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
restore my faith
​
Read Psalm 80:1-7
1 Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock;

you who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth
2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.

Awaken your might;
come and save us.
3 Restore us, O God;
make your face shine upon us,
that we may be saved.
4 O Lord God Almighty,
how long will your anger smolder
against the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears;
you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
6 You have made us a source of contention to our neighbors,
and our enemies mock us.
7 Restore us, O God Almighty;
make your face shine upon us,
that we may be saved. [NLT]
Reflect:
The Psalmist is obviously writing during a time that Israel was not prospering. In this Psalm he looks back and sees how God had brought them out of Egypt and given them the land of Canaan. He talks about how God had made them a great nation. He is giving God the glory and recognizes that his only hope is his trust in God. What he does not understand is why God would bless them with such blessings and then take these away from them. He sees their situation as punishment from God.
There are times that many of us are high and all is well. Then, life happens and we come crashing to the ground. It is following this kind of crash that our faith is really tested. We can become bitter toward God or those around us. We can blame others for our circumstances. Or we may just give up as we doubt the goodness of God or perhaps even his very existence. We may be filled with despair as we look at our lives and wonder if our situation is the result of our sin and therefore we are being punished. While this attitude may come from the purest motives, Satan will use it to fill our hearts with doubt and despair to destroy our faith if given opportunity.
But we want to know why. Why me? Why now? Why? God does not always tell us why. It may be to give us opportunity to grow and become what we could never be without the trial. One thing that I do know is that we can trust God in all of our circumstances. Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it. Hebrews 11:1 [NCV]
Apply:
Are you asking God, “Why me?” Why now?” WHY?” Write down your thoughts, frustrations, or questions. Also write about a time or times in your life when God was faithful. Meditate on his faithfulness. Then, thank him for His continued faithfulness.
Pray:
Dear God, I thank you for your wonderful care, protection and love. I thank you for your past faithfulness. You have blessed me in ways beyond my imagination. Help restore my faith today. In Jesus’ name. Amen.