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Advent Actions

  With the familiar Advent hymn written by Georg Weissel over 400 years ago as the spring board for this article, I would invite you to consider the "Advent Actions” referenced in this hymn.

  The first Advent Action is to LIFT UP YOUR HEADS.  These words from Psalm 24 usher in the Advent season.  They serve as an alert to stop whatever we are doing and pay close attention to thing “something” that’s coming.  And that “something” is the Savior of the world.

  It’s a call to wake up!  It is a very appropriate alert for us in 2019, appropriate because it seems that more and more people are letting their connection with Jesus slip away as worship is put on the back burner (or on the shelf completely).  Yes, we all need to pay attention to the health of our relationship with Jesus, because "apart from [Him] we can do nothing”.  Let’s heed the Advent Action to “lift up our heads” so that we are prepared to meet Him and receive Him into our lives.

  The second Advent Action is to CONFESS CHRIST.  For the rich blessing of God rests upon those who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and follow His Word as the guide in our actions and relationships.  Psalm 33:12 says "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord”.  An earnest effort to clearly define for our world today what it means to "confess Christ” is desperately needed.  One of the first items on that list of what it means to "Confess Christ” is to worship Him regularly and together with your fellow Christians.  To avoid worship together or to let other things crowd worshiping together out of our schedules is not confessing Christ at all, but declaring Him not important enough to make time for.    Let’s heed the Advent Action to "Confess Christ” so that we are doing what we can to help prepare the world for His coming.

  The third Advent Action is to FLING WIDE the door of our own hearts so that He who is coming, namely the Savior of the World, might find a home in our own hearts.  One of my favorite songs has always been “Jesus Loves Me”.  And somewhere along the way someone wrote one additional verse to that song.  It starts out like this ... “I love Jesus, does He know?

  Have I ever told Him so?”  Wow, I get chills every time I hear that verse.  So do you love Jesus?

  Have you ever told Him that?  Have you ever told your family, your friends, your co-workers, your neighbor, etc.?  Let’s heed the Advent Action to "fling wide” the door of our own hearts, making our heart a welcome place for Jesus to live.  And then let’s encourage others to do the same. 

  May we all be blessed during this Advent season as we work together to implement these Advent Actions!