Devotion.al

Tag: Advent

Devotionals specifically for the Advent Season.

  • The Grace God Gives

    The Grace God Gives

    2 Chronicles 30:13-27, Nehemiah 8:7-12, Jeremiah 15:16

    The passage in Nehemiah has some depth. First, the people (the Jewish people) were so ignorant of their own history and , that both had to be explained to them. As they learned what their God had instructed them on how to live, many began to weep (mourn) as they understood that because of their failures, they were separated from God. However, the Levites comforted the people, leading them to understand that this was not a time to , but a time for . God’s forbearing at work.

    We see same that same grace in 2 Chronicles. The people were celebrating Passover wrongly (they were ritually unclean). Yet, instead of condemnation, there was grace. In this case, the grace was after some affliction, but one can infer that the affliction was a result of not doing things as required. Yet, instead of being cast out, they celebrate with , praising God. So much joy poured out into doubling the celebration!

    The experience of this kind of joy can only come through the awareness of just how much grace God gives. No matter how much grace God may pour out, the passages makes it clear, their hearts turned toward God first before they received grace and/or were healed. God called them first, yet, God’s , grace, love and doesn’t show up until they turn to God with repentant hearts.

    Note also that while the people’s hearts may have been turned to God, there was still a need for intercession by others. This is important to grasp. We all need others to intercede for us.

    From our perspective, the Jewish people were just minding their own business, where they were. They were trying within their contest to fit into the world around them. In fact, much of their problem was indeed that they were successful in fitting into the world around them, so much so, that they wandered away from God.

    1) Do you struggle with fitting into the world around you? Do you struggle fitting into what you think is the or world?

    2) Why is understanding one’s starting point essential to feeling joy?

    3) What is the similarity between joy and happiness? What’s the difference?

    KD) What makes you the most joy-filled? How does that make you think about God?

  • Trusting Joy

    Trusting Joy

    Psalm 37:3-6, Joel 2:12-13, Isaiah 12:2-6, James 1:2-4

    Integrity, so it is said, is doing the right thing when nobody is watching. It can be tempting to do the wrong thing when no one is watching. It is often easy to do the right thing when everyone is cheering.

    It’s when no one is cheering, or people are even grumbling or threatening those who do right, that we come to the hard part of living out our .

    “Trust in the LORD, and do what is good…”
    Psalm 37:3

    “…I will trust [the LORD] and not be afraid…”
    Isaiah 12:2

    When it gets tough to do right, all we can do is trust God. Sounds easy, but how often do we fail to trust God, and instead trust ourselves, , or things?

    James calls on us to be filled with joy in these situations. Joy? Yes, even in these situations. Perhaps, joy is most critical in these situations. The to feel joy is fully reliant on trusting God.

    Let us pray:

    Dear Heavenly Father, we know with our heads that we need to trust you. As we are frail beings, help our hearts to trust you further than yesterday, and even more so tomorrow. Grant us the peaceful assurance of your grace, , and . Help us to continue to seek the coming Messiah, and to be filled with joy of knowing you.

    Holy Spirit, be with us through the remainder of the season, stirring our hearts to not take Christmas for granted, but to be stirred into action of joy-filled praise of the Father, , and You. Continue to quicken our hearts and aid us in our journey of faith.

    Jesus, Son of God, thank you for becoming like us. Thank you for experiencing a life like ours. We are thankful that you know temptation, yet did not sin, giving us strength to choose the God-lit path of faith that goes through the .

    Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we lift you up on our praise. Help us to joyfully sing your praise, for your glory.

    Amen.

  • The Hope Beyond Us

    Psalm 38, Isaiah 32:10-20, Joel 2:12-13

    In regards to their salvation, many people struggle with two particular areas. The first is pride. Realizing that one’s salvation involves the surrendering of self, a person can stop right at the . Holding onto one’s self (one’s pride) can keep a person from taking the final step of into God’s salvation.

    The other area is . Often the struggle with sin goes hand-in-hand with pride. If we look around us at the world, however, we can see that the world’s definition of a “good” person might not God’s definition of “good.” You may have heard a phrase similar to, “good enough is the enemy of great,” usually used in the business world. Let’s take that with sin. Good enough could be “better than the other person” or “everybody’s doing it” or “no one else is getting hurt by it.” Great is God. If we’re “good enough” are we the enemy of God?

    It sounds harsh. David, according to the world, was “good enough.” He committed sins, just like other leaders. He killed people in war, just like others. He was, it seems, a weak parent. While he wasn’t an enemy of God, per se, at the , his greatest project of building God’s temple was handed over to his son because of the blood he had shed.

    There are consequences of doing wrong. Our legal system takes care of some things. Our social circles take care of other things. At the end of our lives, God takes care of the things, as we stand before the throne.

    The passage in Isaiah takes us through the good enough, through the consequences, and to the . The passage in Joel calls on us to be honest with ourselves, and what we have done, all in the context of God’s , , and .

    To get to the best part of the story of ourselves, we need to dig into the ugly part of ourselves, hearts conflicted with pride and sin.

    1) Why do you think it is important to know the starting point of a journey?

    2) Does the starting point of a journey determine the end of the journey?

    3) Why do you think people judge/condemn others (or themselves) for the starting point of their journey, rather than focusing on getting to the right end?

    KD) What does it mean to you to be good enough? Why would you want to be better?

  • Peace and Holiness

    Peace and Holiness

    Ezekiel 37:24-28, Romans 12:9-18, Hebrews 12:7-15

    “I will make a of peace with them…”
    Ezekiel 37:26

    “Live in harmony with one another…”
    Romans 12:16

    “If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peach with everyone.”
    Romans 12:18

    “Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness—without it no one will see the Lord.”
    Hebrews 12:14

    When God speaks to Ezekiel, the consequences of a life outside of and away from God are showing up to the Israelites, and it is not a pretty picture. Something to understand throughout Ezekiel is that while the consequences of not living life with God is bad, God promises . Especially a hope which cannot be earned. God makes the new covenant of peace.

    We, too, have a covenant with peace to live out. It is the covenant of peace with . In Romans 12, Paul is talking specifically about the peace between members of the . However, this peace is supposed to also spill out into our relationships outside of the framily.

    The author of Hebrews, however, makes what can be chilling ties to peace with others: holiness and divine life. Mercifully, the author of Hebrews uses the “pursue.” Other translations have it as “strive for” or “chase after.” As we read yesterday, peace requires effort.

    Peace and holiness are tied by the author of the Hebrews. This is not unreasonable, as the ultimate peace is given by God who is holy. The importance of living at peace with one another—especially, but not exclusively, in the church framily—cannot be overstated. If the Children of God are not at peace with one another, what kind of peace can they share with others?

    1) What does it mean to you that “no one will see the Lord” when it comes to being at peace with one another and holiness?

    2) Is being at peace with one another important to you? Why or why not?

    KD) We all struggle with being at peace with one another. Are you pursuing peace with others? What are you willing to up to have peace?

  • Working At Peace

    Working At Peace

    Psalm 29, Romans 5:1-11, Philippians 4:2-9,

    “The LORD gives his people ; the LORD blesses his people with .”
    Psalm 29:11

    “…we have peace with God through our Lord Christ.”
    Romans 5:1

    “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
    Philippians 4:7

    Through Jesus Christ we are at peace with God (reconciled). This is also expressed as being God’s children, the LORD’s people. So, God gives us strength. This strength, the through Christ, is a peace that surpasses all understanding.

    Peace isn’t a one-time thing. Peace is not something that just happens. Peace is hard work. For us to be reconciled to God (“…peace with God…”), the of God came to earth, became one of us, and died for all of us. If Jesus died for this peace, why do we ever think it is easy?

    It takes strength to be at peace. It takes effort to be at peace. “That person cut me off, they…” Be at peace? Have you driven around here? Just driving can cause one to not be at peace with the people around them! Then there are the , work, and general people dynamics which just makes being at peace hard!

    PEACE IS HARD WORK! “I’m at peace about this.” If one is truly at peace about something, there was effort involved. Sometimes we are at “peace” because we are fatalistic about it. Sometimes we are at “peace”, because we “know” the result. Sometimes we are at peace because we surrendered it to God.

    1) Why do you think “spiritual” peace is viewed as something “just” given?

    2) Have you ever had to work really hard to be at peace about something?

    3) Should you feel guilty about having to work at being at peace?

    4) Is being at peace the effort?

    KD) Are you at peace with God? If not, why not? If you are, how?

  • Light Walking

    Light Walking

    Psalm 4, Isaiah 26:1-13, Matthew 5:13-16

    “Many are asking, ‘Who can show us anything good?’ Let the light of your face shine on us LORD.”
    Psalm 4:6

    “I long for you in the night; yes, my spirit within me diligently seeks you…”
    Isaiah 26:9

    Yesterday, we read about being the light of Christ. In the context of yesterday’s reading, it is the light of Christ that shines onto and into a world of . Today is Monday. People went to work or school or out into the public. Did you? Did you remember that you are a bearer of Christ’s light of peace? Or were you the person that hid the light underneath the basket.

    Have you ever walked around with a lit candle (or candles, if we’re talking birthday cakes)? Think about walking and the . If you walk too , the candle goes out. If you put your hand in front of the candle, the light going ahead of you is blocked. Lastly, if you stare at the candle while walking to watch and make sure the candle doesn’t go out, your eyes begin to hurt, and you can temporarily blind yourself.

    Too fast? In this day and , it is far too easy to go too fast. Too fast driving, too fast , and, most importantly, too fast to have deep relationships.

    Hand in front? If you prevent the light from guiding and informing your path, you will end up someplace other than Jesus wants you.

    Staring at the candle? Too focused on doing “all the right things” (the light is good) causes one to focus not so much on something bad. It also blinds us to what is around us and the need to do something about it. What’s the point of bringing the light without sharing the peace?

    1) We each have one of those areas where we are focused on doing stuff and forget people. Where are you being too fast in your ?

    2) We all struggle with weakness and , and so try to protect the light of Christ we have. Yet, if we spend all our efforts protecting it, it does not its purpose. How are you trying to control things that is keeping God from working through you?

    3) Focusing on the flame? Being like Jesus, is not staring at the light that he gives, but doing what he did. You are not Jesus, however, you’re going to make a mistake. You’re going to make a mess. Focus on carrying the light into the mess of your life and the lives of . Where do you need to spread the light, rather than focusing on your understanding of the light?

  • Quenching Our Light

    Quenching Our Light

    Isaiah 9:6-7, John 8:12-19, Philippians 4:4-9

    We are sheltered from the dark. For the most of us, light is but a moment away, whether it is the dining room light or a flashlight. If you’ve ever spent a night out in the wilderness with a new moon (i.e., completely shaded by the Earth, and not giving off light), you experienced a wild . In darkness, even in the “safe” darkness of our homes, our hearing becomes more sensitive, and we have a tendency to jump at noises that we don’t even notice in the day.

    “It is better to light the candle than to curse the darkness,” said William L. Watkinson in his sermon, “The Invincible Strategy.” The doesn’t turn a blind eye to the darkness that covers the world. Instead, the Christian chooses to bear the light of Christ into the world. In a dark room, a candle can shed enough light to make us feel more comfortable. When confronted by darkness, light brings us .

    In a similar way, Christ, the of God, brought light into the world, and our lives. The light of Christ, if we allow it, burns away the darkness inside of us that often seems to overtake us. When the light of Christ pushes away the dark, we can rest in the warmth of Christ and find peace. How this works is a spiritual . That it works is testified to by generations of Christ followers.

    Yet, we often are the worst quenchers of Christ’s light in ourselves and others. Whether it’s through envy, greed, pain (/emotional/spiritual), accident, or error, many things can quench the light of Christ in others. We can quench our own light by putting too much emphasis on the ways (and errors) of the world and others, and continually looking left, right, backwards, forwards, instead of looking up to Christ.

    1) How is our in the dark at home, similar to the struggles we have a Christian ?

    2) We often compare ourselves to others, or hold ourselves to a very high standard, when carrying the light of Christ. How is that good? How is that bad? What is the dividing point between good and bad?

    3/KD) Being the light can be quite simple, but we often make it hard for ourselves, and for others. What is something simple that you will do today to be the light of Christ for someone else? What will you do tomorrow?

  • To Keep or To Make Peace

    To Keep or To Make Peace

    Psalm 16, Matthew 5:1-10, 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

    “When a person’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at with him.”
    Psalm 16:7

    In many parts of the world, the Nations has stationed peacekeepers. Their purpose is to be a soothing in the midst of conflict that has, temporarily, stopped bloodshedding. However, they do not make peace. Their goal is to keep conflict from breaking back out.

    Often, sadly, they are merely symbolic. They often are not empowered to actually make peace, and they will usually be pulled out of an area they were stationed in if hostilities rise again. This is not to say that the UN Peacekeepers should violently enforce the peace. That would be counterproductive.

    In daily , people will do many things to keep the peace, even if it is not (even from their own ) the best thing spiritually, socially, economically, or physically. Peace is kept by doing nothing. It is a peace of questionable value.

    In this section of Matthew called the Beatitudes, the word peacemaker is nearest to reconciler. In other words, “Blessed are the reconcilers.” states that part of the life is to be reconcilers. We are not only to be to God (through ) and fellow Christians but to help the world to come to the table and to be reconciled to God and each other.

    Imagine the whole world reconciled to God and each other. That would be a peace having.

    1. For you, what is the difference between a peacekeeper and a peacemaker?
    2. Being a peacemaker is one of the callings of the Christian life. What are you doing to be a peacemaker?
    3. On the playground, in the classroom, online, or at home, what do you do that isn’t peacemaking? What is one thing you can do this coming week to change that?