What is the meaning of Advent?

December 7, 2024, and Pearl Harbor Remembrance day. So far, I have only seen one remembrance of Pearl Harbor. I have noticed not a lot of remembrance going on in recent years. Have you noticed that? Not a lot of looking back and honoring those who died defending our country or much reflection about these historical moments. Seems like, rather, we are so bombarded on every side with the geo-political realities in the present day that our brains can only manage so much. But I want to talk about something else right now. I have noticed something else this year I have never noticed before. Seems like everybody is talking about "advent calendars." I always thought advent was a season of observance on the Christian calendar. I didn't always observe it or know what the meaning of an Advent Calendar was, but I have learned that it signifies a time of preparation for the Lord's second coming as well as celebrating his coming the first time. So I found a Christian Advent Calendar online and I'm going to use it. Advent, the term, comes from the Latin "adventus" which means "coming" or "arrival." I found an Advent Calendar online that has a Scripture verse for every day of Advent up to and including Christmas Day. Today's reference is Titus 3:4-7."But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." Well, before that, it says, "Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another" (Titus 3:1-3). So we are both celebrating Christ's first coming and preparing for his second coming. The world will not be thinking about these things. They will be thinking about "getting ready for Christmas," whether that means sending cards (not much of that happening anymore) or buying gifts or entertaining or gathering together for meals and treats or drinking spiked eggnog. So, who is the "them" in verse one? Well, that would be followers of Christ, people who have been born again, people who gather together regularly to remember the Lord and honor and serve the Lord. Believers. From the description in these verses, I see we should look a lot different than the world and a lot different than we looked before we believed. Before, we were "foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another." I see how this explains what's going on in our world right now. Speaking evil of others, not being peaceable, gentle, or showing humility to everyone, but rather "hateful and hating one another." That about sums up the attitude of most people today, especially toward people we don't like. We should expect the world to do that, to be hateful and disrespectful toward everyone who is of a different political persuasion, for example, but we should not be always "speakiong evil" of others. I don't think that means we should not confront evil and speak truth when necessary, but I do think we should not look just like the world in our hatefulness towards political figures we don't like, for example. It's so tempting to do that. But every time I see another nasty name for a political figure that I like, I get angry, and I suppose the other side gets angry when I say something not complimentary about one of their heroes (or heroines). This year has been rough in that regard,and it's surely bound to get rougher, so we should be getting ready for that too. As we get ready for the celebration of the Lord's birth and look forward to his return, which could be any day, we need to look inside our own hearts and see if there is something there that should not be there and ask Christ to cleanse us of it. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (That's found in 1 John 1:9). Another verse similar to that one is, "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed' (James 5:16). We don't see a lot of that going on either. I used to see it when I used to go to Celebrate Recovery. That was kind of what it was all about there. But I haven't been there for a few years now. The gathering together of believers is so important, and yet so many don't gather. I am glad that I am with some believers who believe in gathering together and being in the kind of relationship that allows this kind of connection. It's very clear in Scripture that God wants that. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some, bur exhorting one another, and so much he more as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:23). The world doesn't know anything about this. And a lot of believers appear not to. But we have something to assemble for and about, and especially "as we see the Day approaching." We are in the Last Days. If Paul and the churches he was writing letters to in the first century were looking for the Lord to return in their day, then certainly we should be able to see the Day approaching. And expecially during Advent, the weeks leading up to the day we celebrate his comng the first time. I was really convicted today listening to this missionary on the radio talking about how our lives are not our own after we have given our lives to Jesus. We are not our own anymore, and we will be held accountable to God for how we lived our lives, how we spent our time, how we used what he gave us. We all want to hear the Lord say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." Not, "Depart from Me, I never knew you." Matthew 25 is pretty convicting as well. I am pretty sure I fall short on many of the measures spoken of in that chapter: The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, the Parable of the Talents, and when the nations will be gathered and Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats, and some will go with him and others will be cast into everlasting punishment. Wow. There is quite a bit to unravel in that chapter. There is a lot of work to do. Jesus said the harvest was ripe but there were not enough workers, so I think he's calling us to come up higher, there is something more he wants from us. I don't want to miss it by being focused on the wrong things and not on the things the Lord wants me to be focusing on. There's only one way to find out what that is, and that is to pray and seek him. He is the only one who knows and the only one who can give us what we need to do what he wants us to do. So, the Lord has come, and the Lord is coming. And we need to get ready. And that is what Advent is all about. See you next time.