Sunday, November 28, 2021

Dearest friends and visitors —

Welcome to Advent 2021, I am excited to share Jesus with you this holiday season. I will be utilizing an advent devotional written by Asheritah Ciuciu. The book is called “Unwrapping the Names of Jesus.” I am excited to read this book with you. The author has a website where you can access additional resources at:

Essential Meaning of HOPE:

• to want something to happen or be true and think that it could happen or be true

• to cherish a desire with anticipation : to want something to happen or be true

• to desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment

• to expect with confidence

• desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment

• someone or something on which hopes are centered

🟢 ▫️ 🔴 ▫️🟢 ▫️ 🔴 ▫️🟢 ▫️ 🔴 ▫️ 🟢

I thought I would start out with the most obvious, the dictionary meaning of “hope.” When and where have you experienced hope in your life? I think we often learn about things like hope at an early age that can become more defined as we grow and learn. I can remember hoping for Santa to bring me a particular gift at Christmas and unwrapping it on Christmas morning. I now know it was not Santa but my parents, but “hope” was still real, it was just delivered differently than I knew at the time. I hoped for many things growing up and still do today. Hope is not passive for me, it’s alive and is even energy driven at times. As one definition puts it, “desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment.” Hope is not merely wishing, is it a desire and an expectation. The scriptures gives us hope, promises, prophecy and fulfillment. In a word, Jesus!

Sharing HOPE with you is my desire…

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for the opportunity to participate in Advent this year. Please bless the person(s) reading this and I humbly ask for your Holy Spirit to calm our hearts and minds so we may be open to your words. In Jesus name. Amen.

Scripture verse: John 8:12

Why do we light a candle?

— This candle reminds us of the promise that a Messiah would come, bringing peace and love to the world.

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”
— Isaiah 9:2 — (NIV)

Discussion Questions

1. God planned Jesus’ arrival thousands of years before it happened. What does that tell us about God?

God can be tough to explain or describe, I like to say that God is outside of our understanding of space and time. We are linear in our thinking, everything must start and end. The concept of God always being and never starting has some of us scratching our heads…

2. How does Jesus’ light in our world give us hope?

Our hope is Jesus, he has provided the blueprints to life everlasting. He is our guide and our example. He is the great teacher, the obedient son, a loyal friend, trusted companion, great healer and the Savior of the World. Jesus works in and through us to shine His light is the darkest corners of the world, in our cities, in our neighborhoods, in our families and most importantly within ourselves. 🌟

3. In what ways can we allow Jesus’ light to shine through us?

This is a favorite question of mine! I strive to share Jesus with others, I used to think in order to do God’s work one must be educated properly, be someone of importance, a pillar of the community… Seriously, I was so wrong! First, it’s nothing we can do on our own, we must surrender to Jesus, then just let his light shine. It’s not the big grandiose gestures and the loud voices…NO, NO, NO, it is the small still voices, the smiles we share, the noticing of people , looking them in the eye, not looking past or through them, it is in these moments that we allow God’s light to shine the brightest. You just might be the one person who makes the difference in someone’s life simply by being kind.

🎶 • 🎼 • 🎵 • 🎶 • 🎼 • 🎵 • 🎶 • 🎼 • 🎵

I could not decide which version of Silent Night to pick, so here’s two that touched my heart. I hope at least one of them is comforting to you.

~Charlotte, Seeker of unexpected Comfort, Happiness, Joy and Patience.

References:

http://unwrappingthenames.com

https://www.biblegateway.com/

https://www.merriam-webster.com/