Let Fear Give Way to Joy!

The third candle on the Advent wreath is often called the Shepherd’s candle, and its message may well begin by admitting that when the angel of the Lord appeared, the shepherds were afraid.  The words “God is with you” could be a cause of real fear.

But a baby isn’t frightening, and as in the experiences of the shepherd’s who had come before, like David and Moses, fear turned into joy as the presence of the Lord was made known. 

Do we fear as the Lord draws near?   What concerns do we have as we become aware of the presence of God?  Maybe we have concerns that God will see or know too much about us.  Or maybe we worry that God will enter into our lives and take over.  Or maybe we are afraid that if God gets to close he will reject us.

The message of the third candle on the Advent wreath tells us to fear not – The Lord is come!    He has come to all of us with the message of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love!

Welcome to the season of Advent!

What does it mean to be prepared?

Definition of PREPARE

1 a : to make ready beforehand for some purpose, use, or activity <prepare food for dinner> b : to put in a proper state of mind <is prepared to listen>

2 : to work out the details of : plan in advance <preparing a campaign strategy>

3 a : to put together : compound <prepare a prescription> b : to put into written form <prepare a report>

Prepare! That is the word of this week’s candle, second in the Advent wreath.  This candle is sometimes called the Bethlehem candle because the history of the little town of Bethlehem may well be a lesson in how to be prepared… or how not to.  Bethlehem was not ready to receive her King!

Are you preparing for the coming of royalty, the advent of the King?  Are you prepared?

A second candle glows now on the Advent wreath to help us see – and hear – the message it proclaims.

Welcome to the season of Advent!



You probably spend more time using your listening skills than any other kind of skill. Like other skills, listening takes practice.

What does it mean to really listen?

Real listening is an active process that has three basic steps.

• Hearing. Hearing just means listening enough to catch what the speaker is saying. For example, say you were listening to a report on zebras, and the speaker mentioned that no two are alike. If you can repeat the fact, then you have heard what has been said.
• Understanding. The next part of listening happens when you take what you have heard and understand it in your own way. Let's go back to that report on zebras. When you hear that no two are alike, think about what that might mean. You might think, "Maybe this means that the pattern of stripes is different for each zebra."
• Judging. After you are sure you understand what the speaker has said, think about whether it makes sense. Do you believe what you have heard? You might think, "How could the stripes to be different for every zebra? But then again, the fingerprints are different for every person. I think this seems believable."

LISTEN is the message of the first candle of ADVENT.  Here in God’s Word is a light that shines beyond the bounds of Bethlehem, beyond the hillsides of the shepherds, for all to see.  He is the Word of God proclaimed for all the world to hear – a message of HOPE!

So what are you HOPING for?  Do you have something to look forward to?  A future! 

That is what this first candle and the first week of Advent is all about, a bright future with God.

Something to give pause and think about…

Death, illness, pain — these are the extreme human conditions that really dare us to count our blessings:  death in the family, a prognosis of a dreaded disease, pain from rejection, misfortune or some irreparable damage. With such intolerable distress, how can you even start to count your blessings?

Let me share my little secret. When I feel that the world is caving in and my tears of hopelessness are just about to fall, I look down at my hands. I stretch my fingers and I start to count ... my blessings. I say to myself, “I have 10 fingers ... 1-2-3-4-5 ... I can move all of them. My skin is clear. I can see. I can hear. I can talk. I can walk. I have a family. I have a home. I have friends. I have a job. Not everyone has these. I am a very lucky person. I am whole and I can cope with this minor setback.”

Try it. In your darkest hour, at the height of a most unfortunate situation, count your blessings by starting with your fingers.
—Ruby Bayan-Gagelonia, “Count your blessings,” October 15, 1999, Suite101.com.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving and count your many blessings naming them one by one.

What is a god?  A god is anything that dominates your life or anything that controls your life.  A career can be a god!  Another person can be a god!  Golf can be a god!  Even good things that God has created for us to enjoy become gods when you give them first place in your life.  God says, “WRONG.”   God deserves first place in our lives.  This is the foundation of our faith – put God first.

Today, American families are dropping like flies.  They’re falling apart faster than we can put them together.  Why is this?  I believe it is happening because the families are built on the wrong foundation.  When we put God first in our life – above our own self, above our spouses, above our children, then the foundation of the family will be secure!

Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906)

              We Wear the Mask

    WE wear the mask that grins and lies,
    It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
    This debt we pay to human guile;
    With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
    And mouth with myriad subtleties.

    Why should the world be over-wise,
    In counting all our tears and sighs?
    Nay, let them only see us, while
            We wear the mask.

    We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
    To thee from tortured souls arise.
    We sing, but oh the clay is vile
    Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
    But let the world dream otherwise,
            We wear the mask!

 As we enter into the season of fall, with our masks and carved pumpkins, let us reflect on the masks that we wear and remember that God can see what lies behind the mask.  We can hide nothing from our Lord.  Thanks be to God for loving and accepting us “just as we are.” 

We are constantly bombarded with others wanting us to "understand" one thing or another, but that sort of begs the question, doesn't it? We are still left with the fundamental question, "what does it mean to understand something?" Teachers almost universally seek to have their students learn and understand the subject matter they are teaching.

As we study the scriptures, meditate on the Word, and pray, we begin to “understand” what our faith is all about.  But, what does it mean to understand faith?  If someone says he or she understands what faith is, then he or she should be able to explain it to others.  Faith, simply stated, is believing in God.

Jesus was a great teacher and spent much of his ministry trying to teach the disciples and others the great message about faith and salvation.  Do you really understand it?  Ask yourself this question: what does it mean to have faith in Jesus Christ?   Can you explain it to someone else?