Advent: Friday, December 22, 2006

Old Testament Lesson

Isaiah 10:5-19

We see here that God was going to use Assyria to punish His people, and Assyria began to think much of their own might. They began to think of themselves more highly than they ought. And the Lord says he will bring punishment upon them.

God uses whom He will and He punishes who He will. Because you have been used by God in some powerful way does not mean that you are beyond the reach of His arm for punishment. And, because He has punished you in a way does not mean that He cannot use you. If fact, His punishment often is a mean of preparation for being used. Today, looking within your life and see the areas where the Lord is working on you, and know that in those areas, the Lord is getting you ready for a mighty act.

New Testament Lesson

2 Peter 2:17-22

We see in this powerful passage it would actually be better for us not to know the ways of God than to know them and turn from them. If we see anything in the Bible, from the Old to the New Testaments, we see that the one that will be judged the harshest is the one that knows truth and does not obey. The one that will be judged will be the one that knows what God want them to do, that knows how God wants them to live, that knows who God wants them to be, and turns away.

Today, those of us that know truth, let us spend less time counting the sins of others, and spend more time looking at our own faithfulness. Let us spend less time making sure they are following the law of the Lord and more time making sure we are. Let us spend less time fussing about others lack of faithfulness and more time making sure we are faithful. For, it is better for us not to know God's will than to know it and ignore it.

Gospel Lesson

Matthew 11:2-15

John wanted to make sure that Jesus was the Messiah. How did the Jesus respond? Do you see the good that is being done? Tell him what you see, folks are healed, the poor are helped, God's will is being done. Today, if someone comes to to you and wants to know if you are a Christian, how would you respond? Would you say, look, see my name on the roll book at church? Look, see the committees I've served on? See the checks I've written?

Or would you say, see the good I do each day in my life? Friends, our faith is lived out in a day to day way. Today, if folks want to see that we are Christians may they see it in our lives. As the old hymn goes:

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that our unity will one day be restored
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yeah they'll know we are Christians by our love

We will work with each other, we will work side by side
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we'll guard each man's dignity and save each man's pride
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yeah, they'll know we are Christians by our love.