As you may know, I enjoy hunting—specifically deer hunting. There is something—actually many things—about
matching wits with these woodland creatures that are so finely attuned to their habitat that appeals to me.
One of those things is the opportunity (or excuse) to be up long before daylight, taking my place in the woods as the morning light comes to full fruition. Animals that have been active during the night are returning to their dens or other resting places, while those that will be active during the day are just beginning to stir. It is a likely time to cross paths with all kinds of critters, as we used to call them in eastern Kentucky.
During the month of November, which is one of my favorite times to be outdoors, I have spent many mornings experiencing a sense of awe and wonder as I have taken in the increasing illumination of the horizon before sunrise. One of the most notable features on clear days in November is a glowing orb that is more brilliant than any distant star. It is the planet Venus.
I have taken the liberty to include an excerpt from the introduction to The Hope Devotional Bible, which was published in 2020. I think it is fitting that a volume emphasizing hope was released during the first year of a worldwide disaster known as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although that devastating occurrence is now years in the past, some of the effects that it had are still with us. It changed many things about how people interact with others, including how often or even whether they go to church. One thing that has persisted is a pernicious lack of hope.
Hope has been described as faith’s precursor. I define it as a favorable and confident expectation having to do with happy anticipation of good. Let hope be activated and energized in you as you read what I wrote several years ago.
Among the ancients, what we now know as the planet Venus was called the morning star or the evening star, depending on when it flamed above the circle of the earth. The apostle Peter refers to the morning star as “…a light that shines in a dark place…” in 2 Peter 1:19.
How dark are your circumstances right now? How dismal and depressing are your surroundings? God has help and hope for you, and the magnitude of His assistance is demonstrated in the heavens.
In the middle of your sleepless night, you arise to realize that the wind has blown away the clouds, and the sky is clear. And while it still seems as black as midnight, you notice something that you don’t remember seeing before.
Like a glowing ember in the eastern sky, something is burning in the firmament just above the limit of your vision. It is far brighter than any star in the sky. Sent forth morning by morning by an almighty and everlasting God to tread the ancient dance of the heavenly spheres, it is not a star at all. It is the planet Venus, blazing like a lamp in the sable of the early morning sky. Compared to the magnitude of the heavens, it’s not very significant. In fact, its only significance is what it symbolizes, which is this—the sun is coming.
Reflecting a glory far greater than itself, that small speck of dust and rock in the distance becomes a happy and hopeful herald of something so great that its own glory will soon be forgotten. And the hopelessness that preceded its presence will waste away like a wisp of so much smoke. The sun is coming to swallow the darkness of midnight with the power of its own shining.
Don’t look down, don’t despair, and don’t be discouraged—look up. Hope is burning like a beacon in the blackest of midnight.
If you have light, you cannot be in darkness. If you have hope, you cannot be defeated.
And you have hope, because Jesus is alive. He is the true bright and morning star, and one day soon He will come in all of His glory. I can already see the brightness of His shining illuminating the horizon.
In Revelation 22:16, Jesus certifies this to John about Himself: “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
John testifies in John 1:14: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
In His first advent, there can be no doubt that God’s glory was demonstrated as Jesus walked among men and healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, cleansed the lepers, cast out demons, and even raised the dead. That glory was undeniable and inimitable.
However, the degree of glory that was displayed during the first advent, which we celebrate during the Christmas season, will be eclipsed by the glory that is about to be revealed as He comes again. And He is coming again, as surely as day follows darkness.
In the midst of the joy of the holidays, many people can’t help but be reminded of those who are no longer around the table or the tree. Their family circle may not be as large as it was in the past. I will remind you that Christmas is a time of hope. God chose to send the Morning Star into our lives and into our hearts, so that His burning beacon of hope would sustain us until He comes again or we ourselves go on to glory after we successfully finish our course. As Paul said in Philippians 1:21: “For to me, to continue living is Christ, and to die is gain.”
During the month of December, Venus vanishes below the morning horizon, not to be seen again until it completes its prescribed circuit in the heavens. However, Jesus, the Morning Star, never leaves our lives or our hearts. And He never burns more brightly than during the Christmas season.
May you, your family, and all that is part of your domain experience the boundless hope that comes as we celebrate the most brilliant of stars—the Lord Jesus Christ.
Yours for the Harvest,
Dr. Rod Parsley
Founder & General Overseer
One of those things is the opportunity (or excuse) to be up long before daylight, taking my place in the woods as the morning light comes to full fruition. Animals that have been active during the night are returning to their dens or other resting places, while those that will be active during the day are just beginning to stir. It is a likely time to cross paths with all kinds of critters, as we used to call them in eastern Kentucky.
During the month of November, which is one of my favorite times to be outdoors, I have spent many mornings experiencing a sense of awe and wonder as I have taken in the increasing illumination of the horizon before sunrise. One of the most notable features on clear days in November is a glowing orb that is more brilliant than any distant star. It is the planet Venus.
I have taken the liberty to include an excerpt from the introduction to The Hope Devotional Bible, which was published in 2020. I think it is fitting that a volume emphasizing hope was released during the first year of a worldwide disaster known as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although that devastating occurrence is now years in the past, some of the effects that it had are still with us. It changed many things about how people interact with others, including how often or even whether they go to church. One thing that has persisted is a pernicious lack of hope.
Hope has been described as faith’s precursor. I define it as a favorable and confident expectation having to do with happy anticipation of good. Let hope be activated and energized in you as you read what I wrote several years ago.
Among the ancients, what we now know as the planet Venus was called the morning star or the evening star, depending on when it flamed above the circle of the earth. The apostle Peter refers to the morning star as “…a light that shines in a dark place…” in 2 Peter 1:19.
How dark are your circumstances right now? How dismal and depressing are your surroundings? God has help and hope for you, and the magnitude of His assistance is demonstrated in the heavens.
In the middle of your sleepless night, you arise to realize that the wind has blown away the clouds, and the sky is clear. And while it still seems as black as midnight, you notice something that you don’t remember seeing before.
Like a glowing ember in the eastern sky, something is burning in the firmament just above the limit of your vision. It is far brighter than any star in the sky. Sent forth morning by morning by an almighty and everlasting God to tread the ancient dance of the heavenly spheres, it is not a star at all. It is the planet Venus, blazing like a lamp in the sable of the early morning sky. Compared to the magnitude of the heavens, it’s not very significant. In fact, its only significance is what it symbolizes, which is this—the sun is coming.
Reflecting a glory far greater than itself, that small speck of dust and rock in the distance becomes a happy and hopeful herald of something so great that its own glory will soon be forgotten. And the hopelessness that preceded its presence will waste away like a wisp of so much smoke. The sun is coming to swallow the darkness of midnight with the power of its own shining.
Don’t look down, don’t despair, and don’t be discouraged—look up. Hope is burning like a beacon in the blackest of midnight.
If you have light, you cannot be in darkness. If you have hope, you cannot be defeated.
And you have hope, because Jesus is alive. He is the true bright and morning star, and one day soon He will come in all of His glory. I can already see the brightness of His shining illuminating the horizon.
In Revelation 22:16, Jesus certifies this to John about Himself: “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
John testifies in John 1:14: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
In His first advent, there can be no doubt that God’s glory was demonstrated as Jesus walked among men and healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, cleansed the lepers, cast out demons, and even raised the dead. That glory was undeniable and inimitable.
However, the degree of glory that was displayed during the first advent, which we celebrate during the Christmas season, will be eclipsed by the glory that is about to be revealed as He comes again. And He is coming again, as surely as day follows darkness.
In the midst of the joy of the holidays, many people can’t help but be reminded of those who are no longer around the table or the tree. Their family circle may not be as large as it was in the past. I will remind you that Christmas is a time of hope. God chose to send the Morning Star into our lives and into our hearts, so that His burning beacon of hope would sustain us until He comes again or we ourselves go on to glory after we successfully finish our course. As Paul said in Philippians 1:21: “For to me, to continue living is Christ, and to die is gain.”
During the month of December, Venus vanishes below the morning horizon, not to be seen again until it completes its prescribed circuit in the heavens. However, Jesus, the Morning Star, never leaves our lives or our hearts. And He never burns more brightly than during the Christmas season.
May you, your family, and all that is part of your domain experience the boundless hope that comes as we celebrate the most brilliant of stars—the Lord Jesus Christ.
Yours for the Harvest,
Dr. Rod Parsley
Founder & General Overseer