Advent – Fairytales

I’ve been told so many fairytales
Don’t know what to believe
Happy ever after is a thing I never see
Santa don’t bring me anything I need

But heaven didn’t wait for me
Sent me what I never dreamed
When a star lit up that manger scene

You wished and sent a star
And a Son to speak Your heart
A baby to make me Your child
The truth,
It can be pretty wild

Since I met You I see so differently
See Your style in everything
You are like a secret written on the sky but we
Keep lookin’ down at dirty streets

But heaven didn’t wait for me
Sent me what I never dreamed
When a star lit up that manger scene

You wished and sent a star
And a Son to speak Your heart
A baby to make me your child
The truth, the truth
It can be pretty wild

Now I know Who you are
I just want to know Your heart
A baby to make me Your child
That’s just You loving me,
Pretty wild

–12/4/2014 Kristi M Bridges

We’ve been celebrating Advent in the 1 Minute Wiser videos and this blog. You and I are the lucky ones, because we can relive the anticipation of the world before Jesus and also celebrate the gifts He brought: Hope, Love, Joy and Peace. If you haven’t read the other three posts, take a few minutes to catch up.

Hope: Eve chose not to trust God. She and Adam embraced a twisted wisdom that brought immediate shame. They grabbed leaves and hid the intricately engineered bodies God had given them. Unwilling to let them live forever in their newfound misery, God sent them away from the Tree of Life. The outside world was a harsher teacher than the Creator who’d taught them daily in the garden. God has spent the rest of earth’s time drawing us back to that relationship. Jesus is our hope of restoration, and a sign of God’s hope that we will trust Him and seek His wisdom.

Love: Thousands of generations after Eden, we find ourselves turning to stone because our love gets twisted. We cling to what doesn’t fulfil us and find ourselves frozen, unable to move into the life God wants us to have. Jesus lovingly takes our hands, shows us God’s perspective and we find ourselves limber again.

Joy: When intimacy is replaced with duty, we look for joy elsewhere, finding only insecurity, loss and more shame. God saw this and replaced our inadequate sacrifices with a sign of His undeniable passion for us. We look up from our dirty streets and see angels in the sky announcing salvation.

And now, Peace.

John 14:27 ESV
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Isaiah 26:3 ESV
You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.

Romans 8:6 ESV
To set the mind on the flesh is death but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

Advent has passed. The sunlight is lasting a little longer. The stores will play different music. But Christmas was just the beginning. Jesus is here to stay. May the Prince of Peace reign in your heart this year.