December 1st, the beginning of Advent. When our children were little, we had advent calendars, the countdown to Christmas and Jesus’ birthday. It was always about Jesus and the gifts we could give Him.
Now that they are grown, the emphasis is the same. However, a few things have changed. Instead of heading to the forest to cut a tree we went to Home Depot. The adventure wasn’t quite the same – instead of facing icy roads and a snow-covered mountain top we maneuvered the freeway and the parking lots.
But opening the box of ornaments and nativities brought back memories of years past. I could almost hear the laughter as I removed the angels from the boxes and hung them on the tree. Each one has stood the test of time – being moved from state to state, surviving the downsizing from large home on acreage to the tiny home in the desert.
This is another adventure that the Lord has led us on. No longer does the tree stand in the living room; this year it’s on the front porch.
But the things that haven’t changed are the eternal promises of God.
Those of you that know me well know I love the Word of God and believe it is to be taken literally. It’s the rock I stand on and has been my foundation through good times and the bad. The thing about the bad times, is when we’re standing on the Word we come through victorious.
My favorite verse in all the Bible is Numbers 23:19-20
“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? 20Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.”
If this verse isn’t true, then we can throw the rest of the Bible out the window.
Since the Bible is God’s word, we need to know that He cannot lie – so if it’s written, He’s holding Himself to it. God has spoken a blessing over those of us who have accepted Jesus as Savior and He’s not going back on it.
“ The law says we are under a curse for not always obeying it. But Christ took away that curse. He changed places with us and put himself under that curse. The Scriptures say, ‘Anyone who is hung on a tree is under a curse.‘ 14 Because of what Jesus Christ did, the blessing God promised to Abraham was given to all people. Christ died so that by believing in him we could have the Spirit that God promised.” Galatians 3:13-14 ERV
Jesus took on the curses of sin, sickness, fear, failure, and all the rest so that we could walk in the blessings. See, what He has blessed can’t be reversed. Praise God!
Life with Christ is an amazing advent-ure!