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Monday, November 28, 2016

Waiting again?? - 1st Week of Advent 2016

Wait for what? Who likes to wait for the bus/LRT or a bum-friend. I for one just hate the idea of waiting in a queue.  But as we enter into Advent the Church is asking us to WAIT. Again?? For what???

Well, for a start it is not WHAT we are waiting for but for WHOM!  The reason of our waiting is Christ Himself! Remember we love singing Christ the reason for our season?

And if it is Christ then it has to be a completely different kind of waiting as oppose to how we wait for a bus or friend. 

It means we wait with a different kind of attitude all together! And what that means is we wait expectantly and in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. Sounds familiar? It should!

And awaiting for Christ must certainly mean we are inviting Him to break into our lives the same way the He broke into the world 2000 years  who was so in need of His touch.

More than 2000 years ago the Jewish people awaited with bated breath for a Messiah and they got one. Our Heavenly Father definitely did not and will not disappoint us as we wait in hope.

But did the Jewish people recognize Jesus when He came to them? Unfortunately, no! You see even if you had all awaited expectantly and hoping with anticipation you could still miss the Messiah!  How is that possible?

The reason the people of God missed it is because they were not prepared and that is the key of this four weeks Advent celebration. Since they were not prepared their hearts and mind was not ready to receive Him. 

They were hoping for a revolutionary or a warrior-king like but what they got was a baby! The idea of a Messiah in the form of a baby did not resonate well with the Jews even when Isaiah prophesied 700 years earlier - “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Emmanuel” (Is 7:14).

How about us today? The reason we celebrate Advent over and over again year in and year out is so that we over-prepare ourselves to recognize and receive Jesus which I’ve said is the key. But what is the purpose of this waiting really? It is for His glorious second coming. He is coming to take us home. But we have to be ready, people.

And make no mistake about His identity this time around. When He is comes for the second time He is making it very clear that He is coming as a King and a Judge of the world; not a baby anymore.

The only difference this time around is the timing! We do not know the time or the hour of His coming. And as Jesus said He will surely come but like a thief in the night or when we are busy celebrating or partying with family and friends (we love to do this during December, no?J).

And by the way Advent is not JUST about shopping, partying, decorating, even caroling! And it’s not about DOING either. It’s us taking a step back in our lives and start BEING  and LIVING these values   so we can have the desired breakthrough in our lives in Jesus. And being broken as we are - we thoroughly need His personal but mighty touch in our lives – in our families, carrier, business, relationships, ministry etc.  I know I need Him very much!

And what values does the Church exhorts us during this Advent time?

-          We wait expectantly
-          With hopeful anticipation
-          And with joyful preparation

Simple, right? In practical terms we should:-

-          Pray daily
-          Read and think about God’s Word daily
-          Share with others especially the poor
-          Be thankful in all things
-          Understand the Advent/Christmas symbols during this celebration…they must be something meaningful in it

So, how is your Advent been so far? No worries! We just started today.

Let’s make the best of it and finish strong!


Amen.

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