Advent - Hope and Love
Weeks 1 and 2
During this season of Advent, I am reading a daily devotional and paying more attention to the Sunday focus of Advent. The first week we focused on hope. I love Hebrews 6:19, NLT:
"This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God's inner sanctuary."
Wow, what a picture of the relationship that Jesus wants to have with me, with us. He doesn't want us to just know of Him, but to truly know Him, personally, intimately.
An anchor is "a person or thing that can be relied on for support, stability, or security; mainstay." Jesus is definitely Someone we can count on during the good AND the turbulent times in life!
Hope means "to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence, to believe, desire, or trust."
If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you know that I love acronyms! I found one for HOPE! His Overwhelming Presence Every day. If we look for His overwhelming presence every day, in all circumstances we will have hope! Jesus is truly the only thing to look forward to and we need to share that hope with others.
That brings me to the 2nd week of Advent...love. We not only need to love God, but we also need to love others. The ultimate way of loving others is to share our hope in Jesus with them.
I come in contact with hurting people every single day. Some are in physical pain, others are just plain tired. I'm learning that just a smile, a kind word, or giving directions, are all they need to have a better day.
I John 3:16-19, NLT:
"We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth.."
Where do you see hurting people in your journey? What can you do to make their load lighter and offer them hope and love?
Psalm 39:7, NLT:
"And so, Lord,where do I put my hope? My only hope is in You."
Praying you have a Hope-filled, love-filled Advent season!
