SV016-Advent, “Waiting … An Advent Meditation”
Today's Scripture Reading
Isaiah 40:31
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
2 Peter 3:13-15
13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Final Words
14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. 15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him.
Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Text provided by the Crossway Bibles Web Service.
Listen to "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel"
Southport Christian Churh Congregation
[audio:O_Come_O_Come_Emmanuel.aif]Today's Devotion
Waiting is hard work, and it is becoming harder as time goes on. Research to find information that used to take minutes, hours, or days, now takes seconds. Before the internet, written communication took days to weeks - now it is accomplished virtually immediately (if my friends would only read their email!). I carry the power to reach most of the world immediately in my pocket all the time. I can get answers NOW. My expectations are radically different than they were in the era when I was a child. And yet, some things have not changed.
Advent is not a time for action, but a time to wait. The waiting takes place, not in our time, but in God’s time. We look around at the poverty, war, and injustice all around us, and cry out, like the psalmist and the prophet, “How long, O Lord?” And the answer is the same - as long as it takes.
Prayer:
Creator God, Source of all life,
For this season, for a short while, help us to wait in silence, with patience, and devout prayer, for those miracles which you are preparing for Your children. Open our hearts that we may be ready to receive them when they come. Amen
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