopping way short of the goal. We also become enamored with the fleeting glories of this world. To unwind our twisted thinking, Tripp reminds us, including me, that "Hope is not found in the places where our hearts look for satisfaction, but in the dissatisfaction of our Redeemer."
So as we begin The Advent Journey, let us center our hearts on our Redeemer and share His dissatisfaction with our current state and have Hope that we will "be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Blessings for a wonderful day!
No comments:
Post a Comment