Always Be Prepared, But Don't Miss It!

We began our Advent series this morning at Freedom Christian Center. It's perhaps not the normal fare for a Pentecostal church to celebrate Advent, but then again, we really need to focus on preparing a place for Christ at all times. Since the holiday season is normally pretty hectic, I thought we might need a reminder to not lose focus during these four weeks.

We focused this morning on God's preparation for the birth of His Son. He started in Genesis 3:15 by speaking directly to our enemy, Satan, and proclaiming victory over his attacks.

I noted in this first Messianic prophecy that God acknowledged there would be attacks by the enemy and some would be painful and difficult, but ultimately, victory would be ours.

We read from the first 15 verses of Mark's Gospel and noted that Mark drew our attention to the writings of Isaiah and Malachi within the first 3 verses. He reminded us that "It was written." It was the Word of God breathed by the Spirit of God that we would have hope through the advent of the Messiah.

The words of Isaiah and Malachi both spoke of hope and victory, but they also spoke of times that may be difficult with some obstacles that will seem like ruts, crooked roads and perhaps even a mountain or two. But God promised victory because Messiah was coming.

I was also struck by the fact that throughout the Old Testament there were over 320 Messianic prophecies yet so many people missed His coming. I don't want to repeat that same mistake.

Our focus during this season has to be on Christ! It's a busy time with a lot of activities with the potential of diverting our attention away from God.

Our goal this Advent season is to make sure we take the time, perhaps some extra time and not miss out on the hope, joy, peace and love Messiah brings to each and every one of us. And if we could wrap it up with a nice bow, we would place it under your tree!

Always in Pursuit!