The week before Thanksgiving, the women’s Bible study I attend studied Titus chapter 2, which includes words to help us reflect on the first Advent candle, hope. The hope of Christmas spans past, present, and future. 
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good (Titus 2:11-14).
- At least one dictionary defines “advent” as Jesus’ incarnation, when He came to earth as fully man and fully God. When we celebrate Advent, we remember how the whole world waited with hope for God’s Anointed One, the Messiah, to come.
But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship (Galatians 4:4-5).
- Oxford Languages defines hope as expectation and desire a certain thing will happen. [Google search]
- According to Allen Arnold, Expectation is being open to what God has for us.
- Today, we have hope that God’s grace will help us a godly life—in ways that please God.
- Because Jesus redeemed and purified us through His blood, we have hope that He will enable us to seek to do good, even in this current world.
- We have hope that we can draw near to God to receive mercy, grace, and help in whatever troubles us.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:15-16).
- We have hope today that God’s grace, offered through Jesus giving His life to die on the cross, redeems us from our wickedness and God’s wrath.
- We have hope that God’s grace will purify us and set us aside as His people.
- We have hope that Jesus Christ will come again in glory.
- We have hope in our eternal inheritance.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or face. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:3-5).
- When we read through 1 Peter last year, we discovered hope and faith are closely connected.
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1).
We have hope as we walk with God through struggles, disappointments, sorrows, and joys in life.
May our candle of hope shine brightly to encourage us to share hope with others.