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By Rev Don Rivers
We have begun the season of advent, the anticipation and preparation, leading up to the celebration of the birth of Christ. Four Sundays; Hope, Joy, Peace and Love. Each one asks us to reflect on their meaning. How do we prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ? Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Preparation and anticipation are not foreign ideas to racers. When the schedules come out, races are circled, plans are made and their focus is set. What is your focus for 2026? What events look attractive? What is your race team preparing for? What are the significant, can’t miss, events that you are anticipating?
Sometimes the understanding of the significance of the birth of Christ can get lost in life. We can get so caught up in the Holidays and New Year events we forget the most significant event in the timeline of mankind occurred when Christ was born.
His birth split time; before His birth time was counted down, after His birth time is counted up. The world is marching toward the next significant event scheduled on the timeline of man, the second coming of Christ. The schedule, however, hasn’t been released;
Mathew 24:36; NLT; However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.
An unknown author contributed this for our consideration;
One Solitary Life
Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman.
He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty.
Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher.
He never owned a home. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He
never had a family. He never went to college. He never put His foot inside a big
city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born. He never
did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself.
While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends
ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went
through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves.
While He was dying, His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He
had on earth – His coat. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave
through the pity of a friend.
Nineteen long centuries have come and gone, and today He is a centerpiece of the human race and leader of the column of progress.
I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the
Navies that were ever built; all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that
ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as
powerfully as has that ONE SOLITARY LIFE!
Advent begins with hope, anticipation for something promised, a Savior.
Isaiah 7:14; Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (God with us)
Peter, one of the Apostles, knew what it was to have hope in Christ, but not before he lost hope. Peter knew what it was to be hopeless, he denied knowing Christ. He experienced both extremes, being a close companion of Jesus and being totally separated from him.
Peter understood the difference that having Christ in your life makes. He knew that without Christ life was not worth living. Without Christ a relationship with God would not be possible. Without Christ we have no hope, no hope of eternity in heaven with God or His presence with us as we live each day.
If we have a hope in Christ we will live like it, we will be humble, show compassion and sympathy. We will value what God values and be focused on the things of God. Each of our lives has a story, we have a history. When we come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ our life direction changes, we do an about face and head down the road that leads to God.
We have three aspects of our lives that tell the story of hope. We have the person we were, when we lived by our own rules, when we directed our own path, when we determined what was best for us.
The next step along the journey is our encounter with Christ, someone, some place, somehow we are introduced to Jesus. We come to understand the hope, forgiveness and the life he offers. Our heart is led to accept the gift of His grace and we become a child of God.
Life begins anew, we are born-again. The life that God has for us begins and now we let God direct our path and determine what is best for us. We grow to understand that this is a life worth living; this is a life full of hope.
When we receive Christ, His presence brings Joy and Peace, two things we strive for, but without Christ are not attainable. It all begins with a promise kept, a Savior given. God provides that hope because He loved us.
John 3:16; NLT; “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life”
The world only has hope when we take Christ to them. We need to share that hope with others. We can set them free in Christ. We can give them hope for the forgiveness of their sins. In this season of Advent the hearts of men are tuned to receive the gift of life that comes from knowing Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Take this opportunity to proclaim the good news of great joy! Take this time and be prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have.
1Peter 3:15; But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
Run the race in such a way as to win, throw off everything that hinders and focus on Jesus. Until next time, remember God loves you and Jesus is Lord over Auto Racing! God Bless. Remember, that your prayerful support and donations helps us continue this ministry. Thank You.
