Thursday, December 6, 2012 -- Advent Week 1 -- This Year's "must Have" Toy

Thursday December 6, 2012

For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has a day of reckoning. He will punish the proud and mighty and bring down everything that is exalted. He will cut down the tall cedars of Lebanon and all the mighty oaks of Bashan. He will level all the high mountains and all the lofty hills. He will break down every high tower and every fortified wall. He will destroy all the great trading ships and every magnificent vessel. Human pride will be humbled, and human arrogance will be brought down. Only the Lord will be exalted on that Day of Judgment.

Idols will completely disappear. When the Lord rises to shake the earth, his enemies will crawl into holes in the ground. They will hide in caves in the rocks from the terror of the Lord and the glory of his majesty. On that Day of Judgment they will abandon the gold and silver idols they made for themselves to worship. They will leave their gods to the rodents and bats, while they crawl away into caverns and hide among the jagged rocks in the cliffs. They will try to escape the terror of the Lord and the glory of his majesty as he rises to shake the earth. Don’t put your trust in mere humans. They are as frail as breath. What good are they? (Isaiah 2:12-22 NLT)

What will be the "must have" toy this Christmas season? Whether it's the latest version of "Elmo" for a little girl or the newest tablet for a grown up, we often identify our success and our security by what we own. Thousands of rail cars have carried goods across the land. Trucks have backed up to loading bays at stores around the city. Shelves are stocked, ready for the busiest retail season of the year. Late on Christmas Eve, the doors of the stores will close and Christmas trees will be filled with packages. Wide eyed children will find it hard to fall asleep where "visions of sugar plums dance in their heads". Within a few hours those packages will be opened. Later, on Christmas Day, some of those toys will be laid aside, and the attention will begin to shift to the huge Boxing Day sales and the bargains that await each avid shopper. What must we have this year? What can't we do without? Why must we have it? How long did last year's items satisfy the "must have" within us?

Advent is a time to consider what's really important and to help us put things in their right place. Thousands of years ago God spoke through the prophet Isaiah to remind us that whatever we are depending on in this life will ultimately be brought down or fall apart. In Isaiah's day it was tall trees and great trading ships. It was gold and silver idols, things made with their own hands. Our objects of dependence might be different today but they are just as untrustworthy. Our trinkets fall apart and rust. Batteries run down. Computers run out of memory. This world and everything in it will soon pass away.

Jesus came to earth to show us that there is life beyond this life. There is a heaven, to which we are invited, where the amazing power of God will be fully seen in contrast to the weakness of things of this world. Jesus offers us His amazing power, his life-giving salvation. During this Advent season, we are invited to simply believe the work Jesus has completed for each of us on the cross and receive Him as Lord of our life. Jesus offers us eternal life beginning today. Today can be a powerful day of reckoning. What's a toy and what's worth trusting? Let's hear the Advent invitation to place our hope and trust in what really lasts. Let's come close to Jesus today.

Thursday, December 6, 2012 -- Advent Week 1 -- This Year's "must Have" Toy

Audio for Thursday, December 6, 2012 -- Advent Week 1 -- This Year's "must Have" Toy

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