First Sunday in Advent
Good Morning Friends,
Today is a day of preparation and it is a little bit sad if what we are preparing for is just a seasonal event. Yes, peace…the Prince of Peace is coming…Yes, Christmas, the light of the world is coming. Yes, Jesus is coming. But in preparation, I hope God has already taken up residence in your hearts. God’s presence is to be forever while still realizing that the journey begins anew each day, each season, with anticipation and a newness as it does on this the First Sunday in Advent.
Scripture: Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
Psalm 30:5 (NRSV)
The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. Many peoples shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!
Isaiah 2:1-5 (NRSV)
“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.
Matthew 24: 36-44 (NRSV)
Message: God does keep us guessing but that keeps us in the game… in the drama of who is going to win…who is going to be victorious. Who would have thought that Auburn would beat Alabama on a failed field goal returned 108 yards out of one end zone to another…that Ohio State would beat Michigan by only one point on a failed two point conversion? My, my, it is always surprises. So it is with Jesus until that unexpected hour of His return. Friends, there are always changes and surprises and some of them come at Advent so be prepared. You never know what can happen.
Pray we let God’s morning bring joy to our lives. Pray we cast away works of darkness. Pray we have victory in Jesus for that is the only victory that counts.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 