Week 1 Advent Saturday, "What If?"

Hi my friends, I hope your first week of Advent was good. I have some catching up to do and I want to share what I've written each day during the Advent season so that we might have time to reflect, ponder, and anticipate the joy of Christ's birth.

Today I wrote about "What If?"

Happy Saturday to all of you. It's the end of the first week of Advent. Here's a scripture to ponder, a thought to meditate on:

Isaiah 60:1-2
1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.

I am asking the simplest of questions: "What if?"
What if the darkness around us witnessed in addictions, refugees fleeing war, radical terrorism fueled by demonic hate, gun violence, and sex-slave trafficking - things I read this morning in the news I get - evil that is pervasive and relentless...
What if God's purpose in our lives was to put us "in" the darkness so that the Lord would rise upon us and his glory seen?

Jesus said, John 17:14-18
14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.

What if we took this evil we see and prayed...and sanctified our lives in the truth of God's word...and then went out to be the light in the darkness?
Just thinking, What if?

Comments

The Tabernacle

The readings today are Exodus 36, 37, 38 I wanted to post some pictures of what these various parts of the Tabernacle looked like. It's not the easiest read in the world, but if you persevere through it, you can get a picture of all the different pieces that made up the tabernacle. It is a replica of the various parts of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness: First thing in the chapter listed is the outside of the tabernacle which consisted of curtains tied together and put on cross bars through loops. Next at the beginning of 37 is the table and lampstand: Also, the altar of incense: And, the altar for the burnt offering which was in the courtyard: Finally, the courtyard which made it all come together: Hope that helps with what it might have all looked like. Most importantly, this was their "place" of worship they were building. I hope you have a great day of worship. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Wednesday, Day 25: Christmas Eve - God Loves Us (So We Can Relax)

For Kids: There’s a lot of things we have to do each day. Get up from our sleep, Get dressed, Eat Breakfast, Get ready for School, Listen to the teacher, play with friends, eat our lunch, and after it’s all done, go back home. There’s time to play, Then we eat our supper… And eventually we have to get ready for bed and go to sleep! And then we do it all over again the next day. Sometimes there’s a vacation - like right now - and we get more time to play, to have fun and not have to do work at school. Our parents are good at helping us know what time it is and what we need to do next – even when we don’t want to move on to the next thing. God is also good at helping us know what time it is, and what is next. He doesn’t shout at us, or yell, or even scream…he does it peacefully, quietly. He wants us to understand that he does it, most of all, for us. Christmas can be quite busy and there’s lots of things going on at once…but let us not forg

The difference between defending and explaining

The news of recent has focused the suffering of Christians in the middle east who have been martyred for their faith in Christ at the hands of Islamic Terrorists. Through the centuries many Christians have lost their lives as a result of their faith. For us, who live in America, there is little chance that we would have this happen here - but it's entirely possibly that terrorism will strike out at Christians sometime. But, for many Christians in the western world - especially here in the U.S. - being a Christians who believes God's word there is a form of persecution that is defined by words like "ostracized", "passed over", "ridiculed", and more. What do we do in the face of opposition to faith? When the Apostle Peter writes to the early believers who are undergoing great pressure, even persecution for their faith in Jesus, he gives them this charge. 1 Peter 3:8-18 8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly lov

Elliott's Muses

Search This Blog