Advent Devotional

An Advent Devotional
By Christian Author Linda Wiggins-Edwards

In Genesis 22:15-18, God made a holy covenant with Abraham, blessing him because of his obedience to God, obedience that would have taken Abraham’s only son. The scripture tells us that “The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, ‘I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.’” One of these descendants of Abraham that God was speaking of, was a man who came to be known as the Son of Man.

Throughout the history of the Bible we see people, God’s people, as broken and destroyed, spiritually. People were constantly worshipping idols, committing adultery, enslaving each other, killing each other, and doing everything they could possibly do to separate themselves from God. Their first thought was of “pleasing self,” not “pleasing God.”

This is no different than what goes on today. In today’s society we are faced with catastrophic wars, racism, sexism, classism, homelessness, modern-day slavery, a dumbing down of our educational system, a disappearing of the middle-class, and the removal of God from the schools, from television, from books, and even sometimes from the church. Today’s society is an “I’m just doing me” society. All people seem to care about is themselves and nothing more than doing whatever they can to get rich. Even some so-called Christians only believe that God is blessing them if He gives them a lot of money, nice homes, nice cars, and nice clothes. Not to say there is anything wrong with having some of those things, but I know that God blesses me every moment of every day, simply because He is God and He blesses me heart, mind and soul. And the most precious blessing that God has given to all of us, is the blessing of His Son, the Son of Man, our Intercessor for all eternity, the one known as the way, the truth and the life, our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ.

During this season of Advent, please remember that our celebration is not one of just exchanging gifts, eating good food, and getting together with family & friends. We are celebrating the life of a man who was given to us by Our Father, to die for our sins; a man who humbly and graciously accepted death on the cross, so that we may all be reconciled to God and have a chance at eternal life.

Just as it says in Colossians 1:15-20, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”

So today and always, let us celebrate our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ.

Written by Linda Wiggins-Edwards
Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.