advent devotionals
Memorize: Psalm 139:14
I will praise You
because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made.
Your works are wonderful,
and I know this very well.
Read: Psalm 139:1-14, Psalm 104
Reflect:
Advent calls us to prepare for the arrival of our Savior Jesus Christ, yet often times our preparation is filled with the stress of planning and busyness. We don’t even take a full day to give thanks, as many race off Thanksgiving evening to find the deals. We race into December facing a to-do list of shopping, cooking, wrapping, and working...so that we can enjoy the birth of God's son?
Let’s think about this – Does our preparation have the wrong focus and the wrong feeling. Psalms 104 & 139 encourages us to pause in the midst of our preparation and consider the question, "Who am I preparing for?" Are we preparing for the arrival of Our Savior, or for the world's expectations of Christmas?
I hope today we choose to prepare for Jesus! When we do, our preparations are less about doing and more about being. We begin to prepare with praise to God for the intimacy that He has with each of us. We wake up each day with less attention on what needs done during Advent and more attention on what's been done through God's power.
Apply:
How does your thinking & planning change when you reflect on the power of your creator…your All-knowing, Ever-present God, who made you and wants an active, personal relationship with you?
Pray:
Father God, today I offer my praise for all that you have done, will do, and continue to do in my life. Help me to prepare for the things that matter and ignore the demands of this Adventseason that pull me away from you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
November 27
November 28
November 29
November 30
December 1
December 2
December 3
December 4
December 5
December 6
December 7
December 8
December 9
December 10
December 11
December 12
Encounter god
Memorize: Psalm 27:14
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and courageous.
Wait for the Lord.
Read: Lamentations 3:25-26
The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
to the person who seeks Him.
It is good to wait quietly
for deliverance from the Lord.
Reflect:
Waiting often seems to be a waste of our time. Whether it is standing in the only open lane at WalMart, being stuck in traffic or anticipating test results, waiting is not a very appealing activity, and certainly not productive.
There’s a story about a group of Jewish students who were diligently preparing to become rabbis. Day after day they read and studied the scriptures, pored over various interpretations of the law and prayed regularly together and on their own. One day their teacher told them, “Full experiences of God can never be planned or achieved. They are spontaneous moments of grace, almost accidental.” His students couldn’t believe what they were hearing. One of the students asked, “rabbi, if experiencing God is just accidental, why do we work so hard doing all these spiritual practices?” The rabbi replied, “so that we may be as accident-prone as possible.”
Through weekly Sunday worship, daily Bible study and prayer, which accompany the season of advent, we are making ourselves as “accident-prone” or as “encounter prone” as possible to the coming of God in our midst.
Apply:
What are you doing to maximize your encounter with God this season? Are you attending worship services regularly? Are you serving? Are you connecting with other people? How about your daily Bible reading and prayer? How are you helping others to encounter God too?
Pray:
Heavenly Father, I want to encounter you this season of Advent. Convict me to take the necessary steps to encounter You through weekly worship, serving, and daily Bible reading and prayer. In Jesus’ name. Amen.