The Advent season is upon us, and we’ll be reflecting on the themes of Hope, Love, Peace, and Joy this month as we head toward Christmas. We’ll begin the first week to focus on “A New Hope” (God’s, not “Star Wars”):

IN WORD – We live in a world in pain. Even now, many people are being wounded deeply. Others are wondering if their scars will ever fade. Life is tough, especially for those who don’t know its Source and for those who don’t know how it will all be resolved. Anywhere you walk in public, you are likely to pass people who are depressed, bitter, hopeless, angry, confused, and even suicidal. You will likely pass someone who has been abused, someone who has been betrayed, and someone who has been forgotten. In this age, you always walk among the wounded.
Do you realize, though, that you have the antidote to human despair? It’s more effective than therapy, more effective than medicine, and more effective than self-help techniques. It’s the knowledge of the ultimate end of fallenness and the beginning of beauty and peace. When confronted with the angst of this world, you can promise purpose. When confronted with disease, you can offer healing. When confronted with death, you can offer life. Psychiatry can’t do that, religions can’t do that, and friendships can’t even do that. Only the knowledge of the end can do that. And we have it.
“Therefore encourage each other with these words.” There’s more purpose in that statement than a better mood or a don’t-worry-be-happy attitude. We are told to encourage each other—believers and unbelievers alike—with the promise of His coming. In a world desperate for hope, we have the only real promise there is. Even where death pretends to rule, these words can give life.
IN DEED – Be a life giver. Jesus gave us life and then told His disciples, “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8). So freely give what you have received. If you are comforted by the fact that Jesus is coming again, if you are thrilled that all things will be made new, and if you are looking forward to living with Him forever, then encourage each other with these words. “Encouragement is oxygen to the soul.” — George M. Adams (in “God With Us,” by Chris Tiegreen)

The first coming of Christ was a new hope for those in the Old Testament, but Jesus’ coming also ushered in a new hope for our current period of history as we anticipate His Return. But why are Jesus’ comings “new hope”? It is because Jesus comes from outside human history to break the cycles of sin in individuals and societies. Both in our lives and in the course of human history, we can be assured that God can always create new pathways beyond human experience.
Have you lost hope and accepted defeat that things can’t change? Take time to read Isaiah 43, 55, Ezekiel 47, Luke 4, and Revelation 21 this week and know that God is even now making all things new; then ask the Holy Spirit to have Jesus work in your life and bless you with a new hope. Have a blessed week! – from Singapore, Pastor Sam