Advent Episode 70
Do you realize we are always waiting? When we celebrate Advent, we are waiting for the coming of the Lord. Advent means coming in Latin. In this episode, we will explore the hope we find at Christmas time and how this hope can translate our lives for the better.
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We are always waiting for something! If things are difficult in your life you wait for them to get better. We wait for a new opportunity, a new job, a new house or car. We wait and wait and often we find that our happiness hinges on this waiting and what the waiting will bring. The things of this world are fleeting. And while we realize that with head knowledge our hearts beg to differ.
During the time before Christmas we have many distractions but essentially they can be distilled down to two points.
- We get caught up in the materialist theme of Christmas… decorations, presents, and food
- Or we can focus on the true meaning of Christmas — That Almighty God, the Creator of the Universe gave us His only begotten son, allowed His Son to live among a humble man and woman, Joseph and Mary… living the life of a poor carpenter, so that we could have Salvation.
In the weeks before Christmas, we can be in hopeful waiting and anticipation for the coming of Jesus into the world. The four Sundays and weeks of Advent allow us to prepare and remember that Jesus is the reason for the season.
My family celebrates with prayer every evening. We light the four candles of the Advent wreath, one each week to symbolize the days of anticipation. The wreath has three purple candles and one pink, for the third week. The wreath is a circle of evergreen branches laid flat to symbolize eternal life. On Christmas day a fifth white candle is lit, representing Christ.
Each evening we pray, by reading different Scriptures and lifting up people in prayer and petition to the Lord. At the end, we celebrate the day by thanking God for one or more things that happened.
Advent is a time of expectant waiting and preparation. But we don’t have to throw out all of the traditional celebrations. I know of people who are good and committed Christians who decided that Christmas is essentially a pagan holiday and refuse to put up a tree or exchange gifts. I respect each person and how they wish to celebrate, however, for us it is the melding of two worlds without compromising our faith in God.
God comes first – Christmas is the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus but it also reminds us of the second coming. When we celebrate the past, the birth of Jesus we look forward to the future, the coming of Christ to judge the living and the dead. We must be vigilant and not allow the anxieties of daily life to distract us.
In Luke 21:34 we read:
“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.
This also relates to Christmas time – we can celebrate the season without becoming all consumed in the celebration and preparation that we forget all about God.
This also reminds us to keep anxiety at a minimum, remember the podcast a few episodes ago where I relayed the important information about where to find God. We find Him today – we focus on today. We don’t worry about the past and allow it to cause us anxiety or grief and we don’t worry about the future where things may or may not turn out the way we fear! Fear and anxiety are not what the Lord wants for our life!
1 Thessalonians 3:7-13 – In verse 12 it says, “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.”
If the Lord increases our love for others as we prepare for the coming of the Lord, we cannot help but rejoice. This love of God will flow out to others and they will say, “What is different about you.”
This waiting and expecting can be a time of great joy no matter what is happening in your life. By taking out eyes off of ourselves and placing them on the joy of the Lord, we can only grow in strength and wisdom to fight the good fight.
I pray as we begin our prayers for this Advent season that it becomes the best one ever!
Dear Lord Jesus, I love you very much and I thank you for coming into this world to save us! I thank you for giving us these days of preparation to place you deeper and deeper into our hearts so that we can reflect the love you have for us and bring others joy as a result. Lord help us to overcome our anxieties and worry and I place all my needs, especially this specific need for which I pray into your most capable hands ……. Thank-you Lord for hearing my prayers and petitions and for granting me the desires of my heart. Thank you, Lord, thank you for all you do in my life and for all the graces you give me each day to combat the evil one! I pray for the joy that surpasses all understanding today and always, Amen!
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