Tag Archives: advent devotional

December 8, 2023 · 5:30 AM

God’s Peace On Earth

Peaceful. That’s not a word I would use to describe the Christmas season. Hectic is the word I would use. Going store to store to buy presents, looking for parking everywhere you go, going to the kid’s Christmas plays, attending Christmas parties, cleaning house for family that’s coming and so much more. Our schedule is full this time of year, and sometimes we accidentally double book.

When Jesus was born, Bethlehem was just as busy. It was over crowded because of the census. Families that hadn’t seen each other in ages were getting together. There were lines everywhere you went, and the locals were hard at work. Jesus was born into chaos, but the message to the shepherds (and us) is that He came to bring us peace no matter what time of year it is. Just like it did for the shepherds, let God’s peace draw you away from the hustle and bustle, and move you closer to Jesus.

Here are some Bible verses on the peace that God gives.

1. At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises: Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.

Luke 2:13-14 MSG

2. And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].

PHILIPPIANS 4:7 AMP

3. May the Lord himself, who is our source of peace, give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all.

2 Thessalonians 3:16 GNB

4. You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

Isaiah 26:3 NLT

5. I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

John 14:27 NLT

Photo by Luke Stackpoole on Unsplash

I’m taking my annual break from writing this week. I hope you enjoyed this devotion I wrote a few years ago. I’ll be writing new devotions again starting next Tuesday.

Experiencing Humanity

Earlier this year, one of our local radio DJ’s decided to see what it was like to be homeless. He created a backstory in case anyone asked him how he got there. He also had a police officer go undercover with him to protect him. Each morning he would slip away to call the radio station to report his findings. I looked forward to his calls each day just so I could gain more insight into how we as Christians can help these people who have been displaced from their homes and our society. The experience changed him and the listeners. Even though it was only for a week, his experience allowed him to identify with the homeless population in a way that he never had before. From not being able to get into the shelter on a cold night, to not being able to eat, to having people pretend he was invisible changed his perspective and how he would help going forward.

As we begin celebrating Christmas, I can’t help but think that this man was mirroring what God did a couple of millenniums ago. When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, God walked with them daily. After they sinned, they were cast out of the garden and became wanders on the earth. Their sin also separated us and created a fallen world of people far from God. We became guilty of breaking God’s laws and fell under the power of sin. God gave us the Law through Moses, but we were unable to live up to it. We continuously fell short of the desires God had for us. Our sin created a barrier that kept us from being able to cross over to Him. However, when we couldn’t go to Him, He came to us to set us right with Him. He was able to bridge the divide from our side.

Romans 8:3 says, “Yet God sent us his Son in human form to identify with human weakness. Clothed with humanity, God’s Son gave his body to be the sin-offering so that God could once and for all condemn the guilt and power of sin” (TPT). Because He took on flesh and lived among us, He is able to identify with you. He was tempted like you are, hurt like you do and felt the separation from God. He also broke the power of sin over your life and removed the guilt from your name. Christmas is much more than the birth of Jesus. It’s God coming into the world so He could relate to us, be with us and save us. As you celebrate and share gifts, don’t forget to celebrate your salvation through Him and the new life He has given you.

Photo by Greyson Joralemon on Unsplash

I’m taking my annual break from writing this week. I hope you enjoyed this devotion I wrote a few years ago. I’ll be writing new devotions again starting next Tuesday.

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December 6, 2023 · 5:30 AM

Finding True Peace

One of the coolest Christmas stories I’ve ever read about was the Christmas Truce of World War I. On Christmas Day in 1914 on the Western front if the war, some German soldiers climbed out of their foxholes unarmed and approached the British lines calling out, “Merry Christmas!” After realizing it wasn’t a trick, the British soldiers climbed out of their foxholes and shook hands with their enemy. In many places they began to sing Christmas carols, Exchange cigarettes and food. Some even played a game of soccer. German Lieutenant Zehmisch said, “Christmas, the celebration of Love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as friends for a time.” The next day, the picked up arms again and went back to war.

Since Adam and Eve sinned, there had been hostility between God and man. We had rejected His rule over our lives and decided we had a better way. He established a temporary covenant with Moses through the Law to make peace between us. However, we kept breaking that peace by going back on our word. In Isaiah 9:6, God announced that a child would be born who would be the Prince of Peace. He would be the one to restore the peace between us. Then, on the night Jesus was born, the angel appeared to the shepherds in the Bethlehem field saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill towards men” (KJV). God, in essence, came out of His foxhole, approached us saying, “Merry Christmas!” The difference was, this wasn’t to be a temporary cease fire. God was trying to establish true peace between us.

Ephesians 2 describes how God was trying to establish true peace with us. Verse 17 summarizes it, “For the Messiah has come to preach this sweet message of peace to you, the ones who were distant, and to those who are near” (TPT). No matter how far away from God you are, He wants to establish peace with you. In John 14:27 Jesus, the Messiah, said, “I leave the gift of peace with you—my peace. Not the kind of fragile peace given by the world, but my perfect peace.“ We only know temporary peace here on this earth, but God desires to create eternal peace with us through His son. When we accept Him as our Savior, we can have that peace that surpasses understanding even while the world around us is in chaos. True peace can be ours, but it’s only found in Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

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I’m taking my annual break from writing this week. I hope you enjoyed this devotion I wrote a few years ago. I’ll be writing new devotions again starting next Tuesday.

Christmas Eve Communion

One of my favorite traditions at Christmas is going to a candle light communion service. At a time when we are celebrating the birth of Christ, it’s a good reminder of why He was born. At the last supper, Jesus said, “As often as you do this (communion), do this in remembrance of me.” So in celebration of His birth, we take time to remember His death which is why He came. He wanted to reconcile us to the Father through His death, and also become our Advocate. Because He took on flesh, He was tempted as we are and can empathize with everything we go through.

I love what Hebrews 4:15 says about Jesus. It says, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin” (NLT). In wrapping Himself in flesh and blood, He also wrapped Himself in our pains, our sufferings, our fears, our joys and our temptations so that He could be our advocate to the Father. He understands what you are going through today and is praying to the Father right now for you and me.

So on Christmas Eve, I choose to remember all of these things in His life as I celebrate His death on the cross. I take time to remember that it wasn’t His birth that saved me. It was His death on the cross and resurrection three days later. Without living a sinless life and dying on the cross, I would still be lost and in sin. On Christmas I will remember and celebrate His birth, but I also take time to remember His life, death and resurrection in order to be my advocate, my salvation and my righteousness.

Photo by Zach Lucero on Unsplash

I’m taking my annual break from writing this week. I hope you enjoyed this devotion I wrote a few years ago. I’ll be writing new devotions again starting next Tuesday.

The Greatest Gift

Since it’s Christmas time, I have a question for you. What’s the best gift you ever received? Some of you might say a ring, or a car, or a bike, or a child. Each of us will have different answers depending on where we are in life, but I’m pretty sure that none of you said that going through difficult times was the greatest gift you ever got. However, looking back on your life, and seeing how that dark time made you into who you are today, you might want to reconsider. Yes, I’m suggesting your darkest days could be the greatest gift you’ve ever received,

Most of us think of those times, and try to put them behind us, or pretend that they never existed. But I believe God uses those times to move us into position for our future, to develop in us the qualities of character necessary for the future He has for us, and to grow our faith in Him. James 1:2-4 says, “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way” (MSG).

Those final sentences are tough for us to hear. When we are in a trial or test, we want them to end quickly. We pray and beg God to get us out of them. When we do get out of them early, the work is unfinished that He was trying to do. In Max Lucado’s book “The Anvil”, he writes that of God has you in these times, rejoice. It means He still thinks you’re worth reshaping. He hasn’t discarded you as useless and put you with the other tools the He no longer uses.

If you happen to be going through one of these times right now, I’d like you to look at the next verse in James. It says, “If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it.” God will be there to help you through instead of out of it. Pray for His help, but also pray to ask Him to develop in you what He needs to during this time. Right now it may not seem like a gift, but what God does in us during the hardest times is often one of He greatest gifts He gives.

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