O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Guys….CHRISTMAS IS IN 25 DAYS!!!! I don't know about y'all but I was always the one who forced my family to put up the tree and decorate the whole house. I wear ugly Christmas sweaters (even though its like 80 degrees in Texas) and watch all the Christmas movies. Don't even get me started on Christmas music…I’m OBSESSED. In case you didn't catch it, I absolutely love Christmas. I would love to make this whole post about how I love Christmas cookies and lights and what not, but I wanna talk about something else. 

JESUS. 

Yes, my first love, my father, my rescuer, my protector JESUS. We wouldn't even have all this awesome Christmas stuff if it wasn't for Jesus. As this season is beginning I wanna talk about what Advent is and why we should participate in this beautiful time of anticipation. 

I did some research (I feel so put together haha) and the dictionary definition of advent is: the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event. The Christian definition being: the coming or second coming of Christ. Interestingly, Advent did not start out as a season of anticipation for the birth of Jesus. It actually wasn't connected to Christmas at all! It wasn't until the 6th century when the Roman Christians linked Advent to the coming of Christ. Even then they didn't mean the birth of baby Jesus in the manger. They meant the second coming of Christ on judgement day. When the Middle Ages rolled around is when Christians linked Advent to the birth of Christ and it became what it is today, 4 weeks of study in anticipation for the birth of Jesus but also looking forward to Christ’s second coming. 

Interesting right?

I wanted to share that background with you so you could have a deeper understanding of what Advent is all about. It’s a time of remembrance, excitement, and reflection on not only Jesus’ first coming but also His second. A time to study scripture with your family and your church and really reflect on what Christmas is really about. How our Mighty God sent His one and only Son to Earth so that we could have eternal life and experience freedom from our sin! OH YEAH! 

I encourage you in this Advent season to find a study that works for you and to really dive deep into scripture. Study it with your family, a small group, or alone. Create healthy rhythms of daily reading scripture so that hopefully you will create a habit of it as you go into the new year. I pray you all will have a beautiful Advent and Christmas season! Shout praise to God and thank Him for His ultimate sacrifice! 

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.” Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

O come, O come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appears.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.