Chosen
Day one highlight collage #awakeningadvent
Ancient One
As I watched in the night visions,
I saw one like a human being
coming with the clouds of heaven.
And he came to the Ancient One
and was presented before him.
To him was given dominion
and glory and kingship,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not pass away,
and his kingship is one
that shall never be destroyed.
(Daniel 7:13-14, NRSV)
To the one who is coming was given dominion and glory and kingship.
Everyone will serve Him.
He is the Ancient of Days and is our only Hope.
Unlike Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jesus is the hope we can rest in. He is coming and we can trust He will arrive.
So watch for He is coming and His reign will never be destroyed.
Advent Picture a Day Hope
A New Hope
“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:25-36, NRSV)
Sometimes nowadays it is hard to find hope in life.
We seem to want to find the hope that fits our time and our lives and our circumstances.
We think we know what we need and what we are waiting for.
But Hope has always been there, and will always be there.
Just when we think it won’t come, like the sprouting of the bud on the fig tree, it is there.
Like a Messiah, we wait for, that we don’t expect to come as a baby in a manger, but He does.
So don’t lose hope, because it has never left us nor forsaken us!
Sing praises
Clap your hands, all you peoples;
shout to God with loud songs of joy.
For the LORD, the Most High, is awesome,
a great king over all the earth.
He subdued peoples under us,
and nations under our feet.
He chose our heritage for us,
the pride of Jacob whom he loves.
God has gone up with a shout,
the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
For God is the king of all the earth;
sing praises with a psalm.
God is king over the nations;
God sits on his holy throne.
The princes of the peoples gather
as the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
he is highly exalted.
(Psalm 47, NRSV)
Sing praises to God who is our King!
He is king over all the earth. So we should, therefore, praise Him and exalt His name.
So sing praises to our King!
And in the words of a former pastor of mine, “If you sing good sing loud because God likes a joyful singer. And if you don’t sing well sing even louder to annoy the person next to you because God said to make a joyful noise!”
walk in love
The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not only I but also all who know the truth, because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever: Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, in truth and love. I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we have been commanded by the Father. But now, dear lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning, let us love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment just as you have heard it from the beginning—you must walk in it. Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist! Be on your guard, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but may receive a full reward. Everyone who does not abide in the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it, does not have God; whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. (2 John 1:1-9. NRSV)
This is love that we walk in the commandments and keep them that we have heard from the beginning.
You must walk in the ways of Christ, the ways set before us. This will show the world His love.
So walk in love.
slaves
Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word. I declare what I have seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father.” They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did, but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are indeed doing what your father does.” They said to him, “We are not illegitimate children; we have one father, God himself.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word. You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God.” (John 8:31-47, NRSV)
I always find this passage to be a bit flabbergasting!
I mean the Jews say they are descendants of Abraham, which is true, but they seem to have forgotten a little period when Moses was here.
All of the Jewish nation was in captivity in Eygpt. They were slaves, that Moses got Pharoh to set free.
They were slaves. And God worked through Moses to free them once and now they have forgotten it and are trying to kill the one who can truly make them free.
All because it doesn’t fit in their box for how life and God should be.
So what are you a slave to because how God wants to handle it won’t fit in your God box?
Truth
“Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
How can we know the truth when so many people are saying they have the “right” way to follow Christ?
Who is right and who is not?
What is the way?
And what is “the life”. I’ve heard people say, “This is the life!” But what does that mean?
That at that moment everything is great and there is nothing wrong? Does that make the life?
So what is the right way to follow?
Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, so follow Him and not what others are telling you is Him.
Follow Jesus.
aSacredRebel 