Look Forward, Because He Promised
“If you’re anything like me, it’s easy to have your gaze focused on today—on what needs to be done, on what isn’t going to get done. And when we lift our eyes to look to tomorrow, or next year, or next decade, our sight can be filled with the worries prompted by future uncertainties. Our looking forward can so easily be filled with anxiety rather than anticipation. But by faith in Christ we are God’s people. And God’s people have always been, and still are, a people who can look forward to what has been promised.” Look Forward, Because He Promised by Carl Laferton
The Giver is the Best Gift
“The truth is, we cannot have joy, peace, love, or hope apart from their perfect embodiment in Jesus Christ. Christmas is not about warm fuzzies; it is about the One who finally delivers on the promise of everything we acknowledge as good and true. The Bible will not let us have ethereal virtues. Do you want peace? Christ himself is our peace (Eph. 2:14). Do you want love? Christ himself is love (1 John 4:8). Do you want hope? Christ himself is our hope (Titus 2:13).” - The Giver is the Best Gift by Jared C. Wilson
The First Gift Giver: How Our Christmas Giving Displays Our Savior
“At this time of year, we celebrate the coming into the world of the first and greatest Giver who is also the best and most beautiful gift. Thankfully, it looks like Christmas will no longer be constrained by Covid. As joyful as that isolated Christmas in 2020 turned out to be for my family, the joy of giving gifts can only grow when we spread them abroad more widely. There will be joy for the givers. There will be joy for the getters. And—we can pray—there will be joy for those who learn something of the Christ who is reflected in the giving.” - The First Gift-Giver: How Our Christmas Giving Displays Our Savior by Lizzie Laferton
Predicting Jesus: Finding Hope in the Old Testament Prophecies
“It wasn’t until I studied Isaiah and all the prophecies that came true that I finally let go of my doubts. When I studied the virgin birth, the root of Jesse, the costly cornerstone, and the one who would cry out in the wilderness, I began to see Jesus all through the words of Isaiah. Isaiah spoke of a Messiah who would heal the deaf, the lame, and the blind. Isaiah 53 has so many details about the suffering and atonement of Christ on the cross, only God himself could have “written” it. Studying Isaiah created in me a steadfast assurance that the Bible is from God and about God.” - Predicting Jesus: Finding Hope in the Old Testament Prophecies by Kim Erickson
Advent Hope Far as the Curse is Found
“This Advent season, let us wait together with great expectation for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us live in the light of Jesus’s birth, death, and resurrection and set our hope on his second advent—when we will dwell with God and he will wipe away every tear and death will be no more. Let us fix our eyes on the promise of his blessing that every single thing will be made new and whole and perfect and beautiful—far as the curse of sin and death is found.” - Advent Hope Far as the Curse is Found by Lainee Oliver