By Richard Caballero

2 Peter 3:8-13
But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.

Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire? But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.

Advent is my favorite time of the year. I love to sing Christmas carols and decorate the house with ornaments. I get excited to see the preparations in the church weeks before—the pageants, the choirs, and the groups of excited children rehearsing to recreate what took place on that beautiful night in the small village of Bethlehem. All the enthusiasm and preparation of Advent gives the impression that we are longing for Christmas to arrive. Christmas Day is the fulfillment of the most glorious and marvelous act in history: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3:16). And that act should awaken in our hearts feelings of longing and expectation for the one who has already come and who has promised to return.

Advent is not only a time of preparation for celebrating Christmas, but is also a time of expectant reflection for the second glorious coming of our great King. As Christians, we should long for that day to come. But in today’s passage of Scripture, Peter reminds us that the Lord does not delay his promise because he’s slow. Instead, there is a very powerful reason: God is patient, waiting until the last of his chosen people acknowledge him as their Lord and Savior.

In this time of Advent, we remember that Christ came and that Christ is coming. While we prepare to celebrate the origins of our redemption, we take advantage of each opportunity to announce with passion the good news of the gospel. Amen!

Prayer: Lord, help me to live like a true chosen one and give me the opportunity to share your gospel with someone today. In Jesus’s name, amen.

Richard Caballero is pastor of the Spanish-speaking congregation at Emmanuel Reformed Church in Paramount, California.

By Armando Becerra

Psalm 85:8-13
Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
        for he will speak peace to his people,
        to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
        that his glory may dwell in our land.
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
        righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
        and righteousness will look down from the sky.
The Lord will give what is good,
        and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before him,
        and will make a path for his steps.

Every year, my children wait anxiously for catalogs filled with new toys for the Christmas season. Each year, they spend hours and hours contemplating and writing down what they want. The list changes every day. They always choose one that that they think they have to have, no matter what. That becomes the toy of the year. Now I have a mission: to get that toy, no matter what.

Some years, I wait until the last minute. Then I find that all the toys have been sold, and there isn’t one for my children. Other years, as soon as they identify the toy they want, I buy it to make sure they will have it. Still, every year my children ask me, “Do you promise that you’re going to get it? Are you going to keep your promise?” They wait anxiously for me to say yes. “Listen to me,” I say. “Listen to what I’m going to tell you: I promise to do my part.” From the day they choose their toy until Christmas Day, it’s a time of frustration, waiting, distrust, anxiety, and impatience. The question on their minds is, “Will Dad be able to get what he promised us?”

We wonder the very same thing about God. Will he keep his promises? In Psalm 85:8, the psalmist says, “Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people.” One of the things that we can know for sure is that our God is not going to forget to fulfill his promises. We know that he will not wait until the last minute to find out that the store no longer has what he promised. We can rest assured that he will fulfill his promises. Nothing can prevent him from doing so. The psalmist says, “I will listen.” Let us pay attention to God’s words because if he has promised peace, then that peace will come even when it seems that we must wait for a long time.

Prayer: Lord, give me faith to trust in your promises and to wait for their fulfillment. Keep me faithful to you. Amen.

Armando Becerra is pastor of Rancho en Español (RCA) in Temecula, California.

By Eddy Alemán

Psalm 85:1-2
Lord, you were favorable to your land;
         you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
You forgave the iniquity of your people;
         you pardoned all their sin.

In the season of Advent, we remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus who was born for us and for our salvation. That promise of salvation was something the people of Israel needed to hear at the time of this psalm. Psalm 85 was written after the return of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon, most likely during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. After their arrival, however, they were also under some distress from their neighbors.

In the first two verses of this psalm we can see several things. First, God shows favor to the land and makes it acceptable and good for his people to live there. Second, God restores the fortunes of his people. This is a reference to his bringing them back from a place of captivity. Israel can now rejoice that God has set them free and has delivered them from the land and the hand of their enemy. Third, he forgives the iniquity of his people. We must be thankful that God’s forgiveness is not just a one-time thing. God is loving and forgiving toward us all the time, and in an ongoing manner. Without forgiveness we have no hope. Fourth, God covers the sins of his people. God chooses not to remember our sin. The blood of Jesus is powerful enough in one moment to fully cover all sin and unrighteousness. The removal of sin will bring the removal of God’s anger.

We must be thankful for God’s divine favor toward his people. We sometimes are quick to forget how good God has been to us. This psalm was written in the tension between God’s goodness and a difficult time. The best way to approach difficulty is by remembering how faithful God has been to us. This Advent, may we remember God’s goodness to us.

Prayer: Lord, today we remember your goodness. Thank you for showing your favor to our land, for restoring our fortunes, and for forgiving our sins.

Eddy Alemán is the director of strategic leadership development and coordinator of Hispanic ministries for the RCA.

Advent is a season in our Christian calendar year that calls us to prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of the Messiah. In our preparation, something happens in us. We begin to dust off the stories of the faith that remind us of the importance of Jesus’s birth and the anticipation of his coming again. Some of these stories are full of beauty and some are filled with heartache. We remember that God is not fully done shaping our journey, and during the Advent season we quiet ourselves and ponder the truth of that.

But what is interesting about today’s passage is that it calls us to be a little less introspective as we journey through Advent. In fact, it calls us to do the exact opposite of quiet reflection. “Cry out!” says the Lord to the prophet. Tell the people that the Lord is coming to feed his flock and gather them in his arms, like a mother does with her newborn child.

This news is not for us alone; God will gather his whole flock. The passage reminds us of God’s restorative mission in the world and in our lives.

As we begin our Advent journey this year, let us first be reminded that we are children of God and that Jesus will come to make us new. Let us also remember that this journey is not only for ourselves; instead, we are called to invite others to join us. It is a time that we “cry out” because we have good news to share. Jesus is coming! Prepare your hearts and minds, remember the stories of God’s faithfulness, and bring people along with you on the journey. Jesus is coming to hold us all in his arms.

Prayer: God, give us the courage to cry out to all people and share the good news of your coming. Amen.

Benito Aguilera is a pastor in Holland, Michigan, who will be planting an English-speaking Hispanic church in 2018.

Welcome to Advent and the RCA’s Advent devotions series. Advent is a time of waiting, of preparing our hearts as the celebration of Jesus’s birth approaches.

This year’s devotions were written by Hispanic leaders in the RCA and come in both English and Spanish. The days follow the Revised Common Lectionary texts.