The Promise of Home by Rose McCormick Brandon

Great confusion awaited the disciples. They were soon to encounter the chaos of the cross. They wouldn’t understand it. They expected Jesus to set up His kingdom and to rule with Him in a world dominated by His peace. They will someday, but they couldn’t see the vast river of time separating the cross and resurrection from the established Kingdom of God. 

                They, and we, are still waiting in the river. Jesus' message to them is His message to us today: 

Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. John 14:1-3 NLT

                Sin and madness appear to rule. Events take place that cause our agendas to explode. Anarchy shrieks and lawlessness threatens. Scoffers deride Jesus’ message. They heap scorn on us who wait for His coming. 
               Don’t be discouraged by mockery. Jesus always keeps His promises. When the time is right – when our home in Heaven is ready, when the last soul kneels at the cross, when the Almighty gathers all the threads of history and ties them together – then, He’ll come and take us HOME.
                How the heart warms at the thought of home. A sanctuary. A place of relaxation. We can go shoeless, shirtless, pyjama-clad, hair undone, and feel no guilt. Because we’re home. 
               A much greater life than one of security and ease awaits us. Our true and eternal home. We may not have identified it as a longing for God’s house, but it’s been there, always, niggling at the soul, a nameless pining. A yearning for HOME. 
                 When the drapes open to let in today’s light ask, “Is it today, Jesus, that everything will be ready?” Perhaps not today, maybe not tomorrow, but some day, oh my, the curtain between heaven and earth will rend and a blast of heavenly light will release all His followers from the dust and carry us home. 

                Today, my Lord, let me ponder the heavenly home you’re preparing for me. It’s beyond my imagination, still, I can dream of it as I wait for You. 

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Rose McCormick Brandon is the author of four books, including Promises of Home – Stories of Canada's British Home Children, plus dozens of personal experience pieces, devotionals, short stories and essays. Rose’s work has won awards in the personal experience and short essay categories. A member of The Word Guild and The Manitoulin Writers Circle, Rose and husband, Doug, summer on Manitoulin Island where her pioneer ancestors settled and the home of his favourite fishing holes. The rest of the year, they live in Caledonia, Ontario, near their three children and three grandchildren. 

GOD IS WITH US - Bob Scott

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6 NIV)

For many, this coming Sunday, November 29th, will mark the beginning of Advent, the season during which the anticipated birth of the Christ Child is celebrated.

We always get excited at the prospect of a new little life coming among us. I’m a grandparent, now. When a grandchild was on the way, I was as excited as when my own children were born. We always celebrate a new birth in our church congregation.

I suspect that, for many, the birth of the baby in Bethlehem it is the sole reason for their seasonal joy. It is the celebration of a new baby and nothing more. For others, it is only one of two occasions when their thoughts turn to spiritual matters. It’s what we do at Christmas and Easter. For either group, that falls far short of the real reason for the happiness we should all experience.

We are not just celebrating the birth of a child. If we were, all we would be doing is holding a sanctified baby shower.

We are fortunate that we can know this child’s destiny. Seven hundred years before Jesus’ birth, the prophet Isaiah spoke of his purpose in coming. He came to teach us about God’s love. He also came to die for us.

While he was among us he gave us the message of God’s amazing love and forgiveness for those who would put their faith in him. He came to call us to repentance and commitment. He instructed that we should follow his example.

He said that, if we would put our faith in him, we would begin to experience eternal life here and now. The question we should be asking is not “What if you died today?" Instead, it is “What is tomorrow looking like, and would you like some help and blessing in living it?” That’s really what Jesus was talking about.

I like the statement the late Charles Schultz puts in the mouth of his cartoon character, Charlie Brown. He says, “Eternity is a very long time, but not as long as it was yesterday.”

Why wait for the blessings that can start now and go on for all eternity? Why wait another day to understand the love of God for you. This season is about far more than a little baby born in a foreign country twenty centuries ago.

This Christmas, may we discover that there is much more to celebrate. Let’s seek direction from the Wonderful Counsellor, give our devotion to our Mighty God who is the everlasting example of a loving Father, and find time to contemplate the calm that only the Prince of Peace can give.

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Robert Scott is a pastor and the author of ADVERTISING MURDER, LOST YOUTH, and MURDER EXPRESS, titles in the Jack Elton Mystery series, Published by AVALON Books, New York