...
Advent
Advent is from the Latin word adventus and
describes the season of waiting ... and celebrating the birth of the Lord
Messiah. It reflects the Jewish people's waiting for their God, YHWH, to
bring them deliverance from their oppression, by bringing them an anointed King
to lead them from the throne of David, in a Kingdom that would have no end.
Adventus is translated from the Greek word found in the Bible - parousia -
"Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered
to meet him." 2 Thessalonians 2:1.
"The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" is translated from the Greek words, "parousias kuriou iēsou" which is translated as literally -
"the coming of lord or master Yehoshua."
So, for Christians, ... We are ... waiting in great expectation for Jesus' second coming to the earth, to finally accomplish God's plan of that everlasting Kingdom He promised us, here upon the earth.
"The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" is translated from the Greek words, "parousias kuriou iēsou" which is translated as literally -
"the coming of lord or master Yehoshua."
So, for Christians, ... We are ... waiting in great expectation for Jesus' second coming to the earth, to finally accomplish God's plan of that everlasting Kingdom He promised us, here upon the earth.
Prayer
Dear Father in Heaven,
Thank You for knowing the beginning and the ending of this great story of mankind! Your plan is just and righteous and true. We know your word will be accomplished through Jesus. This Advent Season, let us take the time to reflect upon Your son - his birth in Bethlehem over two thousand years ago, and upon his second coming, in which we eagerly await! Prepare our hearts and minds, over the days to come, to truly celebrate all that Jesus means for us and how he has brought us such great hope and joy for today and for the age to come!
In Jesus' Name I pray,
Amen.
Dear Father in Heaven,
Thank You for knowing the beginning and the ending of this great story of mankind! Your plan is just and righteous and true. We know your word will be accomplished through Jesus. This Advent Season, let us take the time to reflect upon Your son - his birth in Bethlehem over two thousand years ago, and upon his second coming, in which we eagerly await! Prepare our hearts and minds, over the days to come, to truly celebrate all that Jesus means for us and how he has brought us such great hope and joy for today and for the age to come!
In Jesus' Name I pray,
Amen.
...
Many people are falsely taught that Jesus claimed to be the God of the Old Testament, "I AM who I AM" from Exodus 3:14. They use the text John 8:58 to prove this, when Jesus states, "I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am he." Except some Bibles translate it and even change the capitalization to have Jesus saying,
"before Abraham was born, I AM." However, this is very misleading and incorrect. This phrase is taken from the Greek words "ego eimi" which is translated "I am he," such as in John 8:28 when Jesus says, "then you will know that I am he." (correctly translated in most modern NASB translations), and again in John 4:26-27 when he is speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well about whether he is the Messiah who is called the Christ.
If it was to read "I AM" then its original Greek would be "ego eimi ho hown." But, it's not and he is not the "I AM" or YHWH of the Old Testament. Jesus is the promised Messiah to whom the Jewish people had been prophesied would be coming, and who were waiting and eagerly anticipating at this time! He is simply stating in my paraphrase, "Before the foundation of the world, I am he, the Messiah. I have been in God's plan all along! And here I am! Don't you recognize me as sent by God? Don't you see, by all the miraculous signs I've performed by God's power, that He really did send me to be the Anointed One, the King of His Kingdom?"
But, the Pharisees didn't believe Jesus was sent by God, but of the Devil! They were hard nuts to crack. Jesus spoke cryptically to them, not exactly making it easy for them, because he knew their hearts were hardened.
In John 8, Jesus is attempting to tell the Pharisees that he not demonic, but here to glorify God. Jesus told them that he not only knew the Father, but kept (obeyed) His word - God's spoken logos.
Jesus goes on to explain that Abraham rejoiced to see the day of the Messiah, saw it and was glad. Hebrews 11:13 testifies to this as well, by stating,
"All these [great fathers of the faith] died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having SEEN THEM and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on earth."
Abraham had faith that one day, his seed [Jesus] would bring about a blessing for the entire world, so that they could inherit the land forever, at their resurrection. ... Abraham may not have known that the Messiah's name would be Jesus and at what point in history, his coming would occur, but he believed this promise of God, this Gospel message, and saw it by faith and rejoiced.
This verse does not mean that Jesus was existing before Abraham was born, but that the Gospel or the plan of God existed long before any of them were born. The Hebrew people had such great faith in the fact that when God speaks, it will be accomplished, that they saw His word as if it was already done....but they died without seeing the complete fulfillment of it. To this day, we are still awaiting our Lord to return to the earth to accomplish God's logos.
It is only through the miraculous birth, life, preaching, and death of this Messiah, that God has revealed His great mystery to us ~ that we, even Gentiles, can be saved by faith in this Jesus, so that we, too, can be inheriting the coming Kingdom of God. That is great news, indeed, ...
Jesus is truly the Messiah, and he will be coming back soon! This is
what the Advent is all about, dear ones! Let us rejoice as we see the Day
approaching.
...
The appearance of the angel Gabriel,
announcing the good news to Mary, that she will conceive a son in her womb.
The angel proclaims to her about this son, Jesus:
"He will be great,and will be called the Son of the Most High;and the Lord {YAHWEH} God will give him the throne of his father David;and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever;and his kingdom will have no end."
Luke 1:32-33.
For today's devotional, let us focus on Jesus' position as the
anointed King, sitting on the throne of David forever, reigning over a kingdom
that will have no end.
As we have been discussing some of the prophecies weaved throughout the Old Testament of the coming Messiah, this angel's proclamation also echoes the promise made to Israel's King David, hundreds of years before Jesus' birth.
Read 2 Samuel 7:12-16
"When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers [die], I will raise up your seed after you, who will come forth from you and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My Name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever."
As we have been discussing some of the prophecies weaved throughout the Old Testament of the coming Messiah, this angel's proclamation also echoes the promise made to Israel's King David, hundreds of years before Jesus' birth.
Read 2 Samuel 7:12-16
"When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers [die], I will raise up your seed after you, who will come forth from you and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My Name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever."
Thoughts
God, through His prophet Nathan, spoke His word to David, first referring
to David's son, Solomon, but ultimately prophesying something much deeper, about
the Messiah and the everlasting kingdom that is yet to come. It's
important when we study our Bibles to connect the dots, and God's promise to
David that He would establish the throne of David's descendant forever, makes us
immediately think of the Messianic prophesies found in the book of Daniel.
Daniel 7 provides us more details of this everlasting Kingdom that God will
give to David's descendant.
- "And to him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom that all the peoples,
nations and men of every language might serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. " (7:14) - "But the saints [that's hopefully you and me!] of the Highest One ... will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come." (7:18)
- "Then the sovereignty, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms
under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the
Highest One;
his kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom and all the dominions will serve and obey him." (7:27).
Gabriel announced not only the miraculous conception of a baby boy, but oh,
so much more than that! He was announcing that the long-awaited Messiah -
the descendant of David who was promised by God to rule and reign forever in an everlasting kingdom - would be born to Mary. She was the favored one chosen to birth and mother this child who would later be given a dominion by the Most High God. This good news was incredible! Mary didn't ask, "To what kingdom do you refer?" for she had been taught the Hebrew Scriptures and knew that the Jewish people were looking forward to the consolation of Israel and
the LORD's {YAHWEH's} Christ (like Simeon - found in Luke 2:25-26).
the descendant of David who was promised by God to rule and reign forever in an everlasting kingdom - would be born to Mary. She was the favored one chosen to birth and mother this child who would later be given a dominion by the Most High God. This good news was incredible! Mary didn't ask, "To what kingdom do you refer?" for she had been taught the Hebrew Scriptures and knew that the Jewish people were looking forward to the consolation of Israel and
the LORD's {YAHWEH's} Christ (like Simeon - found in Luke 2:25-26).
Today, we can rejoice over Christ's birth just as Mary and David did,
because we, like them, know God's word will be fulfilled just as was spoken to
them. Elizabeth told Mary when she saw her, "And blessed is she who
believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the
Lord. {YAHWEH}" (Luke 1:45) and David, after hearing God's promise, prayed
"And now, O Lord God {O Adonai YAHWEH}, Thou art God and Thy words are
truth and Thou hast promised this good thing to Thy servant." (2 Samuel
7:28).
We know how the story ends. "The kingdom of the world has
become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and he will reign forever and
ever."
Revelation 11:15. ...
Revelation 11:15. ...
Let us add more depth to our celebration, by understanding that we are
rejoicing in the birth of our King and waiting expectantly for his return.
When he returns, he will begin to establish that everlasting
Kingdom and we "will reign upon the earth"
with him. (Revelation 5:10b). Blessed are we who believe that God's
word will be fulfilled through His Son, Jesus.
...
Prayer
Dear Father in Heaven,
This is the message that the bells should be tolling ...
"Glory to God in the Highest,
and on earth, peace among men with whom He is pleased."
Luke 2:14.
We will indeed have peace, when we get right with God, by accepting and believing in His son, Jesus, who bled and died for our sins, in order to save us.
...
Prayer
Dear Father in Heaven,
Glory to You, the Most High God, who begot Jesus by Your power! You had a plan for him, as the redemption for mankind, since before the foundation of the world. At the right time in history, You brought him into existence and revealed Your great plan for us. In fact, You revealed the mystery that one day, not just Your chosen Jewish people would be saved, but that we, too, (Gentiles) could be grafted in as part of Your family, to be heirs of the Kingdom, and co-heirs with Christ Jesus! What a gift You have given the world, if we would only receive it and believe it. I pray that ..., eyes will be opened and ears will hear the beautiful redeeming tale of the birth of Your son and how we can all be reconciled to You, through Your Son's sacrifice of his life. Grant us boldness and opportunities to share this with a hurting world, beat up by guilt, condemnation and shame. They need Your peace and Your forgiveness, God. Let us love them enough, to share the ministry of reconciliation with them.
In Jesus' Name I pray,
Amen.
Dear Father in Heaven,
You, alone, are God! We praise Your Holy Name and give You the Glory
for bringing us salvation through the miraculous birth of Your Christ! The
more we study and learn about Your coming Kingdom, the more we can begin to
grasp the significance of Christ's role in it. Our faith that You will
fulfill what You have promised, increases, and our certainty that Christ will
accomplish Your will grows stronger. Let our knowledge bring about an
increase in our boldness and confidence to share this good news of a coming
Kingdom with others. Let us spread the news, far and wide, that
Jesus is the King of this Kingdom, and we will someday rule and
reign with him upon the earth, that we will inherit as adopted
sons and daughters of the Most High God. You are good to us and we are
grateful for Your mercies, new each day!
Thank You for the gift of Your Son and may we use today to rejoice in our King.
Thank You for the gift of Your Son and may we use today to rejoice in our King.
In Jesus' Name we pray,
Amen.
...
{This Advent season} should automatically shift our
thinking to the birth of Christ Jesus. We are {supposedly} celebrating his
birthday, after all! So the facts of his birth are important to us.
In fact, by examining the information that God provides us about the
details and prophecies of Jesus' birth, this process provides for us both, a
deeper understanding and a richer comprehension of whose birth in which we are
rejoicing. By looking closely at Scripture, we gleam just who Jesus
is.
Read Psalm 2:7
"I will surely tell of the decree of Yahweh: He said to me, "Thou are My son. Today, I have begotten thee." Psalm 2:7.
Thoughts
Read Psalm 2:7
"I will surely tell of the decree of Yahweh: He said to me, "Thou are My son. Today, I have begotten thee." Psalm 2:7.
Thoughts
This is well accepted in the realm of Biblical scholarship, that this
Scripture is a Messianic prophecy. There is no doubt that this verse
refers to the Messiah. It plainly states that Yahweh (note: a
singular 'He') who is the Most High God, says to His Anointed
(Mashiyach - meaning king or messiah), "You are My
son."
When I first began studying this and realized that Jesus was called the "Son of God" and also went by title, "the Son of Man," I merely assumed that Jesus was part God and part man. A god-man sort of creature, much like the Greek mythology characters who came to earth, cast from heaven. Jesus had God as his Father and Mary, a human as his mom, so I reasoned that must be what he was. Then I learned that the Trinity theory believes that Jesus is not merely a part of anything, he is 100% man, while being 100% God at the same time. They, too, call Jesus a God-Man, but are very defensive if you call Jesus a man and often deny that Jesus was a man. Both assumptions (mine and theirs) are wrought with error, that only further study can reveal. People have written books on this subject, but I will attempt to explain it in one "brief" blog article. Wish me luck!
Let's begin with Gabriel's message to Mary in Luke 1:35:
When I first began studying this and realized that Jesus was called the "Son of God" and also went by title, "the Son of Man," I merely assumed that Jesus was part God and part man. A god-man sort of creature, much like the Greek mythology characters who came to earth, cast from heaven. Jesus had God as his Father and Mary, a human as his mom, so I reasoned that must be what he was. Then I learned that the Trinity theory believes that Jesus is not merely a part of anything, he is 100% man, while being 100% God at the same time. They, too, call Jesus a God-Man, but are very defensive if you call Jesus a man and often deny that Jesus was a man. Both assumptions (mine and theirs) are wrought with error, that only further study can reveal. People have written books on this subject, but I will attempt to explain it in one "brief" blog article. Wish me luck!
Let's begin with Gabriel's message to Mary in Luke 1:35:
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason, the holy thing begotten shall be called
the Son of God."
The reason Jesus is called "the Son of God" is because he was miraculously
begotten by the Spirit of the Most High God. Jesus was not born like we
are - of a man and a woman - but he was miraculously begotten in the
womb of Mary, by the power of God. And for this reason, he will
be called the Son of God.
So, what does that old word, 'begotten' mean? The word 'begotten' found in Psalm 2:7 is from the Hebrew word "yalad" which means: to generate, to bear a child, to come into existence. {I John 5:18 (not KJV)} tells us Jesus "who was born of God." The original Greek word for born is "gennao" - which means: begotten, coming into existence. Matthew 1:18 states, "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows." The word "birth" can be translated as 'genesis' or the beginning, derived from the same Greek word for born: "gennao." Jesus was brought into existence by the Father. He was created, begotten in time. Jesus had a beginning. There was a time he did not exist. Jesus did not exist before his miraculous birth brought about by the power of the Most High God, Yahweh, who calls Jesus "His Son" because of this fact.
I do not believe Jesus is Yahweh, nor is he part-God, part-man (as I once erroneously thought) nor a god-man, as what is popularly taught in churches across our nation as an ... incarnated god dwelling in the flesh, temporarily. At all. I have studied this for myself, and once my beliefs were just merely based on what I thought, combined with conjecture; but now what I believe is based on the evidence of the study of Scripture and truth. I am still learning and sharing what I learn as I go! How important it is, that we keep this state of mind as a humble student of Scripture, always yearning to understand and learn more, and willing to correct ourselves when we discover something new that may prove our old way of belief had errors.
Jesus was called the title, "The Son of God" because of his miraculous birth and this important position of Anointed King (a.k.a. "Messiah"), that he was given by his Father.
So, what does that old word, 'begotten' mean? The word 'begotten' found in Psalm 2:7 is from the Hebrew word "yalad" which means: to generate, to bear a child, to come into existence. {I John 5:18 (not KJV)} tells us Jesus "who was born of God." The original Greek word for born is "gennao" - which means: begotten, coming into existence. Matthew 1:18 states, "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows." The word "birth" can be translated as 'genesis' or the beginning, derived from the same Greek word for born: "gennao." Jesus was brought into existence by the Father. He was created, begotten in time. Jesus had a beginning. There was a time he did not exist. Jesus did not exist before his miraculous birth brought about by the power of the Most High God, Yahweh, who calls Jesus "His Son" because of this fact.
I do not believe Jesus is Yahweh, nor is he part-God, part-man (as I once erroneously thought) nor a god-man, as what is popularly taught in churches across our nation as an ... incarnated god dwelling in the flesh, temporarily. At all. I have studied this for myself, and once my beliefs were just merely based on what I thought, combined with conjecture; but now what I believe is based on the evidence of the study of Scripture and truth. I am still learning and sharing what I learn as I go! How important it is, that we keep this state of mind as a humble student of Scripture, always yearning to understand and learn more, and willing to correct ourselves when we discover something new that may prove our old way of belief had errors.
Jesus was called the title, "The Son of God" because of his miraculous birth and this important position of Anointed King (a.k.a. "Messiah"), that he was given by his Father.
That position comes with glory, exaltation, power, dominion, authority, and
is above all other names and esteemed rulership positions in the heavens and the
earth.
In fact, an interesting detail is that Adam is called "the son of God" in Luke 3:38, and Jesus is later called the "last Adam" in I Corinthians 15:45. Both were 100% man, not a god-man, and both shared a very unique trait - that both were uniquely created by Yahweh. One brought death into the world by his disobedience; while the other brought the resurrection of the dead and eternal life.
Today, I have begotten Thee.
Yahweh, the God of the universe, begat Jesus into existence by His power. He created him with a divine purpose and a special relationship with Him that no one before him or after him will ever experience. God's fullness dwelled in Jesus and His Spirit anointed him in a measure that is beyond the scope of what we will ever be privileged to share, but we too have God's fullness dwelling in us and His holy spirit anointing us as believers. We get a small taste of what was made available to Jesus, which was on a much more grander scale. He is the only begotten Son of God. We can be called the sons and daughters of God, but it is no way near THE Son of God title that was bestowed upon Jesus.
There is still only one true God, who is our Heavenly Father (see John 17:3); and His Son, Jesus who He has begotten, to be a light to the world, in order to save us. Today, let us conclude with this passage from 2 Corinthians 5:18-21:
"Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself, through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word [logos] of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He [God] made him [Jesus], who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in him."
In other words, get right with God! And after you do, we have been given the ministry to help others get right with God! God made Jesus to be sin on our behalf, so that we can be made holy, blameless, and righteous by Jesus' atoning sacrifice of his blood that covers our sins and blots them out in the sight of our God! God provided this opportunity for us to inherit eternal life, because of His miraculous begetting of His Son, Jesus.
{This Advent season} is not the celebration of God coming down to be born in the body of a baby to save mankind Himself, as a man. This is such a distortion of the message!!!
{Rather it is} the celebration of God miraculously providing a man, who was able to live a sinless life, in order to be our blameless Lamb, sacrificed upon a cross, for the sins of mankind. He was a unique man, able to live without sin, because of his unique birth! We give glory to God for saving us and reconciling us to Him, through the ministry and work of Christ Jesus!
In fact, an interesting detail is that Adam is called "the son of God" in Luke 3:38, and Jesus is later called the "last Adam" in I Corinthians 15:45. Both were 100% man, not a god-man, and both shared a very unique trait - that both were uniquely created by Yahweh. One brought death into the world by his disobedience; while the other brought the resurrection of the dead and eternal life.
Today, I have begotten Thee.
Yahweh, the God of the universe, begat Jesus into existence by His power. He created him with a divine purpose and a special relationship with Him that no one before him or after him will ever experience. God's fullness dwelled in Jesus and His Spirit anointed him in a measure that is beyond the scope of what we will ever be privileged to share, but we too have God's fullness dwelling in us and His holy spirit anointing us as believers. We get a small taste of what was made available to Jesus, which was on a much more grander scale. He is the only begotten Son of God. We can be called the sons and daughters of God, but it is no way near THE Son of God title that was bestowed upon Jesus.
There is still only one true God, who is our Heavenly Father (see John 17:3); and His Son, Jesus who He has begotten, to be a light to the world, in order to save us. Today, let us conclude with this passage from 2 Corinthians 5:18-21:
"Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself, through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word [logos] of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He [God] made him [Jesus], who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in him."
In other words, get right with God! And after you do, we have been given the ministry to help others get right with God! God made Jesus to be sin on our behalf, so that we can be made holy, blameless, and righteous by Jesus' atoning sacrifice of his blood that covers our sins and blots them out in the sight of our God! God provided this opportunity for us to inherit eternal life, because of His miraculous begetting of His Son, Jesus.
{This Advent season} is not the celebration of God coming down to be born in the body of a baby to save mankind Himself, as a man. This is such a distortion of the message!!!
{Rather it is} the celebration of God miraculously providing a man, who was able to live a sinless life, in order to be our blameless Lamb, sacrificed upon a cross, for the sins of mankind. He was a unique man, able to live without sin, because of his unique birth! We give glory to God for saving us and reconciling us to Him, through the ministry and work of Christ Jesus!
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son,
that whoever believes in him, should not perish, but have eternal life."
John 3:16.
This is the message that the bells should be tolling ...
"Glory to God in the Highest,
and on earth, peace among men with whom He is pleased."
Luke 2:14.
We will indeed have peace, when we get right with God, by accepting and believing in His son, Jesus, who bled and died for our sins, in order to save us.
...
Prayer
Dear Father in Heaven,
Glory to You, the Most High God, who begot Jesus by Your power! You had a plan for him, as the redemption for mankind, since before the foundation of the world. At the right time in history, You brought him into existence and revealed Your great plan for us. In fact, You revealed the mystery that one day, not just Your chosen Jewish people would be saved, but that we, too, (Gentiles) could be grafted in as part of Your family, to be heirs of the Kingdom, and co-heirs with Christ Jesus! What a gift You have given the world, if we would only receive it and believe it. I pray that ..., eyes will be opened and ears will hear the beautiful redeeming tale of the birth of Your son and how we can all be reconciled to You, through Your Son's sacrifice of his life. Grant us boldness and opportunities to share this with a hurting world, beat up by guilt, condemnation and shame. They need Your peace and Your forgiveness, God. Let us love them enough, to share the ministry of reconciliation with them.
In Jesus' Name I pray,
Amen.
The above posts are the work of Angela Hays Moore.
Some editing has been
done.
They were taken from:
