The days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will fulfill the promise
I made to the house of Israel and Judah.
In those days, in that time,
I will raise up for David a just shoot ;
he shall do what is right and just in the land.
In those days Judah shall be safe
and Jerusalem shall dwell secure;
this is what they shall call her:
“The LORD our justice.”
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Jesus Christ is “the righteous branch” – He has an exclusive franchise on God.
Amen.
Simply beautiful, Betsy …
I can testify to God’s promise in Isaiah.
Years ago, I, too, was living in gloom, walking in darkness.
Confused and hopeless.
But one glorious day – the Lord opened my eyes.
And, I saw the light – His Light!
Then, the Living Hope of Christ filled my heart.
It will never be snuffed out!
Hope to go on … hope to persevere … hope to endure … hope to live with Jesus forever.
Glory be to God …
>>
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12
I believe there isn’t a one of us, precious friend, who doesn’t know what it is like to be in a darkness such as you describe. It is painful to know and to feel that many are enduring that bleak place at this moment, one from which it must seem an escape is nonexistent. More so during this season when the Promise of God is about to be made manifest.
It is my prayer that for people who find themselves in situations like this will see your beautiful post, know that the Light which they may not yet see IS there. That beautiful Hope will be kindled, then flamed in their hearts so the miracle of Christ’s birth brings that indescribable peace which we all yearn for.
No room in the inn…but a vast one in our hearts if only we hear the knocking, open the door and invite Him in 🙏🏻 💕
Blessings always, Della. What a messenger to others you are for that hope 😘
Bless you, dear Betsy.
May Jesus become increasingly precious to all of us in the days ahead!
🙏🏻
I am praying for it, Della 💕
🥰
https://biblia.com/books/esv/Rom13.11-14. Verse 12 is one of the sources used in the hymn “The Night Will Soon Be Ending”. At the link below, the history of the writer of this Advent hymn is told and the verses are discussed. The writer was a well know novelist living in Germany during WWII with his Jewish wife and her two daughters. Hitler loved his novels but wasn’t going to let that get in the way of his holocaust.
https://issuesetc.org/2024/11/29/2003-the-advent-hymn-the-night-will-soon-be-ending-dr-arthur-just-11-29-24-3341/
Father, let your hope arise in our hearts! Lift our eyes up to see that you alone are where our hope comes from. Help us to shake off the anxiety, discouragements, and distractions that have filled this year.
May we pause to remember that we have hope in you.
You know the end of our stories, and we give thanks because you have promised that it will be a victorious ending. Give us the grace we need to wrap up this year joyfully.
We invite your Spirit into this beautiful Advent season. Renew our sense of holy anticipation! Let us be those who are waiting eagerly for Jesus to come again.
More than anything, we ask that you be glorified in this season of expectation. Amen.
Amen, amen, CA.
Amen.
I came here especially for this post I knew you would offer, one needs to remember the meaning of Advent in the midst of, well, everything else.
Thank you.
“BEHOLD, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come into his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.”
Malachi 3:1
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. Isaiah 40:3
Keynote: Purification of Character. Ever since the fall there has been a struggle between the soul of the human race and the devil, or Luciferian forces, but, from the seed of Adam, from the seed of the human being, which means the human body, a Saviour would be born who would bruise the head of Satan.
to get our frame of mind for contemplating the Collect: Sit up in a chair, for a few moments, close your eyes, relax the body through means of three deep breaths. Then concentrate your thoughts on the beginning of salvation – the promise that you would be freed from the curse of Lucifer through the mediation, and power of the Christ, who entered human flesh for us.
this is the Collect (from ancient days of the churches) for the First Sunday of Advent:
“Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious Majesty to judge but the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.”
link to Lectionary Central which contains the Collect, Epistle and Gospel most Christian churches use and on both sides are links to dive into the various sermons from many Christian traditions from the Medieval through to the Reformation and then recent sermons:
https://www.lectionarycentral.com/advent1/advent1.html
(thanks for letting us share our various approaches to this most wonderful time of preparation.)
You may find this 501st anniversary interesting and edifying. Reading through 1John, and these nightly Advent sermons on the catholic epistle, seems like a good way to observe Advent. Blessings in Christ to one and all.
http://theyeardproject.blogspot.com/2024/11/december-1-is-anniversary-of-this.html
Menagerie, I look forward to all of your posts, holiday related and others. They always lift me up and remind me of what really matters. Thank you.
Amen. We thank you, father,”for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ”.
“ … looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, “
Titus 2:13
Maranatha!
Christ has come, and Christ will come again!
He will set all things right, and make all things new.
Keep looking up, Christian … and rejoice!
It could be today!
”When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”
Colossians 3:4
Thanks be to God!
[Maranatha (1 Corinthians 16:22) consists of two Aramean words, Maran’athah, meaning, “our Lord comes,” or is “coming.”]
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
John 1:1-2
This weekend my 3 and 6 year old boys put up the 50-60 year old manger stable that I and brothers used decades ago. And the way we did it thru December was manger/stable set up like “normal” with animals, etc, no people. And all the main players, Mary/Joseph, kings, shepherds various places in the house following a gold foil star with tape on door frame or other elevated place. Each day/night all moved a bit closer to house foyer where stable was until Christmas eve when all got to the stable. We would then read the Christmas story.
Nice.
I like this feature, Menagerie.
First Week Advent
https://cbn.com/devotions/celebrate-first-week-advent
A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes…and is completely dependent on the fact that
the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent.
– Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer has my greatest admiration and respect.
He truly laid his life down for Christ, ending up in a prison, then hung from the gallows.
Just last week, I watched a film about Bonhoeffer, available for free on Tubi tv.
Directed by Martin Doblmeier.
A sobering documentary – a necessity from time to time ….
Jeepers, Menagerie.
It only seems like a short time ago that I enjoyed your last Advent post. Time surely flies.
Thank you, and God bless.
This first day of Advent is like a wake up call as it reminds us to be vigilant in preparing for Jesus. As we wait on the Lord, not just the celebration of His birth at Christmas but His eventual return in glory, we are called to be rooted and centered in prayer every day. Prayer is how we stay connected to the Lord and can receive the grace we need to face our daily challenges because we know He is with us in everything we do. Prayer binds us to God’s love and keeps us focused on our most important relationship which is with Him. It’s what defines who we are and what we are as His children.
We praise and love you Lord with all our heart, body and soul. Amen
I have always celebrated the very idea of “Advent.” Because it leads gradually up to the promise-day of “Christmas,” carefully celebrating all the while. It also carefully remembers and exalts the vital role of “the one who came before” – John the Baptist.
A happy Advent season greeting to all!
O come, O come, Emmanuel
(Piano/Cello)
The Piano Guys
John 14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes unto the Father except through me.”
My step daughter and I have a special bond over this verse, one of our many favorites.
Looking forward to a very special Advent and Christmas this year with my new Treeper friends. May God bless you all!