Faith Activates Heaven

In Isaiah we have the prophetic words depicting the coming of the messiah, the virgin birth, and saviour of the world. Christmas is the genesis to fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophetic words spoken some 800 years earlier. In one of those prophecies he says, “prepare the way for the Lord” (Isaiah 40:3-5) Christmas is about preparation. Some hate it, most love it; but “preparation” is the key ingredient to the holiday season. Getting the Christmas lights up, baking, shopping, writing Christmas letters, all gearing for the one special day, December 25^th. (After all that activity towards that one day, is there anybody out there feeling a little let down when the big day finally does arrive? If so, send me a note and tell me how you feel about this).

Preparation speaks of faith. Without the faith, the thing you hoped for won’t happen. Last week we wrote about hope. The Bible says, “faith is the substance of things hoped for.” (Hebrews 11:1) First we hope, which propels us to action. But that action is anchored in the faith that results will be forthcoming. Faith is active hope. Example, I hope to be in Calgary for Christmas. Faith then books time off work, makes sure the car is in good shape to drive there, plans the trip and saves the money to make it possible. In other words, our actions reveal that we really believe that we are going to Calgary for Christmas.

Do you want a visitation or a fresh experience of Jesus this Christmas? Well, prepare for it. Begin to take time each day to pray, take a quiet time to listen to the Spirit, reading the scriptures, volunteer somewhere, and practice generosity.

Here is a set of scriptures you can read, study, and meditate on for the coming week.

Friday, December 3, Isaiah 40:3-5

Saturday, December 4, Isaiah 11:1- 10

Sunday, December 5, James 2:14-24

Monday, December 6, Luke 1:26:-33

Tuesday, December 7, Luke 1:34 - 38

Wednesday, December 8, Luke 1:39 - 45

Thursday, December 9, Luke 1: 46 -55

Mary, the mother of Jesus, responded with faith by accepting what God had for her. This meant she had to prepare for the coming birth. God is calling us to prepare for a visitation of Christ. We need to turn from sinful practice as the Holy Spirit and God’s word reveals it to us. God comes to a pure heart. Faith without works is dead, (James 2:14) Noah was told it was going to rain, to prepare by building an ark, which he did. He put his faith to work and he got the desired results. We need to put our faith to work by preparing our hearts for what God wants to do, then begin to put into practice what God is showing us. In due season we will reap the benefits of our faith, just like Mary did so long ago.

This Sunday, the second Sunday of Advent, the theme will be faith, or preparing for Christ. We look forward to seeing you in person or online.

Sunday Celebration

We are meeting personally at the church Sundays at 10:30am. Moving forward and until further notice: We are asking everyone to wear masks practice physical distancing and hand sanitizing. We are so glad that we are gathering again, your presence is so important. The usual online options (Facebook and KCF.Online.Church) will also be available.

Pastor Jim Reimer

December 1, 2021