Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

     400 years is a long time. 400 years ago this country was still part of England and was largely uninhabited. 400 years ago the pilgrims had yet to set sail for a new start. 400 years had been how long it had been since Israel had heard from God. That was all going to change in a big way in a little, backwater town just outside of Jerusalem. God was going to speak in a way He never had before. His Word would walk this planet in the form of His son. All that had happened before was in preparation for that one moment when Jesus would arrive and set this world free from its bondage.

     This time of year can be hectic and stressful. Take a few moments every day to reflect on what it is we are really celebrating this Christmas season. We celebrate the long expected arrival of a much needed Savior. Take a few minutes to watch this video and just rest in the knowledge that God's perfect Word has come to meet you in the exact spot of your need.

"The World is Broken."

     "The world is broken." One of my former students posted this quote Friday. I don't know if it had anything to do with the events that unfolded in Connecticut earlier in the day, but it certainly fits. What other response could you have to the senseless spilling of so much innocent blood?

     We do, in fact, live in a world that is broken. Here is something to remember, it has been broken for a long, long time. It has been broken since the Garden of Eden, when man decided he knew better than God. A perfect world was ruined by man's disobedience. Because of that act of defiance, we live in a world where despicable, evil things happen and we are left to wonder why.

     This is nothing new. Go back to the Old Testament, in the book of Habakkuk. Things were bad then too. Habakkuk was wondering why God was seemingly unconcerned with the state of the world. Here is Habakkuk's plea:

 "God, how long do I have to cry out for help

    before you listen?

How many times do I have to yell, “Help! Murder! Police!”

    before you come to the rescue?

Why do you force me to look at evil,

    stare trouble in the face day after day?

Anarchy and violence break out,

    quarrels and fights all over the place.

Law and order fall to pieces.

    Justice is a joke.

The wicked have the righteous hamstrung

    and stand justice on its head." (Habakkuk 1:1-4)

     God's response was two-fold. He told Habakkuk that things would get worse before they would get better, but they would get better. In chapter 2, verses 2-3 we find,

"And then God answered: “Write this.

    Write what you see.

Write it out in big block letters

    so that it can be read on the run.

This vision-message is a witness

    pointing to what’s coming.

It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait!

    And it doesn’t lie.

If it seems slow in coming, wait.

    It’s on its way. It will come right on time."

Even when things seem at their worst and that God is nowhere to be found, take comfort in those words. Help is on the way and it will come right on time. In fact we celebrate the coming of God's answer this month. God's response to this broken world was to send His Son to provide meaning to a confused and lost world.