“At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Luke 21:27-28
An “Advent” is about the preparation, anticipation, and expectation of something that is coming. Every Advent season Christians look forward to celebrating the day when love was born – the day our Savior, Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem.
We can’t exactly say what people did in expectation of Christ’s first coming, except that it may be like our awaiting the time of His return. Jesus tells us that His second coming will be preceded by all kinds of anguish, perplexity, and terror. These are not the sorts of things that give us hope, but Jesus tells us to stand up in hope because our redemption is near. It takes great faith to be hopeful when it seems like the whole world is falling apart all around you. Such faith does not come by accident; instead it comes from God the Holy Spirit. This faith is also often strengthened by the very hope that sees us through pain and suffering.
We prepare during the church season of Advent so that our faith can be strengthened in the confidence that our redemption is near. As we pause to prepare for the annual celebration of the Savior’s birth we live in confidence that Christ Jesus has redeemed us and no matter what chaos is going on in the world He will come to rescue us from it.
Prayer: Gracious God, we bless Your holy name for bringing joy to the world by sending Your Son, Jesus, to take away the punishment for our sins and reconcile us to You. Amen.
© 2006 Lutheran Hour Ministries
These devotions have been written by Rev. Paul and Kaye Wolff. Rev. Paul Wolff is a 1996 graduate of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. He has served as a pastor in the Detroit area for 10 years. He and co-author wife, Kaye, live in Southfield, Michigan.
Kaye Dumas Wolff is Chairperson of the Black Ministry Church Planting Task Force and a Mission Affiliate of LCMS World Missions where she serves as a training facilitator for laity in evangelism and mission work. Kaye serves on the Advisory Council of the Ethnic Immigrant Institute of Theology of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, and she is a presenter for Lutheran Hour Ministries’ Equipping to Share Workshop.
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Today's Bible Readings: Ezekiel 45-46 1 John 2
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