This past Sunday marked the beginning of Advent.

What is Advent?

It is a season in which many Christians prepare themselves spiritually for the day commemorating Christ’s birth, on December 25th. In Western Christianity, Advent begins on the fourth Sunday prior to Christmas Day, or the Sunday that falls closest to November 30th, and lasts through Christmas Eve, December 24th.

In many churches, each Sunday in Advent is marked by the lighting of a candle. An Advent wreath can have four candles—one for each Sunday in Advent—or five candles, with the additional candle is lit on Christmas Eve. Each candle represents a specific reflection for that week.

The first candle, the one that was lit last Sunday, is the Candle of Hope. It is a purple candle that symbolizes royalty, repentance, and fasting. This week, we reflect on what it would have been like to feel the depth of God’s prophetic silence in the period between the Old and New Testaments. (Source: Crosswalk.com, November 20, 2020 – The Colorful Significance of Each Advent Candle.)

We think about the prophecies of the coming Messiah. We think about the promises which God has made, promises of God that create hope in our hearts.

We have hope because God is always true to His word.

And, what has God promised us?

1. He will never forsake us—he will always be with us—in any and all circumstances.

2. He promised us eternal life through our faith in Jesus and our turning our lives over to Him.

3. He promised that one day Jesus will come for us and take us to our eternal home.

4. He promised that we will live with Him forever. That we will never again taste death. That all of our sorrows will be washed away.

Join me today in embracing the spirit of Hope that only God can provide.

He promised the world a Messiah—and He delivered Him to this world.

He promises us an eternal home where there are no sorrows.

He will deliver on this as well!

Light your candle!

And be filled with hope!