Isaiah 9:6 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.  The four candles of Advent represent Hope, Joy, Peace, and Love. This morning the center candle is lit reminding us that Christ came to be the light of the world. For unto to us a child is born. Sure we need to give Santa his due but today we celebrate that the waiting is over and Hope is here! As dark as the world might seem, a light shines beckoning us forward. Stop for a moment and think of the darkest place you have ever been. It is so dark there that you can’t even see your hand in front of your face. Now imagine you have a pin light on your key chain. No how small that light, it breaks through the pitch black. No matter how dark, the least glimmer of light diminishes the darkness. This is what God through His son, Jesus, wants us to know. The prophet Isaiah predicting the birth of Jesus. Matthew https://biblehub.com/niv/matthew/4-16.htm shared that the people were living in darkness meaning they had chosen to live in a way outside of God’s intention. CS Lewis stated it this way in his book Weight of Glory, Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. Maybe a faith journey is something you can’t imagine. It just doesn’t make sense. Tim Keller writes in Hidden Christmas, “Until you turn the light on in a dark room, you can’t begin to know what is in there.” I pray this Christmas that we would seek God’s Wisdom versus the world’s. May we all, like the Wise Men, seek to find and bow down before the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. The One who came so that we would know that God loves us. It is the greatest gift of all and unlike worldly presents, it will never perish. So, “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its people will die like gnats. But My salvation will last forever, and My righteousness will never fail” Isaiah 51:6  As the old campfire song promises; It only takes a spark to get a fire going. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tadZ8nCLBsI “Once you experience it, the light will show you all you were meant to know and provide the wisdom you seek. Only then will you live the life God desires for you. Merry Christmas from all of us. May this blog help you remember the “Reason for the Season”. I can be reached by email at [email protected]  |
Sharing my journey through adversity