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Advent Day 9

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What I’m listening to: Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley

Welcome to Day 9 of our Advent series! If you’re up to speed, congrats(!), if not, be sure to check out the previous posts. The first one explains a little more about the series. Now, let’s take a look at today’s verses from Isaiah. 

 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

                         Isaiah 7:13-14

Have you ever felt like you just couldn’t wait any longer for something? Whether it be the finish of the school year or a seemingly endless meeting, it’s easy to feel impatient. However, this is why God has offered us one more gift. Today is our last day in our four day series-within-a-series. We previously talked about three of the four gifts that God offers us: the gifts of love, faith and hope. Our last gift is the gift of peace. We often think of patience as different than peace, but they are really almost inseparable. Without patience for God’s promises to be fufilled how could we be at peace? The Bible is filled with stories of people who disobeyed the Lord and shattered their peace because of their impatience (looking at you Abraham). While it is easy to want everything to happen right now, it is always worth it when we let God unfold His plan in His time. 

Prayer Prompt: Ask the Lord to give you patience, even with people or situations that may seem exasperating. 

Advent Day 8

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What I’m listening to: The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole

Welcome to Day 8 of our Advent series! If you’re up to date, awesome, if not, be sure to check out the previous posts. The first one explains a little more about the series. Now, let’s go back to where we last left off in Matthew. 

 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”) 

                  Matthew 1:22-23 (NIV)

It’s easy to overlook the small verses, but it’s often the small verses that offer us the most hope. For the last two days we’ve been talking about the first two of the four gifts that God gives us. On the first day we talked about the gift of love; yesterday we talked about the gift of faith. Today we are going to be discussing the third gift: the gift of hope. This verse might seem like its reiterating what we already know, that Jesus is the Son of God, but it’s also saying something else. God keeps his promises. We can have the gift of hope because He does. We can have hope in the prophecies in the Bible because we have already seen many of them fufilled. It may not always be easy, but feeding our hope will always be worth it. 

Prayer Prompt: It can be easy to feel hopeless, especially during the holidays. Ask God what you can do to help Him this Christmas season. 

Advent Day 7 

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What I’m listening to: White Christmas by Bing Crosby 

Wow! We are a week into our advent series! As always, if you’re new, be sure to check out my previous posts in the series. The first post also has some additional information about our Advent devotionals. Now let’s get started! 

 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

                   Matthew 1:20-21 (NIV)

As Christians, we often recognize God’s love for us in the many blessings He bestows. Yesterday we talked about how God gives us four gifts, the first of which is the gift of  love. Today, we are going to be talking about the second gift, the gift of faith. Here, Joseph’s faith in the Lord keeps him from quietly divorcing Mary after he finds out she’s pregnant. It can be easy for us to not want to use our faith to believe that God knows best. We want to do the things we want, the way we want. However, God offers us this gift so that we may humble ourselves before Him and let Him guide our lives for the best. Joseph may have known the law, but God knew the way. 

Prayer Prompt: Ask God to help you use the gift of faith to guide your path. Think of  something that you have been feeling stubborn about handing over to Him, and ask Him to use His wisdom to help you resolve it. 

Advent Day 6

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What I’m Listening to: Meet Me Under The Mistletoe by Randy Travis

Welcome to Day 6 of our Advent series! If you’re up to speed, congrats(!), if not, be sure to check out the previous posts. The first one explains a little more about the series. Now, here’s today’s reading from Matthew. 

 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.                          

                          Matthew 1:18-19 (NIV)

This Christmas, there are many gifts that we will receive, from video games, to new clothes, to the God-giving blessings that we to often overlook. God gives us four main gifts, each of which I’ll be talking about over the next few days. Today we will be talking about the gift of love. Joseph had the gift of love, both for the Lord, as well as for Mary. Everyone has the gift of love, but we often don’t offer it to one another. We worry that we will be rejected or made fun of if we try to love people. We must remember that we, as Christians, understand the love the God offers us. It is our duty to love one another as He loved us. 

Prayer Prompt: Ask God to show you someone who needs your love. It could be a friend, a family member or even a stranger.