Elizabeth Keith Elizabeth Keith

Advent Week 3

Each candle in the Advent wreath has a significant meaning, but the third candle of Advent has an unusual place. In most advent wreaths, it is the one candle that is a different color than the others. There is something unique, more spontaneous, and celebratory about the theme of the third week of Advent compared to the others.

What Does the Third Week of Advent Candle Stand for?

The advent wreath has had many variations since it was invented in 1839, but the most common version has four candles inside a wreath. The first advent candle (“The Prophet’s Candle”) stands for hope. The second candle (“The Bethlehem Candle”) stands for peace. The fourth candle (“the Angel’s Candle”) stands for love. The third candle, also known as “the Shepherd’s Candle,” stands for joy. Each candle is lit on a different Sunday leading up to Christmas Day. Some Christians also include a fifth candle, a white one representing Jesus himself, in the middle of the Advent wreath and light it on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

Get your FREE copy of A Thrill of Hope - 25 Days of Advent Devotionals and Readings! Print these and share them with family and friends to keep your mind's attention and heart's affection for Jesus this holiday season.

Why Is the Third Advent Candle a Different Color?

In most advent wreaths, the first, second, and fourth candles are purple, but the third candle is pink or rose. Various writers have given different explanations for why the third candle is pink. Generally, there is a consensus that the colors connect to the different candles’ themes. Purple or violet is associated with contemplation and fasting, particularly in Catholic Lent celebrations that influenced Advent celebrations. Thus, candles 1, 2, and 4 are purple and are occasions to contemplate hope, peace, and love.

In contrast to purple, pink or rose represents joy and celebration. Susan Clement writes that one of the ancient church’s popes gave a citizen a pink rose on the third Sunday of Lent, symbolizing the moment of joy amidst Lent’s fasting and penance. Therefore, when Catholic priests modeled Advent celebrations on Lent, they wore rose-colored robes and set the third Sunday of December as the time to remember joy. The pink or rose-colored advent candle is lit on that third Sunday.

It’s also worth noting that more so than the other three Advent themes, joy is something we associate with spontaneous action. Hope, peace, joy, and love are all things that God places in us and should be ongoing attitudes in our lives. However, hope and peace are generally seen as inner qualities that we cultivate by meditating on ideas like God’s provision. Love is something we do, but also something we cultivate and meditate on. Joy tends to have a more spontaneous effect. Joy can motivate us to celebrate or worship with glorious abandon (like David did when he danced in front of the ark of the covenant). In that light, it’s appropriate that the advent candle representing joy is a different color, highlighting the different nature of joy compared to the other advent themes.

Learn from our How-to Guide on Advent Wreaths for celebrating this Christmas season.

What Place Do Shepherds Have in the Christmas Story?

The third advent candle is called “the Shepherd’s Candle,” and the shepherds’ section of the Christmas story is very much about joy. The shepherds are mentioned in Luke 2:8-20. In this scripture passage, they were watching sheep in their pastures when an angel appeared to them. As many people in the Bible reacted when angels showed up, the shepherds were frightened, so the angel said, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:10-12). The next moment, a whole group of angels appeared around the first one, praised God, and then disappeared. The shepherds immediately entered Bethlehem and found Joseph and Mary with their baby. After meeting the Messiah, the shepherds told others what they had seen and then returned to the manger, “glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen” (Luke 2:20).

The shepherds serve as witnesses to Jesus’ birth and emissaries of joy. They received a message of joy from the angels and passed that on to other people after seeing Jesus. They even returned to see Jesus again and praise God. In other words, their response to Jesus’ birth was very joy-filled.

Why Do We Say That Christmas Is a Time of Joy? 

In Biblical terms, having joy means being happy about something good that has arrived or is coming. Like hope, it has a long-term view of life, emphasizing the good that will come. However, it has a component of great happiness, rejoicing at the good news. Zacchaeus welcomed Jesus with joy when Jesus said he would stay at Zacchaeus’ home (Luke 19:6). Jesus tells his disciples to have joy in their sufferings for their reward is great in heaven (Luke 6:23). As noted in the section above, the shepherds who visited Jesus were both given a joyful message and acted joyfully.

People could have had joy before Jesus came, but his arrival was the culmination of a special promise. Ever since sin entered the world, humanity had been broken. Creation was also broken by sin, and since that time, has been crying out with groans for relief (Romans 8:22-23). Jesus’ birth fulfilled prophecies that the Messiah would come and break sin’s hold, starting a new phase of God’s redemption plan. As Jesus said multiple times during his ministry, the kingdom of God had come now that he had arrived. Sin continued to be a reality after Jesus’ death and resurrection, but Jesus broke its hold. 

Thus, at Christmas, we joyfully celebrate that God’s greatest promise was fulfilled: God’s kingdom has come. The final movements in God’s plan (the last battle against Satan, the resurrection of the dead) are still to come. As some scholars have put it, we live in the “already/not yet” phase of God’s kingdom, where it has arrived, but the final effects haven’t come yet. However, with Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection, the definitive move in the battle against evil was struck. More skirmishes will follow, but the war has, for all intents and purposes, been won. That is definitely something to be joyous about.

Prayer for Advent Week 3

Lord Jesus, thank you for coming into the world to pay the price for our sins. We do not always appreciate how high a cost you paid, and how your birth made good on promises that God the Father had made. Thank you for your great love, for your sacrifice and victory against evil. Thank you that while we know hard times may come, your kingdom has come. Thank you that while battles may come, the war against evil is effectively finished. Help us to never grow tired of that truth, to discover it anew and see how great it is that we can know it. Show us how to have joy every day, how to rejoice in your love and provision time and time again. We ask these things in your name, Amen.

Advent Week 3 Scripture Readings: Luke 2:8-20, John 3:22-30, Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 1:26-56, Luke 1:67-75, Luke 2:25-38.

Written By: Connor Salter

Source: Crosswalk.com

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Choose Joy

            The week after Thanksgiving feels like catch up. Our families and friends return to their homes. We start back to work. Our kids readjust after the many treats and sweets last week. We feel refreshed, tired, overwhelmed, sad, anxious, lonely, and at peace. So many emotions and so many things to do. With Thanksgiving at a close, we want to remember to remain thankful in all circumstances. How can one do that despite the laundry list of things listed above? Answer: Choose Joy.

            One of the best ways to fight the holiday blues is by choosing joy. This is not something that the Lord thought would be easy when He told us to “rejoice always,” but He did tell us how. Simply that. Rejoice always. Our circumstances do not have to impact our decisions. This means that we can decide and choose to rejoice just as commanded. We can choose to list off all the ways we are thankful. We can choose to worship and praise the Lord. We can choose to say “thank you, Lord, for allowing us to feel deeply and understand grief.” We can rejoice in the goodness of God because He sees us. He loves us.

            When you start to feel the enemy tempting you with negativity, look up. Look to Jesus and tell Him. Say “Lord, right know I feel ____. I want to choose joy, and it is hard. But I commit to choosing joy. Please fill me with your Spirit and help me rejoice always. Please show me all the beautiful things around me. Please fill me with gratitude. Please help me obey your command to rejoice always. Thank you for listening when I talk to you and for helping me when I ask for it. Amen”

            When we choose joy, we become thankful. When we become thankful, we choose joy. What a beautiful cycle to fall into. What a gift.

Written By: Elizabeth Keith

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AmazingGrace.Life is 8!

This is our 8th year of AmazingGrace.Life, and what a year it has been! Our number one goal at AGL is to share the Gospel with everyone and anyone who will listen. One of our big ways of doing this is by connecting people to the Gospel through our website www.amazinggrace.life. We have had the privilege of sharing the gospel with over 2 million people on our website this year alone. We have had over 39000 people actively accept Jesus and share their faith transformation with us. We have had over 3500 people chat with JesusCares.com after finding our website and needing resources or help answering questions. Over 5000 people read through answers to their life-altering, hard questions on our website, and more than 10000 people sought help in how to follow god. People really felt a pull to start that relationship with Jesus this year and more than 52000 people read about ‘6 ways to follow God in their day to day life’. The Lord is moving and using AGL to help spread His Good News! 

In addition to these amazing ways the Lord has been moving, we have had the privilege of sending our Amazing Grace books and Gospel of John books all across the world. Each year we set out to share the Gospel with remote parts of the world. This year we sent over 3000 books to international locations in order to help fulfill that vision. What a gift it is to share the Gospel with the most remote places. Also, we were able to give to various relief projects that supported areas of conflict or natural disaster including Maui, Pakistan, and Africa. The Lord is gracious and good, so we give Him all the glory as He used this ministry to provide support internationally. 

We truly cannot praise the Lord enough for His faithfulness throughout this year. He has allowed us to do more than we hoped. He is moving and powerful, and we get to be a part of His Kingdom!

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Elizabeth Keith Elizabeth Keith

What is the Gospel?

What exactly do Christians mean when they talk about the “gospel of Jesus Christ”? Since the word “gospel” means “good news,” when Christians talk about the gospel, they’re simply telling the good news about Jesus! It’s a message from God saying, “Good news! Here is how you can be saved from my judgment!” That’s an announcement you can’t afford to ignore.

Why Is the Gospel Good News?

So, what is the good news about Jesus Christ?

Since the earliest Christians announced the good news about Jesus, it has been organized around these questions:

  1. Who made us, and to whom are we accountable?

  2. What is our problem?

  3. What is God’s solution to our problem?

  4. How can I be included in his solution?

Christians through the centuries since Christ have answered those questions with the same truth from the Bible.

  1. We are accountable to God.

  2. Our problem is our sin against him.

  3. God’s solution is salvation through Jesus Christ.

  4. We come to be included in that salvation by faith and repentance.

Let’s summarize those points like this: God, Mankind, Jesus Christ, and Our Response.

God

The first thing to know about the good news of Jesus is that “in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). Everything starts from that point, so if you get that point wrong then everything else that follows will be wrong. Because God created everything—including us—he has the right to tell us how to live. You have to understand that in order to understand the good news about Jesus. To understand just how glorious and life-giving the gospel of Jesus Christ is, we have to understand that God is also holy and righteous. He is determined never to ignore or tolerate sin. Including ours!

Mankind

When God created the first human beings, Adam and Eve, he intended for them to live under his righteous rule in perfect joy—obeying him and living in fellowship with him. When Adam disobeyed God, though, and ate the one fruit that God had told him not to eat, that fellowship with God was broken. Moreover, Adam and Eve had declared rebellion against God. They were denying his authority over their lives.

It’s not just Adam and Eve who are guilty of sin. The Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Sin is the rejection of God himself and his authority over those to whom he gives life.

Once you understand sin in that light, you begin to understand why “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). That’s not just physical death, but spiritual death, a forceful separating of our sinful, rebellious selves from the presence of God forever. The Bible teaches that the final destiny for unbelieving sinners is eternal, active judgment in a place called “hell.”

But . . .

Jesus Christ

The word “Christ” means “anointed one,” referring to anointing a king with oil when he is crowned. So, when we say “Jesus Christ,” we’re saying that Jesus is a King!

When Jesus began his public ministry, he told the people, “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news!” As Jesus died on a cross, the awful weight of all our sins fell on his shoulders. The sentence of death God had pronounced against rebellious sinners struck. And Jesus died. For you and me!

But the story doesn’t end there. Jesus the Crucified is no longer dead. The Bible tells us that he rose from the grave. Jesus’s rising from the grave was God’s way of saying, “What Jesus claimed about who he is and what he came to do is true!”

Our Response

What does God expect us to do with the information that Jesus died in our place so we can be saved from God’s righteous wrath against our sins? He expects us to respond with repentance and faith.

To repent of our sins means to turn away from our rebellion against God. Repentance doesn’t mean we’ll bring an immediate end to our sinning. It does mean, though, that we’ll never again live at peace with our sins.

Not only that, but we also turn to God in faith. Faith is reliance. It’s a promise-founded trust in the risen Jesus to save you from your sins. If God is ever to count us righteous, he’ll have to do it on the basis of someone else’s record, someone who’s qualified to stand in as our substitute. And that’s what happens when a person is saved by Jesus: All our sins are credited to Jesus who took the punishment for them, and the perfect righteousness of Jesus is then credited to us when we place our trust in what he has done for us! That’s what faith means—to rely on Jesus, to trust in him alone to stand in our place and win a righteous verdict from God!

Written By: Greg Gilbert

Source: Crosswalk.com

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Give Generously

This week we looked at the good gifts God gives to His children. He is generous and kind. We often zoom through our days without looking up or out and forget to notice all the ways God gave generously to us. It is easy to miss seeing His provisions, but that doesn’t mean that they are not there. They are. Every. Single. Day. If you are His child and you have breath in your lungs, there will be gifts from God you will experience each day.

What if each day for the next week we choose to take one minute and list off the various things God gave to us that day? Start small. God gave me life and breath today. God gave me food today. God gave me the birds chirping outside today. Then see how many you can come up with in that one minute. You may be tempted to keep going. Gratitude is contagious and tends to cause a snowball effect. After you have listed off the gifts from God, sincerely thank Him. It will bring Him joy to hear your thanksgiving and praise, and it will refresh your soul.

As a final way to remember the generosity of God, we want to encourage each of you to find one time this week to be generous with someone else. We are attaching a Give Generously Card from Foundations with Janet. This Card serves as a simple way to bless someone with a small gift and tell them of the greatest gift all in one. God is a good gift giver, so we want to follow suit. He will transform us one gift at a time.

Written By: Elizabeth Keith

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