Advent Devotional Nov 30
Week One:
Creating Shalom means Bringing Hope
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
“The Final Word” – Read Matthew 24:23-35
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Matt. 24:35, NIV)
It’s hard to fight against our human tendency to want to “know.” And related to our faith, there’s an instinctive need to see where Christ is in the things we face and experience. We want to confirm our faith by “seeing” the unseen.
In Matthew’s passage, we’re cautioned against chasing after claims of knowing where Christ “is.” The context for these warnings is a time of increased wickedness, upheaval, and wars -- a general breakdown of any semblance of order. Matthew paints a pretty bleak, apocalyptic picture of the human experience during this time.
In such a hopeless time, where do we, as believers, find our hope?
The Psalmist reminds us in Psalm 124 that God is on our side. Without God’s activity and presence, we would have been “swallowed alive,” “overcome,” or “swept away” -- three powerful word pictures of what it feels like when we are experiencing a seemingly hopeless situation.
Yet the final word in each of these passages is that God delivers us. The Lord protects us (Ps. 124:6-8). The Lord’s unfailing love and compassion are always present (Is. 54:10).
And so, Lord, as we confess in The Great Thanksgiving: “… in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ's offering for us, as together we proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.” Amen.
Rev. Edward Parker, Executive Director of Camp and Retreat Ministries
The Oklahoma Conference of the UMC
“The Final Word” – Read Matthew 24:23-35
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Matt. 24:35, NIV)
It’s hard to fight against our human tendency to want to “know.” And related to our faith, there’s an instinctive need to see where Christ is in the things we face and experience. We want to confirm our faith by “seeing” the unseen.
In Matthew’s passage, we’re cautioned against chasing after claims of knowing where Christ “is.” The context for these warnings is a time of increased wickedness, upheaval, and wars -- a general breakdown of any semblance of order. Matthew paints a pretty bleak, apocalyptic picture of the human experience during this time.
In such a hopeless time, where do we, as believers, find our hope?
The Psalmist reminds us in Psalm 124 that God is on our side. Without God’s activity and presence, we would have been “swallowed alive,” “overcome,” or “swept away” -- three powerful word pictures of what it feels like when we are experiencing a seemingly hopeless situation.
Yet the final word in each of these passages is that God delivers us. The Lord protects us (Ps. 124:6-8). The Lord’s unfailing love and compassion are always present (Is. 54:10).
And so, Lord, as we confess in The Great Thanksgiving: “… in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ's offering for us, as together we proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.” Amen.
Rev. Edward Parker, Executive Director of Camp and Retreat Ministries
The Oklahoma Conference of the UMC
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