the word is wait...
I wait for words to be revealed...
and online orders to arrive...
I'm even waiting for a Christmas tree...
I finally broke down... gave in...
and ordered an artificial tree...
Wait... an Advent word...
a season of waiting the arrival of a certain time...
The Israelites waited centuries... for the Messiah...
beginning with Adam and Eve...
The Lord said to the serpent, "Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring
and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."
Genesis 3:14-15 ESV
Satan... accuser... deceiver...
tempted Eve and Adam to break the one rule...
and as a result broke the world...
and made the way for death...
In His words to the serpent...
the Lord promised an offspring of Eve...
would come and bruise... crush... his head...
the first mention of a coming Savior... Messiah...
to rid the world of evil...
Wait...
In the days of Isaiah... the waiting continued...
It will be said on that day, "Behold, this is our God;
we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation."
Isaiah 25:9 ESV
The first Advent...
a waiting for thousands of years...
with an unknown arrival date...
Wait...
Even as He came... there was waiting... in His story...
Zechariah... waited for his voice to return...
And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God,
and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold,
you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place,
because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time."
Luke 2:19-20 ESV
Mute... Zechariah could not share his good news...
with his wife...
the waiting congregation...
no one...
he had to wait... for the promised birth of his son... John...
Wait...
There was also one in the temple...
waiting for the Messiah...
And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses,
[Joseph and Mary] brought [Jesus] up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord...
Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man
was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him
by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought
in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law,
he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, "Lord, now you
are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence
of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel."
Luke 2:22, 25-32 ESV
Simeon... by the power of the Holy Spirit...
saw the promised Messiah... Jesus...
he waited patiently... for years...
and now the promise fulfilled...
filled him with joy...
Waiting for Him may be hard...
but it always culminates in JOY...!
When we wait for God to bring about His promises...
there should be no doubt the waiting will be worth it...
We currently wait now... in these last days...
somewhere along the timeline of the second Advent...
His second coming...
Like the first Advent...
the exact date... unknown...
I imagine it will be an unexpected event for most...
but for those who believe...
we should wait... with great expectation...
and preparation...
Just like we wait for Christmas...
planning gifts... dinner... decorations...
putting time and energy... into remembering others...
we need to wait...
prepare...
for His next coming...
How do you wait each day... for His return...?
with anticipation...? preparation...?
or complacency...? procrastination...?
Does doubt fill your days...?
or increasing expectancy of His return...?
Wait... a word of Christmas...
but also one for today...
in the midst of the anticipation...
of His second arrival...
"...But know this, that if the master 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 hour you do not expect. ..." ---Jesus
Matthew 24:43-44 ESV
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