Advent 2019 – Day 4

Last updated on: December 4, 2019 at 8:05 am by Matt Pearson

Advent 2019 – Day 4 2019-12-03T22:08:24-05:00 Matt Pearson

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“A Light Bulb Moment”

Isaiah 9:6 â€“ â€œFor a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.â€

In the movie Toy Story 4, viewers are introduced to a new toy. Forky. Forky is made on the first day of kindergarten by Bonnie, the young girl who owns all the other toys we have come to love. Forky is made of a plastic spork, clay, popsicle sticks, googly eyes, and pipe cleaners. For a good portion of the movie, Forky canâ€™t believe he is a real toy and always makes a run toward the trash can. Forky canâ€™t get over the fact that heâ€™s not trash. Woody (Tom Hanks) spends most of his time chasing after Forky, keeping him from throwing himself away, because he is so beloved by Bonnie. At a critical moment in the movie, Woody has a â€œlight bulb momentâ€ with Forky. To try to convince Forky that he doesnâ€™t belong in the trash he says, â€œYou know how safe you feel in the trash can? Thatâ€™s how Bonnie feels when she has you.â€ That reality for Forky seemed to change everything. Forky considered himself helpless trash until he realized he was really loved.

When Isaiah wrote his prophecy, Godâ€™s people thought they were doomed. They had sinned against God and wondered if there was any hope. In their hearts, they assumed they were â€œtrash.â€ In the middle of a very difficult time, God told Isaiah to give them a â€œlight bulb message.â€ They were loved. They were wanted. A rescue was coming. A child would be born in the future. Godâ€™s Son would come. He would be Wonderful, Mighty, Eternal, and a Prince. He would be God Himself, a Counselor, a Father, and Peace. Godâ€™s people would no longer have to wonder if they were doomed to being â€œtrash.â€ Through Isaiahâ€™s words, the promise of what was to come, they knew they were loved and secured by God and His good plan.

Our relationship with God is not based on our past or our feelings about ourselves. It is based on His promised and fulfilled love for us in the baby boy who came, Jesus Christ.

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Advent 2019 - Day 3

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