December 13, 2018
Dear friends,
Last week, my youngest daughter, Bethany, wrote the first guest blog in this space and today, I am happy to present the writings of my second youngest daughter. Candace graduated from Concordia University with a degree in Therapeutic Recreation, married Richard Pendred last year and is busy at work and in church. As we approach Christmas, I am very thankful for the family that the Lord has given Karen and me and look forward to being with them more than usual. Without further ado, here is what is on Candace Ruth’s heart:
As we celebrate the advent season, I am personally going through a daily devotional by The Daily Grace Company titled “How Jesus fulfills every Longing of Our Hearts”. The writer emphasizes on the concept of waiting on the coming Messiah and how in various scripture passages, we see examples of saints waiting on the Lord in different ways. One way Abraham and Sarah waited on the Lord was for them to be given a child, which God promises in Genesis 15. This was the impossible … from a human perspective. But with God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). Although this is a famous passage I had heard numerous times growing up, the Lord opened my eyes in a new and refreshing way. The God who gave Abraham and Sarah a baby, Isaac, well into their hundreds is the same God you and I serve in the midst of our trials, tribulations, and impossibilities. In our situations, things may very well be impossible but let us not forget that we serve the same God who is I AM. He is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
God was faithful to keep his covenant to Abraham and He will be faithful to keep His promises to you and me. In the devotional, they quote “The miraculous birth of Isaac after a long and difficult season of waiting pointed towards the Advent of the Son of God coming as a baby in Bethlehem”. Similarly, Mary was promised the impossible. In Luke 1:30-33 the angel says to Mary, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor in God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end”. God incarnated and born of a virgin? If that doesn’t sound like the impossible, I don’t know what does. But it happened; God performed the most wonderful miracle of all – Emmanuel: God with us. God sent His Son so that in Him, we may be reconciled to Him. At the cross and by the shedding of Christ’s blood, our sins are forgiven and we are made a new creation in Him. This is the best gift we can ever receive. Let us ponder on the miraculous work of our Savior as we enter this Christmas season. We serve a God of the impossible; the One who brought our dead hearts to life! To Him be the glory!
Scripture for the weekend: “so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” Hebrews 9:28 (ESV).
Thought for the weekend: “Shalom peace is wholeness and completeness. It is peace with God in the midst of the world around us. This is why Jesus came. He did not simply come to bring peace- He came to be our peace. He came to bring peace to our hearts and to make us whole and complete in a way that only He can” (Waiting for Advent, Daily Grace Co.).
By His grace,
Steve