Messiah Watch (Blog on Advent 2) by Rev. Susan Salo

Definition of hope in a Bible dictionary:
Hope in the Bible is not just wishing it were so, but a favorable and constant expectation.

2 Peter 3.8-15 tells us to expect the return of the Lord to come like a thief. Unexpectedly. Keeping  this  in mind, it also asks us what kind of people ought we to be?  We ought to live holy and godly lives as we look forward to this day and speed its coming. It will be a time of complete destruction, but also a day of fulfillment as we look forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

Therefore, we are told, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.

We await the Messiah, Jesus, as God's people have been doing for millennia. We read about his first coming in the gospels, his life, death and resurrection. In Acts we read about the sending of his Spirit into his disciples and the birth of the church, a new kind of Israel. The expectation of his return "in glory" is given. Now we wait.

Questions:
1. Who prepared the way for the Lord in your life?
2. In what ways can we speed the Lord's return?
3. Have there been times in your life when you wished Jesus would come back "right now"? Why?
4. What do you think the Lord's return will be like?
5. Do you expect his return to be soon? Why? Or why not?