Posts Tagged ‘ God ’
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
Isaiah 11:1, ESV
We find joy in Christ, the one who was promised to King David and to bring us into relationship with God, our Creator and Savior.
I enjoy the Christmas season. I enjoy celebrating Advent.
The first week of Advent can be found here. The second week of Advent can be found here.
The third week of Advent is traditionally seen as being a time for looking at joy. This year, I am using some of the readings from the Revised Common Lectionary.
Let’s get into
Sing for joy, Daughter Zion;
Zephaniah 3:14-17, CSB
shout loudly, Israel!
Be glad and celebrate with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!
The Lord has removed your punishment;
he has turned back your enemy.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is among you;
you need no longer fear harm.
On that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not fear;
Zion, do not let your hands grow weak.
The Lord your God is among you,
a warrior who saves.
He will rejoice over you with gladness.
He will be quiet in his love.
He will delight in you with singing.”
We saw previously that God is our hope and peace, that Christ is our faithful Priestly King prophesied centuries earlier and proclaimed at His birth and before His earthly ministry began.
This week we see the joy that Christ brings. Jesus came to His people, to Jerusalem at the proper time to take away our sin and shame. Our heavenly King came to dwell amongst us, to save us, and to give us full hope of eternity where He will rejoice with us, not condemning us but delighting in us. Let us join in the rejoicing!
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-7, CSB
As we await Christ’s second coming, we cast all our anxieties on Him through prayer and thanksgiving, rejoicing in the Lord who saves, giving us hope and peace and eternal joy. Let us worship the King who has come! Let us love our God who dwelt among us and dwells within us by His Holy Spirit to the glory of the Father!
Lord, prepare our hearts for joy by the power of the Holy Spirit that others may see the joy and peace You grant us. Help us to see Your goodness in all things and to proclaim the joy of the cross to a lost and hurting world until Your return!
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”
Jeremiah 33:14, ESV
God has given us peace through Christ by revealing His love through the cross, and we can have peace knowing He is faithful to keep His promises. Trust in our faithful God.
A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.“
Isaiah 40:3, ESV
God has given us peace through Christ by revealing His love through the cross, and it was proof of the prophecies from hundreds of years earlier, even of John the Baptist, showing God’s faithfulness. Our peace comes in knowing His sovereignty and omniscience.
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
1 John 3:16, ESV
God has given us peace through Christ by revealing His love through the cross, and we share that peace and love by doing the same in His name for others to see His love and find that peace.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
John 13:34, ESV
God has given us peace through Christ by revealing His love through the cross, and now we carry that peace by loving His Church with the same sacrificial love He showed us.
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
Matthew 22:37, ESV
God has given us peace through Christ by revealing His love through the cross, so we find this peace when we love God with our whole being.
For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.
John 3:34-35, ESV
God has given us peace through Christ, and they send the Holy Spirit to guide us to believe in Christ and have this peace overflowing.
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8, ESV
God has given us His peace through Christ, restoring the relationship lost in the Garden, because He loves us.
I enjoy the Christmas season. I enjoy celebrating Advent.
The first week of Advent can be found here.
The second week of Advent is traditionally seen as being a time for looking at peace. This year, I am using some of the readings from the Revised Common Lectionary.
Let’s get into
Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel,
Luke 1:68-79, CSB
because he has visited
and provided redemption for his people.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David,
just as he spoke by the mouth
of his holy prophets in ancient times;
salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of those who hate us.
He has dealt mercifully with our ancestors
and remembered his holy covenant—
the oath that he swore to our father Abraham,
to grant that we,
having been rescued
from the hand of our enemies,
would serve him without fear
in holiness and righteousness
in his presence all our days.
And you, child, will be called
a prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord
to prepare his ways,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins.
Because of our God’s merciful compassion,
the dawn from on high will visit us
to shine on those who live in darkness
and the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Last time we saw how God is our hope, that we can put our faith in Christ our Priestly King.
This week, we look at the peace that Christ offers, but first we look at the faithfulness of God. He promised this peace would come starting with Abraham and through to David. It took a thousand years from David to get to the final prophet of the Old Covenant which came through Moses. John the Baptist, son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, was the prophet who ushered in the ministry of the Son of David, the Priestly King who would bring peace.
However, look at what the prophet Malachi said:
“See, I am going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way before me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to his temple, the Messenger of the covenant you delight in—see, he is coming,” says the Lord of Armies. But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will be able to stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire and like launderer’s bleach. He will be like a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. And the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord as in days of old and years gone by.
Malachi 3:1-4, CSB
The coming of this Prince of Peace would be a time of refinement and cleansing. While it is a time of hope, peace comes when His people have been purified. This again looks to the future, when our Priestly King Jesus comes for the second time. Now, we are being made clean by His blood, but at His second coming will be the time that the rest of Creation is purified and renewed.
True peace is knowing the Christ. He has called His Church to spread the message of peace, and as 2 Corinthians 5 tells us, we are His ambassadors until He returns. May we warn the world of the coming judgment that they may have peace with God both now and forever.
Lord, prepare our hearts with the peace of the Holy Spirit, and guide us to those who will believe in the peace you offer. Make us your weapons of peace against the violence of sin and oppression, redeeming the world through us until Your return.
a simple man of God 