Elliott's Muses

It's Wednesday of the first week of Advent and this morning I remind myself that Advent always has to do with Waiting in Prayerful Hope for God to come.  Two passages of Scripture to think about on this theme: Galatians 4:4 4  But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,  Luke 1:5-13 5  In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6  And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7  But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. 8  Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9  according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10  And the whole mult...

It's Tuesday of the first week of Advent. This passage of scripture reminds me of the goal of Advent...to wait in joyful hope because of love. Luke 10:21-24 21  At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. 22   "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." 23  Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24   For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it." Everytime I have read this passage I get a picture of Jesus laughing.  As his d...

It is the first Monday in Advent. Psalm 39:7 7  “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. Perhaps nothing is more difficult to some - myself included - than to wait.  I have a less than patient attitude when it comes to waiting.  I don't know of anyone who enjoys sitting and waiting.  Waiting is that time when we realize we are not where we want to be and we do not like the space or place that we are now in.  I have waited many times.  Waiting happens in an examination room, or worse, a hospital room, for what is next.  Waiting at the airport for love ones to arrive is a daily scene at airports.  Waiting for almost anything is tough on us.  Even waiting for God in our Prayers is not easy. I find it interesting that as the Gospel of Luke begins the story of the first Advent, all of the people in the Gospel are waiting. Zechariah is waiting...and he's been praying for a child to be born to him. Elizabeth is waiting.....

It's the First Sunday in Advent and I want to invite you to sojourn with me through this season of celebration that leads us to Christmas Day. Advent is a season and not just a day. It begins four Sundays before Christmas...in fact, this year it's the earliest it can begin. Advent means "arrival, coming"...and it reminds us that Jesus Christ came to us to be Immanuel - God with us. Today I ask you to consider with me - God Promised the Messiah - His Son - and he kept tha t promise in a rather remarkable way. His Son didn't come bursting through the clouds with 10's of thousands of Angels, but rather came through birth. 700 years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah looked upon the landscape of His nation - Israel, and he saw a discouraged and fearful people.  To the North came a threatening nation that was preparing to attack.  Within his own nation he saw an unfaithful people when it came to God, and he knew the inevitable - God would allow the Assy...

For many of you tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day (not in England, although I'm certain my friends there are very thankful people). I am excited about the beginning of Advent on this Sunday. Advent is my favorite time of the year.  I have loved taking time each year to read, reflect, pray and "adore" Jesus' Incarnation. Several years ago I wrote an Advent Devotional I entitled "AN ADVENT SOJOURN".  Sojourning is simply spending a little time in a destination we visit...but we spend a little extra time in doing that.  So this Advent Sojourn book was my attempt to take some 20 years of reflecting about Advent and put some of those thoughts down to read. The book is an Electronic book, or Kindle book if you will.  It's can be purchased at Amazon and read on any digital device - from a computer, Ipad, or even Mobile phone - which has Kindle as an app. If you're interested in getting it before Advent begins, you can find it at:  https://www.amazon.com/A...