The Christ Candle

Today we light the fifth candle of the Advent wreath, the Christ candle.  This is the most important candle of all because, without Christ, we would not have the hope, peace, love, or joy represented by the other four candles.  All of these qualities originate in God and come to us through Christ.

We would still be in our sins, without hope for the future, had Christ not died so we could be forgiven and know that we have an eternal home in heaven.  Colossians 1:27 tells us,  "God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the HOPE of glory."  I Timothy 4:10 gives us these words,  "That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our HOPE in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe."  And Psalm 146:5 says,  "Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose HOPE is in the Lord their God."

Our peace comes to us through the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Ephesians 2:14a tells us of Jesus,  "For he himself is our PEACE..."  In John 14:27 we read these words of Jesus,  "PEACE I leave with you; my PEACE I give you."  In John 16:37a Jesus said,  "I have told you these things so that in me you might have PEACE..."  Isaiah 26:3 has this wonderful promise,  "You will keep in perfect PEACE those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."

We are able to love God and to love others with God's love, which comes to us because Jesus Christ died for us.  Romans 5:5b,  "God's LOVE has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."  When Jesus returned to heaven, He sent us the Holy Spirit, Who gives us God's love.

    Truly it is knowing Christ and walking closely step by step with Him that floods ours hearts with joy,  That joy nourishes our spirits and enables us to endure the trials and tribulations of life with full and grateful hearts.  We might each say with Acts 2:21, "You have made known to me the paths of life; You will fill me with JOY in Your presence."

Everything we are and everything we have is a gift from God, given to us because of His precious, holy Son, the Christ of Christmas and of everyday.

Father, thank You for giving us hope, peace, love, and joy.  Most of all, thank You for giving us Jesus, through Whom You have given us so many good things.  Amen.

The Joy of the World

Nehemiah 8:10c,  "The joy of the Lord is your strength."

Every Christmas season my heart returns to the past, to the house where I grew up, and to the wonderful Christmases I spent with my parents, my brother, and the rest of my family.  I can still picture my Aunt Bill unmolding gelatin salads on a tray and piling the carved turkey high on a platter.  I still thrill with excitement when I remember my Aunt Johnny and Uncle Fred arriving from out of town with big smiles on their faces, hugs all around, and a car packed full of presents.

    The scene often shifts to the Christmases my husband and I spent with our children when they were growing up and Santa Claus was real to them.  I could barely contain my excitement on Christmas Eve as I laid out their toys and anticipated their reactions on Christmas morning.  These are such happy memories, and I yearn to relive those times and see those precious faces again.

    The Christmas season this year has changed for me and my family.  My children, and even some of my grandchildren, are grown, and there are seven great grandchildren.  Because there are so many of us, it is no longer feasible to gather the whole crowd at one time, so we are having several smaller Christmas celebrations.  It is not the same, and I miss our traditions.

    Christmas past and present can be bitter sweet, but the future holds only joy for those who will one day celebrate this holiday with its honoree, Jesus Christ.  Jesus came that we might rejoice in the sweet memories of the past and in His constant presence with us in the present, but, most of all, so we can rejoice in the eternal future which He has lovingly prepared for each of His children.  So there can be, and should be, joy even in the middle of our losses in the past and our problems in the present because of all that the future holds for us.  Rejoice!

Father, I rejoice in the sweet memories of the past, in Your constant presence with me now, and in the future You have prepared for us. Thank You.  Amen.

God's Love for Us

Romans 5:8,  "But God demonstrated his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners Christ died for us."

    A friend of mine would say of certain people,  "They talk a good game," implying that their words were idle chatter, with no action behind them. James 1:22 admonishes us,  "Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says," and James 2:14,  "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?  Can such faith save him?" and James 2:18b,  "Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do."  In other words, what we say should be backed up by our actions to prove that our words are true.  Today we have the saying,  "Talk is cheap."  Actions exact a price--sometimes in time, sometimes in energy, and sometimes we are required to make a sacrifice of money or something else material.

    God tells us over and over in the Scripture how much He loves us, but His words are not just cheap conversation.  He has backed them up by action after action.

    First of all, God created a world with air, water, food, heat--all the things He knew we would need physically--and He included beauty to minister to our hearts and souls as well.  Then He created us, breathing into our bodies the breath of life.  He sustains us and our world day after day.  Colossians 2:17b, speaking of Christ, says,  "In him all things hold together."

    Second, Jesus is our Emmanuel, God with us, and he has promised never to leave us nor forsake us.

    Third, God takes us to be His children just as we are, but He loves us too much to leave us like He finds us.  He is always working to make us more and more like His Son Jesus, and He never gives up.

    Fourth, our heavenly Father's ears are always attentive to our prayers.  He hears us and answers us.  He works all things that happen to us for our good if we love Him and are obeying Him.

    Most of all, God proved His love for us by the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  John 15:13,  "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

    Over and over God has proven to us, and continues to show us, how very much He loves us.  Celebrate His love this Christmas season.  Bask in it.  And pass it along throughout the new year.

Father, thank You for loving us and showing Your love to us in so many ways.  Amen.  

The Peace of the World

Colossians 3:15a,  "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace."

There are three kinds of peace discussed in the Bible.  The first kind, peace WITH God, is a prerequisite for the second kind, the peace OF God, and enables the third kind, PEACE WITH OTHER PEOPLE.  

The most important thing we celebrate at Christmas is peace WITH God, our salvation, the forgiveness of our sins and the assurance of heaven, all through Jesus Christ.  Isaiah 9:6,  "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."  Isaiah 53:5c,  "The punishment that brought us peace was on him.  Ephesians 2:14a,  "For he himself is our peace."  Colossians 1:19-20,  "For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross."  Romans 5:1,  "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."  

    We all seek inner peace in a noisy world where we are surrounded by problems and troubles and evil.  God can give us His peace in the midst of turmoil and chaos and opposition.  Jesus promised in John 14:27,  "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you."  Galatians 5:22 tells us that peace is a fruit produced in lives that are controlled by the Holy Spirit.  Romans 8:6 says it this way,  "The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace."  Isaiah 26:3 tells us that our part is faith, saying,  "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."

    To those who have peace WITH God and are walking in the peace OF God, the Bible gives exhortations to live in peace with other people.  Over and over Scripture tells us to live peaceful lives.  Psalm 34:14b,  "Seek peace and pursue it."  Zechariah 8:19b,  "Love truth and peace."  Jesus' words in Mark 9:50,  "Be at peace with each other."  Romans 12:18,  "If it is possible,as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."

    As we worship the Prince of Peace this Christmas season, may we honor and glorify Him by sharing His peace with those around us.

My prayer for us all is found in II Thessalonians 3:16a,  "Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way."

The Hope of the World

Hebrews 6:19a,  "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."

Hebrews 10:23,  "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."

This week I was watching a boy at physical therapy as he sat on a rolling stool and pushed himself across the floor with his injured leg.  His progress was slow and laborious because a huge metal weight was attached to the back of the stool by a wide canvas belt.  As the young fellow struggled to drag that weight along, my inclination was to take scissors and cut the weight loose from the stool so he could move unhindered.  Then I thought of all the weights we drag around that hinder our progress, weights caused by problems and circumstances.  The therapists had a broad view, the big picture, of the boy's improvement in mind when they attached the weight to the stool, and God has our improvement in mind when He allows us to struggle with problems and circumstances.  The boy's leg needed to be strengthened, and our faith needs to grow stronger and deeper.  God's promise in Romans 8:28, that all things will work for our good if we belong to Him, gives us hope as we keep struggling against the weights in our lives.

    Christians have an even broader view, a bigger picture, than the therapists, because we have an eternal perspective.  Abraham as he rode swaying camels across dry, dusty lands and lived in hot, stuffy tents, had an eternal perspective.  Hebrews 11:10 says of him,  "For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God."

    This life is not all there is.  Ahead of each Christian is a heavenly home where we shall see our Father face to face, be able to bow before the Lord Jesus in grateful adoration, and bask in the presence of the blessed Holy Spirit.  Heaven is a magnificent place, specially prepared with love by God for His children.  It is a place of no more sickness nor sin nor sadness nor sorrow, no more guilt or regrets, a place of eternal joy.  Because of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, there is help for the helpless and hope for the hopeless.  A glorious future is in store for us.  Let us place our hope in God, as Abraham did.

Father, thank You for all that You have lovingly prepared for those who belong to You.  May we always find hope in You and in our future.  Amen.