Devotionals

Advent 2021

by Martha Kinney
11/28/21
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This year i am revisiting the four candles of Adven.

November 28 Prophet's Candle of Hope

The first candle we light on the Advent wreath is called the Prophet's candle.
When we think about the prophecies of Christ we like to dwell on the ones that deal with the virgin birth, the baby in the manger and the titles He would receive. But they are not the reason we celebrate Advent. Please read Isaiah 53
Humanity had screwed up royally starting in the garden of Eden. And we have continued to do the same all down through history right up to today. We hate to acknowledge that Jesus was born to die in our place. [verses 4,5 NIV 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.]
The prophet made it clear that it was God's will [underlines below are mine]. Sounds awful to think that God the Father would will that Jesus suffer. The dictionary says will can be defined as the action for which a person or thing is specially fitted or used or for which a thing exists. The one reason that Jesus came to die was so that He could redeem us. The will of God was to provide a ransom for us and Jesus was the only One who could do that.
[verses 10,11 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life[ and be satisfied];by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
God looked down the halls of time and saw that the suffering Jesus endured would bring salvation to us and many others. The ultimate goal was to save us. He also made sure we knew that Jesus' suffering would not be in vain regardless of whether we accepted or rejected the pardon He offers. God raised Jesus from the dead and exalted Him. Philippians 2:9-11NIV Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The prophets told of Jesus coming and Peter declares He did indeed come and fulfill the prophesies. But he goes on to say that we need to remember that Jesus was perfect and we are not. Yet Jesus desires that we follow His example and show others how much God loves us all. It is easy when folks are nice but really hard when they are not.
Our world today is becoming a not nice place and more than ever we need to be living examples that Jesus did come, He suffered and died for us and now it is up to us. We can fulfill the prophet's word. We can be the examples of why Jesus came.
1Peter 2:20-25NIV 'But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For “you were [like sheep going astray,] but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.'
But that wasn't the end of the prophecies. Jesus is eternal and He has plans for us that are also eternal. Revelation 1:17-18 NIV 'When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.'
John 14:2,3 NIV 'My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.'
This is the Advent we should be watching and hoping for...the return of Jesus for us. It is a bitter sweet desire for we know many loved ones and friends who are not ready should He come today. Yes, we talk about it but I think we really don't believe it. Perhaps we have become callous like the religious of Jesus day who didn't recognize him. They couldn't believe that the Messiah had come and so they missed out. We don't want to be like them.
So as we begin planning for Christmas please stop and think about what Christmas is really all about. It isn't the baby in the manger or all the tinsel and toys we have filled this Season with. Instead it was the coming of the Messiah, the beginning of our redemption and that of all the world. It was God reaching out to us even when we didn't know or care. Romans 5:8 NIV 'But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.'

December 5 The Bethlehem Candle

Micah 5:2 NIV But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
1 Corinthians 1:27 NIV 'But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.'

Bethlehem article by Michael F. Bird
In the aftermath of the Babylonian conquest of Judah and Jerusalem, the Jewish community was left without a king—a situation that would gradually give rise to messianic expectations about the restoration of the Davidic dynasty. Bethlehem is familiar to readers of the Bible principally because that city was prophesied to be the location where a new Davidic king would be born and, according to the story of the nativity, it is the place of Jesus’ birth.

The thing that strikes me most about Bethlehem is the fact that it was never a big important city. It's only real notoriety is the fact that it was where Jesus was born. The prophet Micah foretold of this event. But it would be hundreds of years before it actually happened. It was the fact that Jesus was born there that makes Bethlehem important.
This candle represents Bethlehem and is called the faith candle. How appropriate that God would choose a lowly town to be the birthplace of his son. It should show us that God had plans for each of us way before we were born. He saw us as special and gave us a special place in His plans.
Remember this season is a time for us to remember what God has done for us. Bethlehem is a great physical example how God really cares about every event in our life.
Psalms 139:13-16 NIV 'For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.'
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be. [The entire 139 Psalms is one you should read.]
Here is where God tells us through the Psalmist just how precious and important we are. Like Bethlehem, we were chosen and created by God for a special purpose. The reason this is called the faith candle is because we have to choose to believe that God made us special and He has a wonderful plan for our life. The sad part is that we don't believe it and thus we run ahead and get into situations God never planned for us.
Faith is not just believing God and His Word but it is choosing to listen, trust and do as He instructs us. Faith is an act of will not emotion. This is where we often misunderstand.
We are emotional beings and thus we must be aware that our choices should be made using our heads not our emotions. If you don't think we run on emotion just look at the nightly news. How many events are fueled by feelings rather than logic. Emotions rather than an act of will: a choice.
Bethlehem was special because of its connection to Jesus. Christmas reminds us that our relationship with Jesus makes us special too. We don't have to be famous or rich or even talented. God made us special just being us.
This week try to remember Jesus came to show us how special and important we are in God's eyes. He wants us to believe He cares for us more than we can understand and then to use that truth to have faith in trusting Him to show us how to live awesome lives.

December 12 Shepherd's Candle

Luke 2:20 NIV The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Luke 15:3-7 NIV Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
This is also called the joy candle and I can see why. Of course we immediately think of the joy the shepherds felt after finding Jesus just as the angels had said. But I think this is called the Shepherd's candle because of the coming of the Good Shepherd. Luke 19:10 says it this way, 'For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.' Jesus the shepherd came to redeem the world one person at a time.
So often we think of vast crowds being saved at special events but Jesus came for each of us. This season is to remind us that each of us were so important to God that Jesus volunteered to sacrifice Himself for us. The amazing thing is the fact that He would have done that for just one person-you. [me]
We say Christianity is a personal relationship with Jesus then act like it is a blanket plan with rules and codes of conduct. But we are so wrong. The only rules Jesus set for us to become a Christian was to ask for forgiveness and accept Him into our lives. We need to remember that especially today while the world is telling us what words we can use and that some of us are bad and the others victims just because we were born a certain color. What a lie that is-- so contrary to what God tells us. We quote John 3:16 and it says ,'God so loved the world..., 'it includes everyone just as they are without exception. God loves all of us equally.
This candle is to remind us to remember that Jesus came for each of us as individuals and he delights in having a real, personal relationship with us. He made us as we are and only wants to help us become our best self. He loves us just as we are and only wishes to help us in our struggles. He finds great joy in being our Good Shepherd. That is why He came.
John 15:11 NIV 'I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.'

December 19 Angels' Candle

This last candle is called the Peace candle as well as the Angels' candle. And I wondered why it should have those two names when we read about angels showing up the first words they have to speak are, 'Fear not.'
In researching this candle I was reminded of the many jobs angels do. They include some of the following; messenger, warrior, protector , director and worshiper. In fact, angel actually means messenger.
Probably the most famous time that angels were God's messenger was when they were used to announce the coming of Jesus into the world – both at his birth and to tell Jesus' friends that he had come back to life.
I think one of my favorite verses about angels is found in Psalms 91:11 where it says, 'For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.'
Getting back to the thoughts for this week let's look back to what the angels said when Jesus came and what the long term message it brought. Luke 2:10,11 NIV 'But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.'
The first thing I noticed was those words, Fear not. It seems like that is our first response whenever we are confronted with God or His Word; we feel dread. We expect something bad is about to happen. But bad is not part of God's personality or desires for us. The angels brought GOOD NEWS for everybody.
The Messiah had finally arrived. The one who would finally deliver us from the curse of sin that was on earth. Jesus didn't come to deliver Israel from the Romans, He came to save the whole world from sin.
But His coming also ushered in a new kingdom. One that was eternal and had many wonderful benefits even while we are on earth if we accept them. It started at Calvary. Ephesians 2:14 NIV 'For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.' The first thing He did was eliminate division between peoples. Under Christ we are all equal. That in itself should bring peace. This is the teaching of Christianity 1 Corinthians 1:10 'I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.'
The angels brought the message of peace because they announced Jesus' birth. But although they were the messengers it was Jesus, the message that delivered peace. And once again that peace is found only through Him. 2 Thessalonians 3:16 NIV 'Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.'
This is the message of this last candle. The angels brought the message that the Prince of Peace had come and He brought real peace.

Last Words
Christmas comes on Saturday of this week and it is easy to be caught up in the last minute preparations for the big day. But purpose to set aside time to reflect on why we love Christmas and what it really means.
Our world today is looking for value and meaning and that is exactly why Jesus came. God saw each of us as priceless and we need to share that with others especially during the holiday and every day. Merry Christmas.