During the last week of Advent I am asking you to consider things your should Open Before Christmas. I have already encouraged you to open your eyes and your ears. Today I remind you to Open Your Bibles.

A man was walking in the desert when a voice said to him, “Pick up some pebbles, put them in your pocket, and tomorrow you will be both sorry and glad.” The man obeyed, stooped down, picked up a handful of pebbles, and put them in his pocket. The next morning, he reached into his pocket and found diamonds and rubies and emeralds. And he was both glad and sorry. Glad he had taken some, sorry he had not taken more.

So it is with God’s Word. It makes us glad when we see how the Holy Spirit works through the Word to strengthen us in our faith toward God and in our love toward one another. Yet there is also an element of sadness when we recognize that our response to that Word is so hesitant and incomplete.

During Advent, we think of how the people of the Old Testament heard God’s promise of a Messiah and waited for him to come. We wait for the celebration of His first coming. We also know that He is coming again, at a time we do not know, and we wait in faith for that coming.

Here are some passages to get you started. They speak of His first coming as well as His second coming. I’m just giving you the references so you will look them up yourselves.

Genesis 3:15
Genesis 12:3
Numbers 21:6-9
Isaiah 7:14
Isaiah 9:6-7
Isaiah 60:1-2
Micah 5:2
John 14:1–3
Acts 1:10-11
Philippians 3:20–21
1 Thessalonians 4:16–17
Revelation 22:20

You don’t have to read them all at once. But take the time to Open Your Bible this Advent.