advent day 24 – waiting

Can you imagine it? Waiting for years—never leaving this place of worship. Always looking. Always waiting.

 

Would today be the day?

Would he come this afternoon?

How will I know when it is him?

Will he come?

Today?

 

 

Simeon and Anna—they show great faithfulness. They inspire us with patience that has no regard for impressions or reputation or conventional wisdom. They wait because they believe. They know that God will come—that he has promised to come. And they will not be found elsewhere. They will not miss him.

 

They seek him and set all else aside so they might find him.

 

As we come closer to the day of celebration; as we anticipate the birthday of our Savior we know that world picks up its pace. Lists of to-do’s are getting longer, schedules are getting fuller, demands are growing louder. Will we make room to wait? Will we be caught running and doing and fretting? Or will we be found waiting? Looking? Ready for the day of celebration.

 

This week we celebrate the coming of God With Us. Don’t miss it for all the busyness that offers to sweep you away. Be still and know that God is God—and that God is here.

  

Day Twenty-Four Reading: Luke 2:22-38

 

As you read about Simeon and Anna consider their examples. What kind of prominence do you give in your own life to opportunities to proclaim Christ?

 

What would it look like for you to “wait” for Christ to be revealed so that you may proclaim him?

 

Prayer—Father may we be attentive and watchful for you each day, that we might draw others attention to you.

 

advent day 22 – gifts of worship

These men are mysterious. Were they kings? Were they simply wise men from another place? Were they men of faith? Did they truly understand the significance of this child they sought to honor? Whatever became of them after this encounter? Scholars debate and we wonder.

 

Shouldn’t our wonder be over the depth of their sacrifice to worship? Shouldn’t we be inspired by their pursuit of the Messiah with gifts to bear? Should all they gave up, all they endured, all they experienced as inconvenience just so they might bow at his feet draw our hearts towards genuine worship?

 

Often our worship is done in convenient times and convenient places. Too often we can find ourselves distracted as we approach and only partially engaged as we bow—if we even dare to bow. Our backs are tired, after all. And bowing…well, that’s just not something we are comfortable with.

 

This story of Jesus’ birth reveals shepherds of lowly station who were elevated and deemed worthy of an audience with the child-King. And it reveals these mysterious men of high rank and wealth lowering themselves, inconveniencing themselves for just a chance to adore and worship this God-with-us child come to save us.

 

How will we worship this coming week? Will we seek to give gifts of praise and humble posture? Will we seek out an audience with the child-King? May today’s reading of the wisest of men—men covering great distance and much that was unknown—inspire us to be wise as well. Wise enough to seek out the Savior and bow in worship.

 

Day Twenty-Two Reading: Matthew 2:1-12

 

The Wise Men left all behind in search of the Messiah so that they might worship him. Do you find evidence of sacrifice in your own attempts to worship, or is worship simply an act of convenience for you?

 

What gifts do you bring as you seek Jesus this week?

 

Prayer—Father, may we worship you with our whole lives and in sacrifice, not just in convenience.

 

advent day 19 – the morning light of heaven

And you, my little son,
will be called the prophet of the Most High,
because you will prepare the way for the Lord.

You will tell his people how to find salvation
through forgiveness of their sins.

Because of God’s tender mercy,
the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us,

to give light to those who sit in darkness

and in the shadow of death,
and to guide us to the path of peace.

 

It amazes me to consider what Zechariah knew; to realize what he understood. Granted, he obviously didn’t comprehend that the Savior coming would one day die—willingly. He probably did not grasp how Jesus would turn religion on its head. But just recognizing that he understood the Messiah was coming, that he saw his own son as the prophet who would prepare the way. It is truly amazing to comprehend his level of faith and trust in what God was doing.

 

And I love the way he speaks to his son, the way he tells John of his part in the coming of Jesus. And in the end, it causes me even more appreciation for what Jesus was coming to do—what he has done. And it gives me hope for the future of his return, when all things will be brought to fullness in him.

 

This is truly a momentous and beautiful birth we look to celebrate just a short week and a day from now. Jesus—God with us—come down from the Father to give us life and hope through the forgiveness of our sins.

 

The morning light of heaven has indeed broken upon us. I can hardly wait to celebrate it!

 

 

Day Nineteen Reading: Luke 1:67-80

 

In what ways has Jesus brought light to the darkness in your life?

 

Prayer—Father, we thank you for the way of peace into which Jesus guides our feet.

 

advent day 18 – mercy

He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him.

 

Mercy. That’s what Christmas celebrates. Mercy on unprecedented levels. Mercy given on proportions unrivaled from the beginning of time until now. For God to give his own. For God to give himself. This is what we celebrate. This is why we give gifts. We give to remember what we’ve been given. We give to stir up the joy that comes from receiving and to remind ourselves of what we have received in Christ.

 

Mary sings of it. The angels bear witness to it. Jesus is the mercy sent from heaven. Unmerited gifts are the theme of the season because Jesus is the gift we’ve been offered. Do not simply read my words and move on. Take time today to let the words of Mary’s singing settle on your soul. Celebrate the mercy of the season!

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Day Eighteen Reading: Luke 1:39-56

 

Consider Mary’s words, not just as an example of her belief, but also as a statement of worship. What does she say about God?

 

Mary comes to Elisabeth to worship the blessing of Jesus coming to the world through her. What does this say about the importance of gathering together for worship?

 

Prayer—Father we praise you for the display of your mercy and strength that we see in the gift of Jesus.

 

advent day 17 – the child-King

As we find ourselves preparing for the entrance of Jesus into the world and as we look to celebrate the epic nature of such a gift. (For God to give his only Son to a world that does not love him well or follow him faithfully—this is a true display of love!) As we look to this we can and should find ourselves thinking in terms of the Baby. This helpless, dependant, child with such a quiet and humble entrance; what a start for the Savior of all humanity! But even as we think in these terms, let us not forget the supremacy of the unassuming child-King. He is first, preeminent, and supreme over all creation—his creation. He has come to save, to defeat death, to bring life, to forgive sin and triumph over its paltry attempts at power.

 

This is the God With Us we worship. The baby born in a manger; born to rule and save and resurrect. There is none like him.

 

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Day Seventeen Reading: Hebrews 1

 

Do you find yourself making a distinction between praising God for being supreme and thanking him for doing good things in your life?

 

Why is it important to recognize the supremacy of Christ apart from the things he does?

 

Prayer—May we hear the words you have spoken to us by your Son.

 

advent day 16 – the gift of obeying

Joseph. A man among men if ever there was one. To be so obedient. To play the fool in the eyes of the world. To treat your wife as pure and faithful while the world looks on her with suspicion and assumption.

 

No one saw what Joseph saw. No one heard the words of assurance the angel gave him. They were words for him, and he accepted, and he obeyed. If ever we could consider obedience as a gift to God—as an act of worship—surely this Joseph makes the case for us.

 

To love God so fully as to take on ridicule. I can almost hear the talk around town: What a fool to accept her ridiculous story! To love God so completely as to trust him and the words of his messenger. Conceived of the Holy Spirit? Seriously?! To obey God with such public and private consistency. This is love for the Father. This is worship of God: to obey, and in obeying to lift God up while watching your own reputation take a nose dive.

 

May we be so worshipful this season as we celebrate the God who is with us.

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Day Sixteen Reading: Matthew 1:18-25

 

The advent season is a celebration of God with us. How does your worship reflect God with us and not a God far off?

 

Have you considered how obedience can itself be an act of worship? What might this look like in your current circumstances?

 

Prayer—Father, may we learn to worship you as the God who is with us. Thank you for not being far off.

 

advent day 15 – worshipping

Week Three – Worshipping

 

As we hear and believe the gospel of Jesus it is the only right response to bow in worship to God for this gift. As we seek to anticipate the coming celebration of Jesus birth we want to learn to worship well—with truth and sincerity. We want to respond to the amazing ways in which God accomplishes the gift of dwelling among us in Christ.

 

So this week we come alongside the wise traveler’s who come from far away, we join the dirty shepherds forgotten by the world around them, we kneel with those who’ve gone before us and many who will come after us in worshipping the gift. Jesus our Messiah.

 

 

Day Fifteen Reading: Psalm 95

 

We are called to worship the Lord. What does it look like to join wise men and shepherds, a poor young husband and wife, and centuries of believers since then as we come to worship Jesus, the Messiah?

 

How will you engage the Lord in worship this week as the celebration of Jesus birth draws nearer?

           

Prayer—Lord, we come before you to kneel and worship. May our hearts be softened by this time of year and the coming of your Son.

 

advent day 13 and 14

Once again, the weekend seemed to slip away from me and I failed to send out the readings for days thirteen and fourteen. My humble apologies. I am sending these out now in case you are not yet to these day’s readings or would like to review them in spite of the fact that you were ready for them for the last two days.

 

To all who are taking this journey through advent with me: thank you. Seeking to be ready for the day of celebration—the day when Christ first entered the world as a tiny baby—is a large commitment. I am grateful to take this journey with you.

 

Here are the weekend’s readings. Later today I will send out today’s reading. We are starting a new week today. Worshipping. We have traveled through hearing the good news, to believing it. Now we seek to worship the King come as child. But first, take a few moments to consider these readings on believing.

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Day Thirteen Reading: John 1:1-18

 

What does this passage have to say about believing in Jesus?

 

Consider this phrase: “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” In light of the coming celebration of Jesus’ birth, how does this truth impact your prayers?

 

Prayer—Father we thank you for the grace upon grace that we receive from Jesus. Teach us to live in the truth of Jesus dwelling among us and in us.

 

 

Day Fourteen Reading: Luke 2:1-7

 

As you anticipate the celebration of Jesus’ birth take some time to consider the depth of God’s love for you in sending his Son. Consider the very real people, real places and real time of this birth.

 

Prayer—Father, give us great appreciation for your gift of Jesus and make real for us this birth, which leads to resurrection and life.

 

advent day 12 – recieve

Waiting reminds us that we don’t know what’s best. Or when is best. It puts in perspective our role in all of this life and faith we dwell in. We are recipients. Recipients of God’s good grace. Receivers of life and salvation. We don’t earn, we don’t decide, we don’t demand. We simply receive what God gives us in Jesus.

 

This is why intentional waiting is good. This is why the advent season is so important. We don’t wait because Jesus hasn’t come yet. We don’t anticipate because we don’t know the day of his arrival as a tiny baby. We wait because it puts us in our place. We are receiving what God has given in Jesus. What he gave in his good time—the fullness of time.

 

Why was then the best time? Why not earlier…or later?

 

We don’t know. It is not our place. We wait to remember that Jesus came when the time was right. Not because of what others had done, or because someone said the right things to the Father. He came because the Father determined it was right. And we simply receive the Savior.

  

 

 

Day Twelve Reading: Galatians 3:23-4:7

 

Consider what it means that God sent forth his Son “when the fullness of time had come?”

 

Do you believe that you are God’s heir? What does it mean to believe this?

 

Prayer—Thank you, God, for making us your heirs through Jesus. Thank you for sending him at just the right time.

 

adevnt day 11 – questions

We ask the questions. No—it’s more accurate to say we often demand the questions.

 

Why?! When?! Where?! How?!

 

We want to know—we think we need to know. Why does God do what he does? How can these things happen? When will God make this change? We want to know and it can easily consume us.

 

When did knowing it all become so much a part of how we live in faith? Is this really living in faith at all?

 

Waiting for the Messiah, looking to celebrate his coming on such an unsuspecting day and to such an unsuspecting people—it’s all become so usual and pedestrian to us. After all, it happened a long, long time ago. And to a people that can hardly seem real in our day to day bustle of the now. But when he came there was no one who guessed it would be then and in that way. It was completely off the radar of logic and the typical. It was undreamed of. A baby? To a poor couple of nobody’s? Who could have guessed?

 

And yet…people believed. Not all, for sure. Not even many. But some—the faithful lovers of God who loved him desperately enough to trust him with the outlandish.

 

Luke’s gospel records the obvious lack of understanding that came even with John’s coming. John—the one who was to prepare the way. Even his coming was not well understood, but it was believed by many to be of God; to be something significant.

 

I want to believe like that. As I wait for the coming day of celebration, I want to believe without demanding understanding of it all. I want to accept even as I ask, “What will this turn out to be?”

 

When did understanding become our prerequisite for faithful following? Can we peel it off the hard exterior of our hearts? More rightly, will we ask God to tear it away? Perhaps this time of waiting is our perfect opportunity. As we wait we can learn again what it is to trust; to live by faith; to accept that the God who sent his only Son is not limited by our ability to make sense of it all.

 

 

Day Eleven Reading: Luke 1:57-66

 

As the people heard the truths about Zechariah and his son John they “laid them up in their hearts.” How can this concept affect the way we read and study the Bible today?

 

Zechariah, and all the people who heard of what happened did not necessarily understand (v.66), but they did believe. Is there room in your life for belief where there is not complete understanding?

 

Prayer—Lord, as we wait for the celebration of your coming we pray for faith to believe in you, even when we don’t always understand the how or the why of your actions.