Back at the end of November, I began these Advent devotions with a prologue that I entitled ‘In Search of Hope’. And in it I spoke of how I’d been prompted to write them after hosting a series of meetings entitled ‘10,000 Reasons for Hope in a War Zone’ with Igor Bandura, the Vice President of the Baptist Union in Ukraine.
A month on, the war in that beleaguered country continues. How desperately must those who live there long to wake up on this Christmas morning and be presented with the just and lasting peace that they, and we, all so desire.
But whilst the wait for them, and us, goes on, there is nonetheless a ‘peace on earth’ that we can all know, one that the angels referred to as they sung to the shepherds that first Christmas night [Luke 2:14], one that is present despite the hostility that continues to exist both in the world and the turmoil of our own hearts and minds.
Because whilst the Bible does speak of a time when all conflicts will come to an end, when God will cause wars to cease [Psalm 46:9] and swords will be beaten into plowshares [Isaiah 2:4], it also tells of an end to the enmity that, because of sin, exists between God and man.
And it comes about solely because of the peace treaty that was signed in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ who, through his sacrifice on the cross, has reconciled to God all those who put their trust in Him. [Colossians 1:21-23]
And what a peace his death for us has secured – one that, because it preserves God’s righteousness and will continue on for all eternity, really is both just and lasting.
This is the gospel – the good news that, being true, is as worthy of being believed as it is worthy to be proclaimed – that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. [1 Timothy 1:15]
Which brings me to my final point. Because as well as referring to the absence of hostility, peace can also refer to the absence of noise. And that is what God means when, calling us to ‘be still’, he urges us to quieten our souls and pay attention to what He has to tell us.
‘Be still and know that I am God’ he says [Psalm 46:10] – because there is a time for us to cease our constant chatter and listen carefully to Him instead. For if we hear His Word, the Word that in Jesus ‘became flesh and dwelt among us’ [John 1:14], He will surely comfort us with the objective truth of who He really is.
All of which means that I made a mistake in the title of my opening prologue. For rather than going in pursuit of hope, hope comes to us, as a gift – wrapped up, not just in ‘swaddling cloths’ [Luke 2:7], but in the promises contained in scripture too.
So with that I’m going to stop and leave you with His Word – for you to ponder in your heart, just as Mary did the things that she heard the shepherds say. And as you do, I hope and pray that like them, you too will spend the rest of your life glorifying and praising God for all that He has done. [Luke 2:19-20]
And now may the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. [Romans 15:13] And may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. [Philippians 4:7]
Amen.
LET US HEAR THE TRUE WORD OF OUR GOD
The Lord God said to the serpent…”I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
Genesis 3:15
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel
Isaiah 7:14
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
John 1:14
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration before Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.
But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them
Luke 2:1-20
Christ Jesus…though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:5-8
And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
Mark 15:33-39
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53:4-6
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:21
God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
Acts 2:24
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:9-11
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:3-6
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1 John 4:10
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Romans 3:21-26
All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
2 Corinthians 5:18-20
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Romans 10:13
And you, who were dead in your trespasses …God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
Colossians 2:13-14
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
Galatians 4:4-5
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Romans 8:15
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
Revelation 21:1-4
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!.
Revelation 22:20
To read the complete ‘Twenty-four reasons for hope this Christmas’, click here
To read the complete Advent devotional from 2023, click here
To read the complete Advent devotional from 2024, click here
To read a selection of other Christmas writing, click here
Some musings 