12/24-12/30

Advent Week 4 Devotional: God with Us

After weeks, or months, of waiting and preparation the day and time has finally arrived. It is the week of Christmas! The day(s) we celebrate our dear Savior’s birth. Yes, celebrations have been taking place throughout the Advent season, but now is the time to “fall on your knees” as described in the Christmas song O Holy Night. Now is the time for us to sing “sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus” (O Holy Night). This baby born in Bethlehem and placed in a manger is described by the apostle Paul in this way, “God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ” (Colossians 1:19 NLT). Somehow the fullness of the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth dwelled in the baby born in Bethlehem on Christmas morn. Matthew, the gospel writer, shared this detail about the Christmas story, “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, ‘God is with us’” (Matthew 1:23 NRSV). Yes, God came to be with us in the person of Jesus. The source of life, grace, hope, love, joy, and peace came to the earth to save us from our sins. Christ came to reveal the way to God, the will of our heavenly Father, and the ways of life and the Lord. Yes, let us “praise His name forever” (O Holy Night). Christ is born!

12/17-12/23

Advent Week 3 Devotional: Good News of Great Joy

After hundreds of years of being enslaved in Egypt, when the Hebrew people were finally set free from their oppressors they began singing and praising the Lord. A psalmist described it this way, “he {God} brought his people out with joy, his chosen ones with singing” (Psalm 105:43 NRSV). God’s deliverance of his people resulted in praising the Lord, our Deliverer. Our response to what God does for us, including delivering us from sin and death, should be joyful worship and adoration.

 

When the angel visited the shepherds on the night Jesus was born, the angel proclaimed, “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11 NRSV). The angel reminds us that the story of Christmas is good news for all people. It is a gospel message of great joy for everyone! The source of hope, love, joy, and peace chose to be born among us and abide with us. Through our faith in Jesus and the indwelling of the Spirit of Christ we have an overflowing joy that can be seen when we worship God and tell others the good news, as well as when we give cheerfully and live generously. Don’t try to hide it, but instead let the joy of the Lord that is in you overflow into singing, proclaiming, giving, and generosity.

 

During the Advent season, we are reminded that God is the source of joy. This daily devotional for the third week of the season is designed to help us focus on the ”good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10 NRSV). The format is designed for you to use as much or little as you have time to use each day. Below is a guide for the daily use of this Advent devotional:

12/10-12/16

Advent Week 2 Devotionals: Preparing for the Lord

The beginning of The Gospel According to Mark includes quotes from the prophets Malachi and Isaiah. God Almighty shared this through the prophet Malachi about four hundred years before John the Baptist’s ministry began, “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple” (Malachi 3:1 NIV). Mark wants those who hear and read the gospel message about Jesus the Christ to know that John the baptizer was the messenger God sent to prepare the way for the arrival of the Lord. To prepare people for the coming of the Lord, John preached about “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” out in the wilderness along the Jordan River (Mark 1:4 NIV). He invited those who came to hear him to respond by changing their thoughts and behaviors so that they could set their minds on the Lord, and then receive forgiveness through baptism. Jews flocked to him from Jerusalem and Judea. Mark also wants us to know that John’s messages included this about Jesus, “After me comes one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:7-8 NIV). John was preparing people for the arrival of the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Are you prepared to welcome Jesus the Christ this Christmas? What do you need to do, or stop doing, to get ready? Repent? Ask for forgiveness? Offer forgiveness to yourself or others? Get baptized? Help other people to see the glory of the Lord (Isaiah 40:5)? How will you help others during this season to be prepared to respond to Jesus the Messiah?

Advent Week 1 Devotional: Waiting on the Lord

For more than two thousand years after God made a promise to Abram that “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you”, the descendants of the patriarch and matriarch of the Israelites waited for it to be fulfilled (Genesis 12:3 NIV). During that season of waiting in about 587 or 586 BCE, the Babylonians overtook Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple of God, and burned down the city. The final kingdom of the descendants of Abraham and Sarah was no more. For hundreds of years after the fall of Jerusalem the people of God waited for the long-foretold Messiah. And then, that first Christmas day in the little town of Bethlehem, the waiting was over. Jesus, the Messiah, the one who would bless all people of the earth, arrived to usher in a new kingdom, God’s kingdom, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 1:18-25 and Isaiah 9:6-7). The God who created the universe and all that exists came to the earth to be with us in the person of Jesus (Colossians 1:15-16). We don’t know much about his life between his birth and the start of his ministry. After his three-year ministry from about age thirty to thirty-three, his death upon a Roman cross, and resurrection, Christ ascended to heaven. As Jesus’ earliest followers were “looking up into the sky” witnessing Christ ascending into heaven, angels reminded them that “Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go” (Acts 1:10-11 NIV).

 

Advent is an annual reminder that there was a very long season of waiting for Christ’s first arrival. We continue to wait with hopeful expectation for Jesus’ second coming (Matthew 24:36-44). This Advent season during weekly worship services and as part of this Living Faith Devotional you are invited to use your time of waiting, preparing, and celebrating Jesus’ arrival to focus your heart and mind on the source of hope, love, joy and peace. This daily devotional for the first week of the season is designed to help us set our thoughts on “Waiting on the Lord.” The format is designed for you to use as much or little as you have time to use each day. Below is a guide for the weekly and daily use of this Advent devotional:

11/26-12/2 Overview

This week we will read and study the last two letters in the New Testament from Paul the apostle. The letters are known as The Letter of Paul to Titus and The Second Letter of Paul to Timothy. These letters were most likely written after the final chapter in the book of Acts during the final years of the apostle’s life. In the letters Paul writes to two men he mentored, taught, and sent to oversee churches. Titus was a Greek convert to Christianity sent by Paul to a difficult place for ministry and mission work known as the island of Crete. The letter to Titus reveals Paul’s missionary strategy for planting churches for the transformation of individuals, households, towns, and eventually the entire world. The second letter to Timothy is a farewell message as Paul is in the midst of a trial that is not going well. He foresee his life being “poured out like a drink offering, and the time for his departure is near” (2 Timothy 4:6 NIV).

 

Through all the hardships Paul endured during his decades of missionary journeys, ministry, and imprisonments he “kept the faith” in Christ Jesus until the end of his life on earth (2 Timothy 4:7 NIV). Paul’s final letter to Timothy is a reminder for us to continue walking and living by faith as part of Jesus’ church to finish the journey until our chapter on the other side of eternity in the presence of God begins.

11/19-11/25 Overview

11/12-11/18 Overview

This week we will read and study The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians, which is similar to his letter to the Colossians. The exact time when the letter was written is unknown. It could have been written during Paul’s house arrest in Rome shortly after writing Colossians and Philemon. Some scholars believe that letter was written for the purpose of being shared with churches in various locations in addition to Ephesus. Although the letter is similar in style to those attributed to Paul, some biblical scholars believe that this New Testament letter was written by a student or followers of Paul as a way to continue sharing the teachings of the apostle either near the end of his life or after his death. Thankfully, God continues to speak through the words and messages of Ephesians nearly two thousand years after the letter was written, just as the Holy Spirit used it to speak to the people of Christ’s churches during the first century.

11/5-11/11 Overview

At the end of the book of Acts the apostle Paul is under house arrest in the city of Rome. Luke notes that, “He lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hinderance” (Acts 28:30-31 NRSV). Although the account ends there, Paul’s ministry continued. This week we will read and study The Letter of Paul to the Colossians, as well as his very short letter to Philemon. Biblical scholars believe that these letters were probably written during Paul’s imprisonment in Rome in about 60 A.D.

10/22-10/28 Overview

This week we are concluding our read through of the book of Acts that began in April. Between the end of Acts and the beginning of the Advent season in December, we will read letters Paul wrote during his imprisonment. If you have not read the previous chapters of The Acts of the Apostles with us, you are invited to WATCH the Bible Project videos that summarize Acts. Below are the links for the summary videos available on YouTube:

A Book of Acts Summary (Part 1) by the Bible Project:

 

A Book of Acts Summary (Part 2) by the Bible Project:

 

This week we will read Acts 27 & 28, the final two chapters of the book. The chapters document Paul’s long journey to the city of Rome, as well as his ongoing ministry “proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ” during the two years he spent under house arrest in the heart of the Roman empire (Acts 28:31 NRSV). The end of the book may feel like there is a lack of a conclusion, but that seems to be intentional. Luke, the traveling companion of Paul who wrote The Gospel According to Luke and The Acts of the Apostles, reminds us with the open ended conclusion to Acts that continuing to be witnesses for Christ to the ends of the earth, sharing the gospel message with those who have not yet heard it, inviting everyone to respond with us by repenting and trusting in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, submitting to the lordship of Christ, joining other believers by doing life and ministry together as part of the church, and continuing Jesus’ work until he returns is our responsibility during this time in history.

10/22-10/28 Overview

This week we are returning to the book of Acts. If you have not read the previous chapters with us, you are invited to WATCH the Bible Project videos that summarizes Acts. If you have been reading Acts this year, you may find it helpful to watch the Part 2 Summary video as a reminder of what you have read and where the story goes as we continue reading. Below are the links for the summary videos available on YouTube:

A Book of Acts Summary (Part 1) by the Bible Project:

 

A Book of Acts Summary (Part 2) by the Bible Project:

 

This week we will read Acts 25 & 26, the account of Paul on trial in Caesarea among the Roman leaders, his testimonial that he shared with Agrippa, the king of the region near the Sea of Galilee, and the beginning of his journey to Rome to await a trial from his accusers in the presence of Caesar.