3rd Christmas Advent (Advent of Joy)
Isaiah 61:1-3 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
As we have progressed through
the Advents of Christmas (1st Advent Hope; 2nd Advent Faith), We have seen the
surety of the Hope we have in Christ Jesus, the surety that He did come to the
earth in human form. He came to live a perfect life, a sinless life, and then
go to the Cross to atone for our sins. Jesus paid for our sins in and through
His Blood sacrifice made on the Cross of Calvary. We have another promise from
God in that Jesus is coming back to this earth to take His followers and
believers home to be with Him for eternity. This promise, this Hope we have in
Christ Jesus, is ours through faith in God, faith that Jesus did come to pay a
sin debt for us that we could never pay. This faith continues as we await the
promise of His second coming to usher those that place their faith and trust in
Him to our eternal home in heaven.
When the time came for Jesus
to set out on His earthly ministry, He stood up in a synagogue at Nazareth,
where Joseph and Mary had raised Him, and read this scripture verse (Isaiah
61:1-3). Then he said: "today, this scripture is fulfilled in your
hearing" (Luke 4:21). He was telling those in attendance that day, and the
world, that the promise of the coming of the Messiah to take away the sins of
the world is here, and I am He.
The fact that There was a
promise made of the coming Messiah to take away the world's sins in the Garden
of Eden should have filled the world with Joy. The fact that He did come, as
the Son of God, to atone for our sins should fill us with a joy unmeasurable in
human terms. That joy should continue in the Children of God this day in age as
we await His second coming to take us all to our eternal home. The joy we know in the Lord is the happiness
and contentment of heart that comes from knowing God, abiding in Christ, and
being filled with the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus was born, the
angels proclaimed, " good news that will cause great joy for all the people."
(Luke 2:10). All who place this faith and trust in Christ Jesus as their Lord
and Savior can know " good news that will cause great joy." All who
accept Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior know, with the shepherds that came
to the manger that glorious night, the joy He brings. Even before His birth,
Jesus had brought joy, as demonstrated in the song of Mary (Luke 1:46-47) and
by John's response to hearing Mary's voice as he "leaped for joy" in
his mother's womb (Luke 1:44).
There are several avenues of
Christian joy, including knowing true Christian love and unconditional love for
Jesus and all people. The 4th and final Christmas advent is the Advent of Love
that we will cover next Sunday in the Daily Verse.
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