Advent Day 1

Psalm 130 v 6 "My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning."

I love advent and have come to love it more recently. We have an advent box that we give the kids on Advent Eve, it has Christmas clothes and hot chocolate, calendars and surprises. The excitement was high as the tradition was carried out, all the after dinner jobs got done at top speed and then we all sat down to talk about advent. This year we want to spend the season getting our hearts ready to celebrate the first coming of Jesus and looking forward to the next coming! Four years ago the world was cowed with fear and governments scrambled to respond and I realised in a new way how much we are all longing for a new world. Since then our own world was broken with senseless tragedy and again I long for the new world when everything will be remade back to its original intent and we are restored to our original settings as it were. It certainly won't be ushered in by man but the promise stands and it fills me with excitement that in the words of Jesus in Mathew 4v17 "the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."

What amazes me is that the advent of Jesus has already happened! That we have been revealed as the sons of glory Hebrews 2v10 and in the words of Paul Manwaring "Our lives can be a constant journey of learning what is eternally true about us and how to live from that reality on a daily basis." p.61 What on earth is glory. That Jesus already came, bought our salvation at such a high cost and has now made us His habitation and we get to live out this new mandate "son of God." Such good news!

"The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

He who testifies of these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

Revelation 22 v 17 & 20