Advent : the coming or(and) second coming of Christ.

The official Christmas season began last Friday according to the retail sales industry. Black Friday as it's called marks the official begining of the Christmas shopping season. Although every year retail stores and websites begin the holiday hype earlier and earlier.

The church as a whole began it's acknowledgement of the Christmas season last Sunday, with the begining of the Advent season. The word advent means,1- the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event. 2- the first season of the Christian church year, leading up to Christmas and including the four preceding Sundays. 3- the coming or second coming of Christ.

In our culture and society it seems the "notable event", the holiday has far surpassed the reason for it. Don't be fooled the attacks against the Christ in Christmas are not about tolerance or inclusion. If the real motive where either tolerance or inclusion there would be tolerance of our Christian beliefs and inclusion of the traditions that surround the true meaning of Christmas. The effort to remove all of the Truth, Christ from Christmas, (John 14:6  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life...) , is a work of the antichrist spirit we read about yesterday. It is also a sure sign to believers in Christ that the Advent we celebrate is the one in definition 3 above, the coming or second coming of Christ. As we celebrate the first coming of Christ as a baby, born to a virgin, in a stable in Bethlehem, we need to recognize the second Advent that grows nearer each day. The time when Christ returns, no longer as a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger nor as a gentle shepherd and teacher, but rather as a conquering king. The King of kings and the Lord of lords. Look at what was revealed to John about the second coming of Jesus in Revelation 19:11-16.

¹¹ Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. ¹² His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. ¹³ He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. ¹⁵ Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. ¹⁶ And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.

As I think about this Christmas season, celebrating the first Advent and looking toward the second Advent, I am reminded of a powerful message written by a fellow believer some time ago.

One Solitary Life

He was born in an obscure village
The child of a peasant woman
He grew up in another obscure village
Where he worked in a carpenter shop
Until he was thirty when public opinion turned against him

He never wrote a book
He never held an office
He never went to college
He never visited a big city
He never travelled more than two hundred miles
From the place where he was born
He did none of the things
Usually associated with greatness
He had no credentials but himself

He was only thirty three

His friends ran away
One of them denied him
He was turned over to his enemies
And went through the mockery of a trial
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves
While dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing
The only property he had on earth

When he was dead
He was laid in a borrowed grave
Through the pity of a friend

Nineteen centuries have come and gone
And today Jesus is the central figure of the human race
And the leader of mankind's progress
All the armies that have ever marched
All the navies that have ever sailed
All the parliaments that have ever sat
All the kings that ever reigned put together
Have not affected the life of mankind on earth
As powerfully as that one solitary life

Dr James Allan Francis © 1926.

Jesus came the first time and changed the world. No one can deny that truth. From the time of His birth till now that change has been effected one life at a time, one solitary life changing one life. The impact of His life to this point is the change of human hearts and the redemption of their souls. We see how greatly this change, one life at a time has affected all of history. He calls us, until He returns to join Him in His work of bringing the fullness of the kingdom of God to earth. When He returns He will restore all of creation and fully bring His kingdom here. The time of grace will be over. The time of changing one heart, one life at a time. But, that day is not yet here. So this Christmas season, may we resolve to proclaim the good news to any and all who will hear. Christ has come and He is coming.

Amen