As we begin the Advent season this year, an extra dose of hope is something we would all appreciate.

And so it was many millennia ago in ancient Israel. The country was corrupt, the people had walked away from God, and the nation was about to be overtaken by Babylon, their evil neighbor.

And yet, God offered hope to the people of Israel and Judah through the prophet Isaiah.

There would be a Messiah, a Savior.

Here’s one description of this coming One:

⁶ For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

(Isaiah 9:6, English Standard Version)

And we know this Messiah, this sent one, this Savior, is Jesus.

And Jesus, whom the ancients foretold, was fully God, and fully human. He came and lived a sinless life on the earth, died for the sins of the entire world, and miraculously rose again.

And Jesus promises to come again one day to fulfill this promise in Isaiah, to reign over heaven and earth with love and righteousness and truth and justice and mercy.

That gives me hope – how about you?

Hopeful in Him,
~kevin