Advent - Day Seven

From 21 Gifts of Advent by Janelle Keith 

But the angel said to them, “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 NIV

The Gift of God’s Story

...We’ve sung it in church and can’t make sense of it ourselves, but it is a strange way to save the world through a baby. Can Jesus really deliver us from sin? Can anything good come from the town of Bethlehem? Why would the best of Heaven’s divinity (Jesus) come to earth to bear the brunt of humanity?

The real Christmas story never gets old to me. With God sending love in the person of Jesus, He keeps His promise of salvation to all of us. And Jesus proved His love for us on the cross. This whole plan was initiated by God and planned for long ago to make a way back to Him. God loving us first was His idea.

God not only chose us, but He gave us a glorious inheritance in the Kingdom of Heaven with the gift of Jesus. Pure Love came down from Heaven and gifted man with eternal security, filling our days with love, joy, and peace forevermore. The celebration of Christmas reminds us of the Hope of Heaven. Hope in its purest form, wrapped up in a tiny breathing baby bundle, breathing life into our weary and tired souls.

Advent reflection: Let’s prepare for the Christmas Child to arrive in our hearts. Let’s make room for Jesus this Advent season by sharing the story with everyone. Jesus is a love story worth telling!

*************

Prayer:

Father,

           We can't quite wrap our minds around the Truth that before the foundation of the world, You loved us and set Your plan in motion. We praise as Paul praised in the first chapter of Ephesians, All praise to You, God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! You have blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before You made the world, You loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in Your eyes. You decided in advance to adopt us into Your own family by making a way back to You through Jesus Christ... It is the greatest love story ever! Keep us ever mindful of our inheritance and to stay in right-standing with You, according to Your plan. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Advent - Day Six

From 21 Gifts of Advent by Janelle Keith

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Matthew 11:28-29 NIV

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

Psalm 91:1 NIV

The Gift of Rest

It was a season that I was unprepared for and wasn’t sure what it would look like, but I knew I needed it. Stepping away from a full-time job after 13.5 years was scary! I prayed the following day, “Lord, make me whole!” But the slower days ahead weren’t what I had signed up for.

Honestly, it felt good to sleep in past 3:45 am. That was my old wake-up call every morning for my drive into work. Sleeping more was one side benefit, but my expectations were high for this new chapter. I wanted more than a good fat nap. I also wanted to slow down, but I didn’t know how to find rest.

I worked hard to uncover my purpose in those days of transition. Working from home was a new kind of animal. I felt weak in slowing down, but I didn’t realize how worn out I really was. Emotionally, I was spent. The transition from a high public personality to a full-time writer was challenging for me. It felt so lonely and private. I can remember feeling so unproductive in my newfound season.

So I asked God for the joy in this rest time even though it felt like I was in an isolated prison cell. Was there any joy to be found in my new snail’s paced schedule? It was a couple of months before I realized that God was working on His time frame, not mine. I slowly began to regain a better trust for His timetable with His plans for me. The time I was experiencing was meant to slow down my mind and heart—to be still and know Him in rest.

Often we try to jump ahead of God or try to produce our own spin on an agenda that doesn’t include Him. I’m learning to trust God with every need, every move, and my heart’s desires. I am left in wonder that my Father, who has no needs, can anticipate all of mine ... no matter the season.

Advent reflection: We can trust God with every season. As we accept His plans, the timing of God is crucial to our rest. You can experience true rest in knowing God through the transitions throughout your life. Finding His rest is a treasure for every passing moment to trust God deeper.

***************

Prayer:

Father,

           Thank You for the mandate to find rest in Your presence. Help us to understand the difference between doing nothing and resting in You. Shine Your Light of Truth into every area of our hearts to expose the lies that we have believed and set us free from them. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Advent - Day Five

 From 21 Gifts of Advent by Janelle Keith

So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
Matthew 24:44 NIV

The Gift of Preparation

So how do you prepare for Christmas? How do you not get lost in the stress, parties, and chaos of shopping? How do you celebrate old traditions with new ideas? Where is the peace among men in the craziness of it all? Where is the joy in an empty chair around the dinner table?

How do we do this year after year? Let’s go back to the first Christmas for answers.

How does one prepare to mother the Savior of the world? Is there a training manual specific to this special role in motherhood? There was no internet in the stable! How would Mary know what to do?

Surely, Mary dreamed about having a baby. As a mom myself, it’s safe to say that we all wonder what our children will become. We ask God for healthy babies full of giggles and grins. We prepare for the best birth experience, but every mom wants to skip over the painful process of delivery.

Mary couldn't have known the hard place of pain. Little did she know as she watched her young baby breathing new life, she would also see His last breath. She couldn't have known that she would be a witness to His death for her sins or the sins of those who put Him there. I can’t imagine the pain in a mother’s heart as she says goodbye to a child for the last time.

Mary’s response sounds simple. "May it be as You have said..." speaks of her purity of faith. Simple faith in new things and new places of waiting. New feelings of a mother's joy, followed by long days of painful, weighty sorrow. No, Mary, you couldn't have known the Savior’s life was going to end in a horrible way. Her faith can encourage us to trust God more in every season.

Advent reflection: Mary’s pure faith gives us strength and was proven strong in her preparation. Faith itself is a gift and God's great love comforts each of us in the preparation days for whatever is ahead. And even though we don’t know what the days ahead hold, we must have faith in the One who does.

**********************************

Prayer:

Father,
          Thank You for the measure of faith You have given to each of us. Thank You that nothing can separate us from Your great love. For it is written, Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thank You for Christ's sacrifice to save us. As we prepare to commemorate His birth, keep us ever mindful of His whole life poured out to fulfill Your wondrous plan for our salvation. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Advent - Day Four

“Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

Luke 2:14 NLT

The God Who is with Us - by Ronnie Martin (see info at the end of this post)

Today’s Scripture passage from Luke 2 is a beautifully vivid and artistic passage from the angelic voices. The image of a choir of angels announcing the birth of the Savior can feel like the stuff of myths and legends, and yet to believe in a supernatural birth requires us to believe in a supernatural announcement of that birth.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you consider that night so many years ago? Personally, I’ve always been struck by the line “with whom He is pleased!” I might be showing my theological convictions here, but I love how the angels describe peace—that it is for those with whom God is pleased. What pleases God? Well, it’s not sacrifice; we know that. God makes clear throughout Scripture that He doesn’t want our tangible sacrifices but the sacrifice of our obedient hearts. An obedient heart is the only heart God can be pleased with and therefore have peace with.

How do we gain obedient hearts that please God? That’s where the glorious gospel comes in. The birth of Jesus, the life of Jesus, the death of Jesus, and the resurrection of Jesus made it possible for God to have peace among those with whom He is pleased (Heb. 11:6). However hard this is to hear—the truth is that we are born with hearts that have no peace with God because they are unredeemed and unwilling to surrender to Him. It is not until God in His grace brings us to the end of ourselves and we repent of our sins and trust in the work of Christ on the cross that we enter into a peaceful relationship with God where He is pleased with us.

Pause and reflect now on the grace God showed mankind by sending His Son to be an obedient sacrifice for you. Think of the possibilities it has opened for you: peace with God, a loving relationship with Jesus, and a sure hope in this life and the life to come.

It’s helpful to remember that these shepherds didn’t return to a life of ease after their angelic visitation. There would still be long, shivery nights tending their flocks by the light of the moon. They would still be people who were not highly thought of due to the nature of their lowly vocation. Yet there would always be this one glorious night when the unimaginable happened and everything changed forever. They may have returned to the same vocation, but they didn’t return as the same shepherds. They returned glorifying and praising God for all they’d seen and heard.

What will you return to after the glory of the holiday season has passed, when it becomes a fading memory in your aging consciousness once again? Will you return like these unremarkable shepherds, glorifying and praising God for the remarkable love He has poured into your hearts through His Spirit? Will you remember that because of Christ’s supernatural visitation to Bethlehem so many years ago, all the sorrow and suffering that have visited you in your life will, like an unwanted intruder, never be given entrance again? This is the kind of infinite, everlasting peace God is pleased to give the person with whom He is pleased.

*****************************
Prayer:

Father,

          Change our hearts! Give us obedient hearts so that we may please You and live in Your infinite, everlasting peace. We want You to be pleased with us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

*****************************
“Immanuel. God with us.” We know that God sent His Son, but what does that mean for our lives now? In this plan, Ronnie Martin walks us through what it means for God to be with us...

We would like to thank B&H Publishing for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: https://www.bhpublishinggroup.com

Advent - Day Three

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
Hebrews 4:15 NIV

The God Who is with Us - by Ronnie Martin (see info at the end of this post)

Most of us have likely had the experience of a person who, for whatever reason, was not able to sympathize very well with us. As amazing as some of our close friends are when it comes to sympathizing with our weaknesses and temptations, they will never hold a candle to how deeply and perfectly Jesus is able to sympathize with us.

Pause on that for a moment, if you would. We have a high priest, an intercessor who sits at the right hand of our heavenly Father. What we do not have is One who has separated Himself from the anguish of our humanness. What separated Jesus from the Israelite high priests is that He walked in the same shoes as the people He ministered to but did so as the sinless Son of God.

Imagine what this means for you and me who are confronted with an endless cycle of hard-to-resist temptations that are as relentless as they are irresistible. Imagine what this means as you consider your beloved friend and high priest. It means that Jesus, the spotless lamb who came to atone for the sins of the world, “gets you.” One of the things we look for in a friend is someone who “gets us.” They know us for who we are so there’s no need for any posturing. We can be vulnerable because we have a friend in our corner who suspends judgment and just listens. We don’t have to feel shame because we have someone who sees us and accepts us even at our absolute lowest.

Of course, there are limitations to this because none of our friends can sympathize with us without sin. So imagine, for a moment, someone like Jesus knowing exactly what you went through because He went through it too but didn’t give in to the temptation like you and I do. Because He never gave in to the temptation, He has a particular, one-of-a-kind heart for you that is untainted by the sin your human friends are susceptible to. It means His love for you is unprocessed. It means His compassion for you is full. It means His joy for you is boundless. It means His forgiveness for you is all-encompassing. As much as others can sympathize with your weaknesses, they can’t offer you what Jesus our high priest can offer. This is the kind of high priestly friendship you need.

Now consider this: the sympathetic and empathetic heart of Jesus. In every respect, He has gone through what you have gone through. In all the ways you have failed when it comes to temptation, He has been faithful. His faithfulness is the very thing that covers your shame-filled failures, paper-thin faith, and Mount Everest-like fears.

In all your inabilities and instabilities, He is able and willing to stand close.

In all your insecurities and vulnerabilities, He is able and willing to stay close.

Like a shepherd who will carry you forever...

*****************************

Prayer:

Father,

          Thank You that no temptation has overtaken us except what is common to mankind. And You are faithful; You will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. But when we are tempted, You will also provide a way out so that we can endure it, according to Your Word. Help us to stand firmly and walk straight in it. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

*****************************
“Immanuel. God with us.” We know that God sent His Son, but what does that mean for our lives now? In this plan, Ronnie Martin walks us through what it means for God to be with us...

We would like to thank B&H Publishing for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: https://www.bhpublishinggroup.com

Advent - Day Two

But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.
Psalm 39:7 NIV

The God Who is with Us - by Ronnie Martin (see info at the end of this post)

We live in such a fast-moving society, don’t we? We are likely experiencing that to its fullest right now during the Christmas season. The holiday season tests our patience. We want things now, and if shopping isn’t our thing, Amazon Prime is right there to ship us what we need overnight. Amazon is, in fact, not slow to fulfill its promise of free shipping and overnight service. Unfortunately, this is how we count slowness. Something that doesn’t happen or arrive exactly as fast as we desire it to. We don’t want Amazon to be patient toward us, as much as we usually don’t want God to be patient with anyone else but us.

But God, in all of His perceived slowness, is actually patient toward you. And them. Think of it like this: if it is in the heart of God to draw close to His hell-bound creatures, then it means He will be patient toward those whose paths have not yet been rerouted.

How do you count slowness when it comes to your view of how God acts in the affairs of humanity? If you were honest, could you say that you lack patience with God’s pacing? Are there people you’d like to see come to justice? Are there relationships you wish could be resolved? Are there loved ones long gone who you want to be reunited with? Are there family members far from God who you wish He would finally intervene and save?

Why does God wait? We’re going to have to wait to know the answer to that question. What we do know is that the hand of God is only slow inasmuch as His heart is patiently seeking to save the lost.

Waiting for the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promises keeps us hoping for what we cannot see. We never hope for what we already have. We don’t need to have patience for something we have already received. God makes us wait for those very reasons, so that hope and patience produce a character that brings about the joy and happiness of Christ in us. God is not slow like we define slowness. In the same way that you are able to wait for Christmas morning much better than a child because the waiting and anticipating are as much a part of the joy as the receiving, God wants you to know a joy that can only come through a patient heart immersed in the surety of hope.

He is not slow. But He is slowing us down to become more like His Son.

Hope in Him.

*****************************
Prayer:

Father,

          Thank You for loving us enough to slow us down to become more like Your Son. Thank You for explaining the true meaning of hope - that our hope is in You, in Your presence. We pray according to Your Word - that we would allow patience to have her perfect work in us so that we can be found complete in You and lacking nothing. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

*****************************
“Immanuel. God with us.” We know that God sent His Son, but what does that mean for our lives now? In this plan, Ronnie Martin walks us through what it means for God to be with us...

We would like to thank B&H Publishing for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: https://www.bhpublishinggroup.com

Advent - Day One

An Advent Journey of Hope by Louie Giglio

Just the Right Time

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons (and daughters).

Galatians 4:4–5 ESV

Reflection

While God rarely comes at our appointed time, He always comes at the right time. A Savior had been promised to God’s people for centuries. And for centuries they longed and prayed for rescue to no avail. Yet on the right day, in the right place, at the right time, Jesus was born. Christmas reminds us that God comes through on His promise.

We are all waiting on something or someone, often wondering if God has forgotten us. Is that where you are today? In your waiting, let the birth of Christ encourage you. Just because God hasn’t come through (as far as you can see), it doesn’t mean He has abandoned you. This very minute He’s working for His glory and for your good. Though circumstances say otherwise, God is moving right now to fulfill His long-appointed plans for you. Don’t give up. Take hope in the manger and know that you are prized by Jesus. He stepped down
from heaven for you. And just as He loved you that day, He loves you right now. And Jesus is with you, even in the storm.

Prayer

Father, 

          Meet me in the waiting, the place where I long for what is not fully in view. Still my heart and give me the ability to know that You are near. I believe Your plans are good. I see it in the birth of Your only Son. But sometimes I struggle to see beyond the haze that surrounds me. Renew my confidence as I lift my eyes to You. Be glorified in my life during this season of expectation. Amen.