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
The lord is coming soon
Memorize: John 16:33
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
Read: Philippians 4:4-7
Reflect:
It seems appropriate to recycle this devotional from last Advent, which we posted on December 14, 2013, following the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The same passage from Philippians continues to bring comfort on this first anniversary of the senseless deaths of 27 lives, 20 of them children. Our reading today emphasizes that we should rejoice because the Lord is coming soon. Paul goes on to say that we need to pray and God himself will provide peace beyond anything we can understand, especially when we can’t understand the horrors of this world.
Jesus, himself said, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
Apply:
Meditate today on Jesus’ words, “But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” Tell your family how much you love them. Continue to pray for the families, friends, teachers and members of the Newtown, CT community who face another Christmas without their loved ones.
Pray:
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for leaving the comfort and perfection of Heaven to come to share with us in flesh and blood in order to deliver me from eternal separation from You. Thank you for sharing in my weakness and putting hope and joy in my heart through Your birth in a manger.