Each year, in our month of waiting to mark the arrival of God himself in human flesh, we remember the people of God who waited centuries — centuries! — for the coming of the promised Messiah to rescue them. They had God’s promises: a “seed of the woman” who would crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15; Romans 16:20), a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15, 18; Acts 3:22; 7:37), a priest who would surpass the first-covenant order (Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 5:4–6; 7:11–17), a son of king David and heir to his throne (Isaiah 9:7; Matthew 1:1; 22:42) who would be greater than David, as his Lord (Psalm 110:1). For centuries, God’s people waited.

Advent is finally here.

Over the years, in the days following Thanksgiving, I have reached instinctively for two prized possessions. One is a Beach Boys Christmas compact disc I came into sometime in the late 90s, a tradition which now has slowly but sweetly faded away. The other item, which has served my soul much better, and continues to do so to this day, is Donald Macleod’s book The Person of Christ. I’ve taken Advent as an annual reminder to take up reading on christology. I try to branch out some each year, but it always includes at least a little rereading of Macleod.

The opportunity of Advent, to remember the real reason for Christmas, is perhaps all the more poignant in our increasingly secular society. With every passing year, we have to be more vigilant, even aggressive and relentless, to remind ourselves, and our children, and our churches, what really is the heart and inspiration of Christmas.

Habits for the Holidays

We are, by nature, creatures of habit. Such is not the product of the fall, but of God’s good design. Good habits help us flourish by enlisting our subconscious to carry out repeated functions so that we can direct our limited bit of attentiveness and conscious intentionality elsewhere.

Of course, sin plays havoc with our habits too, but an important part of practical redemption and holiness, by the power of the gospel and God’s Spirit, is the creation, over time, of new habits — habits of holiness and fellowship, daily habits of hearing God’s voice in his word and having his ear in prayer, and weekly habits of belonging to, and gathering with, his body in worship.

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