Love (December 27, 2020)

Love.

If you’ve had the chance to read these devotionals for any amount of time, or if you’ve had an opportunity to hear me preach for any amount of time, you know that this subject is one that I have addressed in the past.  We’ve talked about it.  We’ve discussed it.  We’ve talked about different types of love, different aspects of love.  We’ve looked at some of the ways we throw around the word “love” and how it can mean a variety of things in a variety of contexts.  Hopefully, we know that to “love” chocolate is different than loving others or loving God.  Love.  It’s been discussed.  It has been covered.  What else could we possibly say about love?  Why should we be having a conversation about love yet again?

Well, for one, I promised a devotional on each of the candles of Advent.  We’re onto our last week.  Week #4.  The candle?  Love.  So, there’s that.  More importantly, I do not believe that we could ever adequately or thoroughly cover all of the aspects of the love of God.  No matter how many times we take a swing at discussing God’s love, we will come up short.  After all, Paul says this:  “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.” (Ephesians 3:18)  There is always more room for conversations, deeper understanding, fuller appreciation, richer experience.  There is always room for a broader grasp of the love of God.  Plus, even if it were theoretically possible to have heard everything there is to hear about love, who says that repeating is bad?  Sometimes, repeating is good.  Sometimes, it is beneficial to hear the same thing again and again and again and again.  God is love.  That is something worth repeating often.  Daily.  As part of our routine.  There are things worth repeating.  Conversations about the love of God are some of those things.

So, there you have it.  We’re covering love once more.  Let’s get at it.

First, let’s look at one of the things that Jesus says about love to his disciples. 

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  

~ John 15:12 

I have to be honest.  My first response to this command is disbelief…even though Jesus was talking to a group of friends.

“Wait!  What did you just say?  Surely, you’re joking!  You’re joking.  Right, Jesus?  This is one of your jokes, isn’t it?”

“Love these people like you have loved me?  Even my friend, that bozo, over there?  Him too?”

“Surely, Jesus, you must have misspoke, or it is a joke.  You can’t possibly mean to say that we are to love each other as you have loved us.”

But no.  No, it was not a joke.  That was his directive.  That is his command.  Love each other as he has loved us.  To be honest, that’s a tall task to say the least.  I get kind of squirmy just thinking about it, even if I’m thinking about those closest to me, my family, my friends.  

Maybe this isn’t the case for you, but when I picture how Jesus loved the disciples, his patience with them, his willingness to meet them where they were in their faith walk and to move them forward, his humility in love and service, his feeding them and caring for them, his washing of their feet…  When I realize that this picture doesn’t even fully cover the love of Christ for his disciples…  Then, when I picture how Jesus has loved me…his forgiveness, his mercy, his grace, his patience…

“That’s a tough ask, Jesus!  You mean I have to love in the same way?”

“Yes, Chris.  Yes you do.  Love each other as I have loved you.”

Then, as if that were not enough, Jesus continues,

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 

~ John 15:13

You want to know love, true love?  How about this:  There is no greater love than laying down one’s life for one’s friends.

Love as Jesus loved.  Lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

It’s hard to get there.  If we’re honest, it was hard enough to get there before Jesus added the whole laying down of one’s life bit.  Now, it is even tougher (at least it’s tougher for me).  It’s hard to lay down my life.  It’s hard to sacrifice.  It’s hard to put others before me, even if they are my friends or family.  To borrow a classic war movie type example, I hope that in the midst of a battle that I would have the courage to jump on the grenade that went right into the middle of our group.  I hope that if I were standing there with my friends, my family, that I would lay down my life and save others.  But if I’m honest?  I’m not so sure.  I fear I would run or freeze or hide or panic or secretly hope that someone else might take the sacrifice to save the rest of us.  Could I do it in the moment?  Could I lay down my life?  I pray that I could, but I fear that I wouldn’t.

And all of that is in the context of loving our friends!  Jesus was talking to the disciples and addressing them with how they should treat each other.  It’s an example for how we should do the same, but if we know Jesus, if we know the love of Christ, we know that Jesus didn’t just stop there.  Jesus didn’t just stop with loving friends, with loving them as he loves us, with laying our lives down for those we care about.  Instead, Jesus does more.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

~ Romans 5:6-8

Sinners are not “friends” with God by nature.  Sinners have gone their own path, have sought their own way, have rebelled against God and God’s plan, have chosen “self” over God.  Sinners are not friends.  And yet, God makes them so.  

Jesus demonstrates true love, complete love, holy, uninhibited love by offering the greatest sacrifice, by laying down his life for others…even while they were still sinners.

Even while we were still sinners.

Even while we were not yet “saved” by the love of Christ.
Even while we had not yet gotten it right.

Even while we were lost and hopeless and shipwrecked and actively disobeying our Creator.

Even while we were enemies of God.

Even while we were still sinners, Jesus demonstrated his love for us by laying down his life.

That is the love that we celebrate this Advent, this Christmas.

We celebrate the sacrificial, others-focused, incomprehensible, amazing love of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Yes, we celebrate the love of God demonstrated to us by sending his Son, Jesus, to be born in the flesh, to take on humanity.  But, we also need to realize that the little baby Jesus, born in a manger, would live his life and lay it down.  We need to behold, to recognize, to celebrate the love of Christ that is beyond words.  One who was perfect, who was not flawed in any way, laying down his life for those who were his enemies that they might be labeled his friends.

And the call to us?  The ask of us?

We are to do the same. 

Though it is hard enough to think of others first when they are our friends, to lay down our lives for those we care about, the love of Jesus calls us to something even more, to lay down our lives to think of others who are not yet in that category.

I’ll be frank.  I’m not always there.  I’m not always willing.  I’m not always able.  I’m not always loving.

Fortunately, God is still patient with me.  God still loves me.  Jesus still guides me, forgives me, and points me forward.

My prayer, friend, is that we would all be more like Jesus.  That we would know his love, that we would accept his love, and that we would be used to be agents of his love in this world.  That we would love others as Jesus has loved us and that we would be willing to lay down our lives so that others might live.

Love.

Such a wonderful gift.  Such an immense challenge.

May God fill our hearts with the love of Jesus and may it radiate through us this season.

 ~ Pastor Chris

Joy (December 20, 2020)

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come!”

Written by Isaac Watts in 1719, “Joy to the World” has been a favorite for a little over two hundred years.  It has been sung, and sung, and sung again.  Countless artists have covered it.  Even more people have sung it and have enjoyed belting it out on Christmas Eve.  For me, it’s almost impossible for someone to mention “joy” during this season of Advent without that song popping up into my head.  Fortunately, I love it!  It is an absolutely remarkable hymn!  There is just something about hearing that song, singing that song, worshipping with that song that sets my heart on fire, that reminds me of the joy that is found in Jesus.  Now, I’m not typically a “let’s leave the Christmas decorations up all year long” type of person (not that there is something wrong with you if you are that type of person).  It’s just not me.  For me, the tree and the rest of the decorations come down after the Christmas season is over.  Stockings get unstocked.  Lights get unlit.  Everything gets undone, packed into some tubs, and put up into the attic until it’s time to decorate once again.  No, I am not a year-long Christmas decorator.  Neither am I a year-long Christmas song singer.  Still, I know that the birth of our Savior can be a year-long celebration.  Plus, I think that perhaps it would do us some good to remove this song from the “Christmas” category and place it in the “all the time” section.

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come!”

Sure, that’s a Christmas message if we think about little baby Jesus being born in a manger, but to me, it’s more than that.  It’s a life message.  An everyday message.  A message that is useful in every season.  Advent or otherwise.

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come!”

This message is a reminder of where we are to find joy.  It is a reminder that if we find joy in Jesus, joy is not conditional.

It’s not “Joy to the world, the over-commercialized, over-secularized season of Christmas is come.”  It’s not “Joy to the world, the snow is come.”  It’s not “Joy to the world, the family is come.”  It’s not “Joy to the world, the presents have come.”  It’s not “Joy to the world, the cookies have come.”  It’s not “Joy to the world, good health is come.”  It’s not “Joy to the world, the paycheck is come.”  It’s not “Joy to the world, the ______ is come.”

I think you get the idea.  

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come.”

The Lord is come.  That’s why we can have joy.

Circumstances should not be a factor.

Finances should not be a factor.

Health should not be a factor.

Family situations should not be a factor.

Presents, trees, lights, tinsel, reindeer, cookies, Santa, Frosty, Charlie Brown Christmas specials, weather, viruses, masks, COVID, travel restrictions, party cancellations, normality or abnormality, none of these things (or any other) should be a factor when it comes to joy.

Why?

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come.”

Jesus is come (I’m not used to saying it that way, but I’m sticking to the phrasing of the song.)  

One of the most beautiful things about that truth?  He has come right into the midst of our mess.  Right into the midst of our suffering.  Right into the midst of our pain and our heartache and our loneliness and our feeling like nobody understands and our sickness and our hopelessness and our grief and our mourning and our darkness and our hurt and our _______.  Jesus has come right into ALL of it.

This is cause for joy! 

Jesus is come.  Right into the middle of your life.  Right into the middle of your mess.  Right into whatever circumstance you find yourself in at the moment, and it is cause for joy.  Unconditional joy.

But, Jesus is no bully.  He’s not going to force himself into somewhere that he has not been invited.

As the song continues, “Let earth receive her king; let every heart prepare him room…”

Or as it says in Scripture:

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

~ Revelation 3:20

Jesus is come.  That is fact.  It is historically true in the birth of a baby in a manger, born of a virgin.  It is presently true in the way that Jesus stands at the door of our hearts, seeking to come into our lives.  It is forthcomingly true in the reality that Jesus has promised to return, to establish his kingdom, that there will be an end to evil and fallenness and brokenness.  

Jesus is come.

That is not the question.  Instead, the question is, have you prepared him room?  Have you opened the door?  Have you invited Jesus into your life, into your heart, into your current circumstance?

This Christmas will not look exactly like any that we have ever seen before.  Many of us are choosing to stay away from friends, from family.  Even if we don’t make that decision, there is still a different atmosphere, a different feel for this year.  Many are fighting with sickness, with suffering, with pain, with loss.  Christmas 2020 will not be the same as years past.

Though that is the case, we cannot allow it to affect our joy.

Joy cannot be based on circumstance, on feelings, on emotions, on what is going on in our life.  Joy is based on one thing, one thing alone.

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come!”

Sure, things may not be easy.  Sure, things may not be ideal.  Sure, things may not be normal or sane or any of the things that we would like for them to be.  Regardless, the fact remains, Jesus is come.

Jesus has come to me.  Even when I didn’t follow him.  Jesus has come to me.  Even when I haven’t acknowledged him.  Jesus has come to me.  Even when I am disappointed in him.  Jesus has come to me.  At all times.  In all places.  Regardless of my mistakes, of my faults, of my failures, of my disappointments, of my wickedness, of my sin, of my shame.  Jesus comes.  The Savior of the world.  The One to make things right.  The Alpha (the first).  The Omega (the last).  The Beginning and the End.  The Lion of Judah.  The Lamb who was slain.  The One who is worthy to open the scroll.  The King eternal.  The One through whom everything was made.  The Maker.  The Sustainer.  The Redeemer.  The Way.  The Truth.  The Life.  

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come!”  To me!  

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come!”  To you as well!

Have you received that joy?
Have you accepted that gift?
Have you opened that door?

Have you heard that voice?

The Lord is come.  Now receive your king.  Prepare room in your heart for Jesus.  Prepare room in your life for Jesus.  Prepare room in your circumstances for Jesus, perhaps especially those that are disappointing and undesirable.  Receive.  Accept.  Open.  Believe.  Have joy.

If you have received this joy, you can’t help but to continue on in the song…by singing, by worshipping, by rejoicing at Jesus’ presence in our lives.  “…let heaven and nature sing…”

Yes, I love that song!  It points me to Jesus.  It reminds me of the gift that I have received and continue to receive in him.  To me, it’s not just a Christmas song.  It’s not subject to the Christmas season, to the Christmas decorations, to the Christmas traditions (as good as they may be).  Instead, it’s a reminder that we can have joy in each and every circumstance of our lives because we know that Jesus has come right into the midst of them.

Friend, I hope you have joy this Christmas.  True joy.  I hope that your heart has received, that you have believed, and that you can experience the truth as expressed by Isaac Watts a couple hundred years ago.

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come!  Let earth receive her king; let every heart prepare him room, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.”

 ~ Pastor Chris

Peace (December 13, 2020)

It’s been said before, and it will be said again.  2020 was/is a crazy year!  In a lot of ways, it has been a year unlike any other within recent history.

First, COVID.  How to even begin?  At the start, there was so much unknown.  How did the virus originate?  What are the common signs of having the virus?  How can we keep others from getting sick?  How do we keep ourselves from getting sick?  Is COVID a death sentence?  On and on the questions popped up into mainstream conversation.  There were a lot of unknowns.  At this point, some time has passed, and we’ve gotten some answers to some of those questions, but it still doesn’t feel like we have 100% of the information that is needed.  There are still endless debates about the seriousness of the illness.  There are still conversations being had about the usefulness of the masks.  Opinions concerning the coronavirus and appropriate responses are varied and held to strongly.  Even now within our society, there is a lot of unknown.  Are masks necessary?  Should I go out to eat dinner?  Should I get vaccinated when it becomes available?  How do I know if the vaccine is effective?  How do I know who is giving me accurate information about this whole thing?  

On top of these questions about the virus and health, there are a number of other issues that have popped up this year.  There are a number of other uncertainties, a number of other unknowns.  How long will this last?  Are the mask requirements going to end anytime soon?  When will I be able to freely visit with my friends, my family?  When will restaurants be able to seat people at full capacity?  Is there hope for the ones that have had to close?  What about the economic impact of this situation?  Will we recover?   When will schools return to normal?  Sports?  Will we ever be able to attend a Pirates game again?  

These are just some of the unknowns that people are wrestling with now, and I didn’t even mention politics.  (Without diving too far into the political stream let’s recognize that there is a lot of debating about the presidential outcome, voter fraud, etc., etc., etc.  Plus, there are the questions about how we can recover from the division that is present in our nation and if we can ever have a more unified, peaceful outlook as a society.)

Yes.  2020 has provided us with a lot of unknowns, and I haven’t even covered some of the harder ones.

How will we deal with loss?  How will we deal with grief?  How will we deal with suffering?  With heartache?  With pain?  How will we deal with the fact that the coronavirus has put some things right in our face that many of us would rather ignore…that we are not in control, that life can be difficult, unfair, hard, and that the time we have on this earth is limited, that we each will face death at some point?  What will we do with those things?  Those difficult questions that have popped up this year?

How will we deal with all of the unknowns?  

After all, having all of these unknowns in our lives can lead to other issues…to fear, to worry, to stress, to anxiety, to all kind of negative responses.  So, how will we deal with them?  How will we finish up 2020 and look into the face of 2021 with so many unanswered questions, so much uncertainty?

Hopefully, we will take a reminder from our Advent wreath.

Right now, we are in the second week of Advent, 2020.  We are gloriously expecting to celebrate Christmas, and we are also anticipating the second coming of Jesus.  As we wait, we continue in the tradition of the Advent wreath, lighting a candle each week to remind us of some of the things that Jesus offers to each of us.  Last week, we discussed hope.  The candle for this week?  

Peace.

One lesson from the Advent wreath for this week is this:  Jesus offers us peace.  Not only that but Jesus is peace.

Isaiah 9:6 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.

Take some time to read over that Scripture.  It is a remarkable description of Christ.  Breath it in.  Allow God to remind you of just who it is that we are looking forward to celebrating on Christmas.  A child, a son who holds the government on his shoulders.  Wonderful Counselor.  Mighty God.  Everlasting Father.  Prince of Peace.  Allow those words to paint for you a picture of Jesus.  Allow that picture of Jesus to impact your life, even now.

When you pause for a moment to reflect on Christ, you realize just how remarkable He is.  The Prince of Peace.  He has come.  He is here.  He is coming again.

Isaiah looked forward to the time when the Prince of Peace would walk the earth, something he would never personally see in his lifetime.  We look forward to the time when the Prince of Peace’s kingdom will be on earth as it is in heaven, when he returns for his second coming, a time that we may or may not get to see in our lifetimes.  But even though we anticipate the future, we also are able to look back on the time when the Prince of Peace walked on the earth, that time that Isaiah longed to see.  We have the benefit of history, of hearing about the life of Jesus, of reading the stories of how his miracles, of studying his words, his teachings.

One such teaching has the Prince of Peace talking about peace.

Look at what Jesus says:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. 

~John 14:27

Jesus, the Prince of Peace, offers us his peace.  

It’s comforting to know that this peace is offered in spite of the unknowns that are going on in life.

It’s interesting to note that Jesus provided this lesson in the middle of a whole lot of unknowns.  In the Gospel of John, Jesus offers this teaching to his disciples during the Last Supper.  They had gathered together in a room to celebrate the Passover, and Jesus had shared that he would be betrayed, that he would die.  The Prince of Peace told them that violence would fall upon him.  Obviously, this left a lot of unknowns, a lot of unanswered questions for the disciples.

“How could this happen?”  “Isn’t he the Messiah?”  “Were we wrong to follow him these last years?”  “If he dies, what about us?”  “Where will we go?”  “What will we do?”  “How can we possibly saved?”

Even though Jesus did not address all of these needs, even though he did not provide an answer to all of these unknowns, he offered peace.

Peace right in the middle of it all.  

Peace in the mess.

Peace in the storm.

Peace in the chaos.

Peace in the uncertainty.

Peace in the face of fear.

Peace even in the unknown.

You see, the world needs answers to have peace.  The world needs to know that everything will be “OK” in order to have peace in a situation.  “There’s a vaccine?  Great, now I can have peace!”  “We only have to make it through ____ more months?  Great, now I can have peace!”  For the world, peace is conditional on knowledge and the outcome.  There isn’t much peace in the unknown.  There is even less when an outcome is undesirable.

Fortunately, Jesus does not offer us peace as the world offers or understands it.  Jesus offers us peace in spite of our problems.  Jesus offers us peace right in the middle of the unknown.

Friend, I hope that you have found peace.  I hope that you have found it from the only one that can give you lasting peace, peace’s Prince, Jesus.

Jesus is the only one to make lasting peace with the Almighty God a possibility.  He is the only one to fulfill every aspect of the law.  He is the only one to offer his life as a perfect sacrifice.  He is the only one to offer us true peace, peace eternal, peace everlasting in our relationship with our God.  I hope that you have found that peace.

Then, I hope that you allow this peace that you have found in God through Jesus to filter into all other areas of your life.  

After all, if I am at peace with my Creator, if I know that this life will have troubles, but that Jesus has overcome them all, if I know the Prince of Peace, the uncertainties of today don’t seem so significant.

I ask you…Do you know Peace?  Do you know Peace’s Prince?  

I pray that you do.  I pray that you have come to meet Jesus.  I pray that when the unknown rears its head (as it has done a bunch in 2020) that you will seek God and his peace.  His peace that passes all understanding.  The peace of Christ that is available to all who put their faith, their hope, their trust in him.

My hope for you this Advent?  That you would know the one that Isaiah foresaw, that you would know the Prince of Peace.

~ Pastor Chris

Hope (December 6, 2020)

Friends, it’s official…we’re in the season of Advent!  Not only that, but we’ve also reached December.  Now, we all know that December is an important month in our calendars, and it is that way for obvious reasons.  Still, just so we’re all on the same page, I’ll spell it out for us.  December is an important, special month because it is the month that we celebrate a very important birthday…mine.  Of course, December is important!  After all, that’s when I made my debut!  It’s always been pretty amazing for me to think about how everyone gets excited for December just because I was born.  Chris - tmas time.  Chris - tmas gifts.  Chris - tmas break.  Chris - tmas celebrations.  Chris - tmas cards.  So remember in December, keep Chris in Christmas!

Obviously, that’s not the case, but thanks for putting up with me!  Though I am valued and cherished in God’s eyes (as are you), though I am important (as are you), though my birthday is a day that I can celebrate (as can you on your birthdays), though my life can be world-changing (as can yours…at least in as much as we are used by God to bring about God’s purposes and plans that He has for each of us), I know that December is special because of Jesus.  The only way that I can be mentioned in the same sentence as Him is because of the undeserved love and mercy that He gave me.  I’ve been adopted, renewed, transformed, restored, all by the blood of Christ.  No.  December (& Advent) isn’t about me.  It’s not about you.  It’s not about Santa.  It’s not about Rudolf.  It’s not about Scrooge or the Grinch or jingling bells, or snow, or gingerbread houses, or hot chocolate.  It’s not even really about family get togethers or caroling or Christmas cookies or stockings or trees or lights or any of those things.  Instead, December (or at least Advent & Christmas which are celebrated in December) should be about Jesus.  Just as a reminder, here are a couple of clichés to keep in mind.  Jesus is the reason for the season.  Keep Christ in Christmas.

As that is the case, as Advent is a season where we can focus on Christ, as Advent (& the rest of life) should be about Jesus, let’s focus on some of the things that Advent reminds us about Christ.  In particular, let’s look at the Advent wreath (a good seasonal reminder), and the candles that are lit on the wreath each week.  Let’s take it one week at a time and discuss some of the properties and characteristics of Jesus as they relate to the candles that are lit for the 4 weeks of Advent.  Sound good?  Great!  Keep reading.  Don’t like it?  I’m sorry.  Keep reading anyway.

Advent.  Week 1.  The Candle of Hope.

Hope.

Hope can be kind of an interesting thing.  Hope can be found.  Hope can be lost.  Hope can be fulfilled.  Hope can be unfulfilled.  Hope can be realized.  Hope can be unrealized.  Not enough hope can lead to depression and defeat.  Enough hope can lead to satisfaction and victory.  Too much hope, placed in the wrong location, can lead to unwise decisions and defeat once again.  Just a little bit of hope, placed in the right location, can lead to wise decisions and victory.  Hope can provide strength.  Hope can be a weakness.  Hope can provide joy.  Hope can provide sorrow.  

Hope.

In my mind, all of these things that happen surrounding hope can be narrowed down to one basic question with two possible answers.  

The question:  Where is your hope?

The answers:  The right place.  The wrong place.

Hope that is found in the right place can lead to that hope being fulfilled and realized.  It can lead to satisfaction.  Even just a small amount of hope in the right place can lead to wise decisions and victory.  Hope located in the right place can provide strength, can provide joy.

Contrarily, hope that is found in the wrong place can lead to that hope being unfulfilled, unrealized.  It can lead to dissatisfaction.  A huge amount of hope in the wrong thing can lead to unwise decisions and defeat.  Hope located in the wrong place can be a weakness and provide sorrow.

Hope.  

We all hope in something.  

Some of us hope that our hard work and savings will provide a lush life of retirement.  Some of us hope that our government will work for our good and provide us with what we need.  Some of us hope that our families will be a constant source of love, understanding and support.  Some of us hope to be the one to break the cycle of addiction in our family.  Some of us hope to be the one who “makes it”.  Some of us hope in our good works.  Some of us hope in our charm.  Some of us hope in luck or in catching a break.  Some of us just hope that we can exercise enough for it to counteract the extra pie that we ate over the holidays.

We all hope in a variety of things, and they aren’t all bad.  However, if those things are where our hope is grounded?  If those things are where our hope stops?  If we don’t have hope that extends beyond what we’d like to happen in our personal lives, in our family life, in our financial life, in the life of our nation?  If our true hope is rooted in any of the above?  Well, we’ve placed our hope in the wrong thing, the wrong place.

There is only one right answer for where we should place our hope.  The answer is Jesus.

I know.  I’m a pastor.  I’m supposed to say that type of thing.  Still, the fact that I am a pastor and that I’m supposed to say these things doesn’t make it any less true.  The fact remains, Jesus is the only correct answer for where we place our hope.

The Old Testament is chock full of people trusting in God and placing their hope in one who was yet to be revealed.  Look at what Jeremiah hoped in from God:

“The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.”

~Jeremiah 23:5

Or how about this one from Isaiah:

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.  But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

~Isaiah 53:4-6

Both prophets (and there are many other Old Testament examples that I could have used), placed their hope in One who was yet to come, One who was yet to be revealed.  Scripture teaches us that both prophets ultimately put their hope in Jesus.  Even though they had yet to know his name, even though they had yet to hear the story of his birth, even though they had not yet experienced Christmas, both men through the gift of God put their hope in Jesus.

For us, the Advent season is a reminder of where we should put our hope.  We live in a time where we know about Jesus.  We know about Christmas.  We have heard the stories of the birth of Christ in ways that the Old Testament prophets could only dream.  We have learned about the life of Jesus, his teachings, his death, his resurrection.  We have heard his promises.  How he has promised to be with us.  How he has promised to come again. How he has promised to reveal his kingdom.  How he has promised that there will be a new heaven, a new earth.  We live in a time where Jesus has been revealed.  Still, I ask…where is your hope?  Where is it really placed?

Maybe you are hoping that you won’t get the coronavirus.

Maybe you’re hoping that “normalcy” will return.

Maybe you’re hoping that you won’t be alone on Christmas.

Maybe you’re hoping to get a new job.

Maybe you’re hoping to finally be able to retire and enjoy life.

Maybe you’re hoping to feel better.

Maybe you’re hoping that your life won’t be so chaotic.

None of those hopes are bad.  All are completely feasible.  All are within God’s capabilities.  But, if they are your true Hope, your ground-level, foundational Hope (with a capital H)?   

It’s not enough.

We need our Hope to be placed in Jesus.  So firmly, so completely, so entirely that even if all of our other hopes turn up empty, we still have Hope.  

Even if we get the coronavirus, there is Hope in Jesus.

Even if our “normal” never returns, there is Hope in Jesus.

Even if we are “alone” on Christmas, there is Hope in Jesus (and we know that God is with us and we are not alone).

Even if we are jobless, there is Hope in Jesus.

Even if we are never able to retire, there is Hope in Jesus.

Even if we feel worse and worse until we die, there is Hope in Jesus.
Even if life continues to spin at a frantic rate and never seems to be in control, there is Hope in Jesus.

Advent.  Week 1.  Candle of Hope.

I ask you…Where is your Hope?  

In money, in power, in things, in security, in your house, in your family, in your job, in your position, in your good deeds, in yourself, in your spouse, in  _______?  

Please don’t get this answer wrong!  Please do not place your ultimate Hope in anything but Jesus.  There is only one right answer.  I hope you find him this season.  Jesus.  He is our Hope.  He is our Hope for today.  He is our Hope for tomorrow.  He is our Hope now and forevermore.

~ Pastor Chris