advent devotional -2018-
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gracious promise JEREMIAH 33:14-16 The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David s line; He will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which He will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness. As the days grow colder and the nights grow longer, I am reminded of a time when I struggled with a depression that nearly ended my life. Every morning when I woke up, and every night when I went to bed, I felt a constant darkness. Years of feeling as though God had abandoned me and left me alone in my despair. Years of feeling like grace and forgiveness were beyond my reach. God never left me though. Through family, friends, and even strangers, He delivered me. They held me up so I could walk. They were Christ; taking my burdens on themselves because I could not bear the weight on my own. I know we are not promised a life free of hardship. I do know, however, that we do not have to suffer alone. God fulfilled His gracious promise through Jesus. And now, as the Body of Christ, as the Church, we are His arms to hold those who suffer. We are His hands to reach for those who are falling. This Advent season, as we anxiously wait to celebrate the fulfillment of God s promise, let us come together to be that justice, righteousness, those who feel like they are waiting in isolation, our families, friends and our city. Maybe you feel like you are waiting in isolation. Maybe you feel like you are suffering alone. I promise you, you are not. Jesus is with you, whether you know Him or not. We are with you, whether you know us or not. You are not alone. Written by: Dan Good
according to your love PSALM 25:1-10 In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame,nor let my enemies triumph over me. No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause. Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good. Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant. At times it amazes me how quickly I forget God s steady love and faithfulness towards me. The tide of our culture is pushing us towards stress, success, and competition, and unless I m actively swimming against that tide, I get swept up in it every time. Yet, when I start to drown in that tide and gasp for air, God remembers me according to His unfailing love. I have never experienced God remembering me more clearly than when I transitioned to Richmond after college. After years of picturing myself climbing the corporate ladder and the success that would accompany that climb, I realized it wasn t the path that would be the most life-giving for me. After months of confusion and frustration about my direction, God brought FOCUS, a student ministry in Richmond, on my path. This work has left me feeling purposeful, inspired, and hopeful for what is to come. God remembered me and blessed me not according to what I deserved or how well I pleased Him, but according to His love for me. God remembers us and blesses us despite our rebellious ways simply as an outpouring of His love for us. As we enter this Christmas season, we see how God ultimately remembers His people by sending the baby Jesus to walk alongside us even as the tide comes. Regardless of how we may feel ourselves drowning, God remembers us according to His steady love, and He will never forget us. According to your love remember me, for you Lord, are good. Written by: Hadley Carter
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a c c e p t i n g t h e c o n c e a l e d M A L A C H I 3 : 1-4 I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come, says the Lord Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner s fire or a launderer s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years. I have found the last book of the Old Testament to have a certain mysterious quality to it. Malachi, like so many prophets before, was dealing with a people that had turned their hearts from God. The issue of sin, with the need for repentance and atonement through the Law, was a constant theme. After centuries of proclamations regarding judgment and a coming Messiah, one final prophetic utterance is heard. Then silence. For 400 years. I do not know why God chose an extended period of time before the messenger appeared and prepared the way for the Lord to enter His temple. Reading Malachi s words, one might envision a spectacular entrance by an overwhelming, almighty King. As the verse says, who really could endure or even stand with such a coming? But His arrival was quiet, concealed and lowly, in the form of a newborn. So why can I not endure or stand on my own two feet with His coming? Maybe the answer is that I should not want to endure, not under my own strength or my own power. Or stand in my own good works and performance. Maybe the hardest part to all this is the absence of any human effort on my end. Could it be that the refining and cleansing needed of me are just accepting and receiving all of Jesus, and all He has done, into my life? The babe, fully God and fully Man, came and fully saved all. From ourselves. Through grace. Nothing else. I do not want to stand anymore. Written by: Janet McCormick
straight paths LUKE 3:1-6 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: A voice of one calling in the wilderness, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all people will see God s salvation. This word is from the book of Luke, who was a physician, a noted historian, and a disciple of the apostle Paul. In ancient times, a herald would come before the king. It was in this vein that John the Baptist, a familial relative of Christ, is sent to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. He is the one who acts as herald and prepares the way for Christ-not a king, but our Lord and savior. In what ways have we, like John the Baptist, prepared for God s enduring faithfulness? And for his healing presence in our lives, our city, and our world? As part of his role as herald, John preaches a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. In this scripture, the author (Luke) quotes Isaiah, the prophet, regarding the preparations for Jesus. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. Through God, we can receive a healing presence. Through God, our city, our very world, can receive the same. And all people will see God s salvation. Sometimes God works through us. But we must each strive to present God s faithfulness, through both our actions and our words. Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Can we not do the same for our fellow man? Can we not make straight paths to prepare for God s enduring faithfulness? Can we not make straight paths until every community is healed, every mouth fed, every wrong corrected, every injustice made right? We can And we will. We will do this, through faith, until we receive God s healing presence, in all its fullness. Until it is in RVA, just as it is in heaven. Written by: Thomas Webb
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only god PHILIPPIANS 4:4-7 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God,which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. I have a confession to make. I suffer from Holiday Depressive Disorder and I believe I am not alone. HDD sufferers are riddled with anxiety, dread, looming debt, crippling headaches, fatigue and a sense of foreboding. Food failures, gift failures, disappointment from invitations you do not receive and avoidance of the invitations you do receive. Forced holiday spirit; overstimulating lights and music; obligatory family events; unappreciative scrooges and the memories of Christmas past solidify this condition. The truth is, not everyone loves the holidays! This arbitrary date celebrating the holiest of births has turned into a competition of tacky lights, overspending, gluttonous indulgences, increased DUI s, suicide, robberies, and highway fatalities. Nothing in the character of God, in His Word or in His creation correlates with what we have turned this holiday season into. This year, would you join me in my recovery from HDD? No meetings, medication or rehab required. The antidote is God. Only God can clean the slate from past hurts and mistakes. Only God can lift us from the depths of despair that so many of us face as Christmas Eve approaches. Only God can help us not lose the true meaning of Christ s birth in the maelstrom and noise of the commercialism we ourselves have created. Only God stands in perfect solidarity with the hurting and suffering. HDD sufferers take heart, be healed! Christmas is coming, and it s not all it s cracked up to be. In fact, it s so much more than we are able to manufacture or imagine. Written by: Melissa Vath
sing for joy ZEPHANIAH 3:14-17 Sing, Daughter Zion; shout aloud, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. On that day they will say to Jerusalem, Do not fear, Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Advent is a time of joy for many. There s something truly special about this season that we commemorate with lights and gifts and spending time with family. We celebrate, we rejoice, for Christ has come and the presence of God is here with us. This passage from Zephaniah shows that God joins in the celebration, singing over us his children. Yet sometimes joy can seem far off. We see darkness all around us, when we look at the news, or at the brokenness in our city, or when we look inside ourselves. Christ s birth, too, came at a time of struggle and oppression and death. But we must not despair, for there is good news! God incarnate has brought us hope. In my own life, even when it has been hard to find joy, I can take comfort in the hope that Christ has given me. The hope that one day every wrong will be made right, justice will be done and restoration made complete. God s Spirit is at work in us and through us to that end. That s worth rejoicing over. Sing for joy, O daughter of Zion, for your hope has come. Written by: Kevin Babu
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seeds for tomorrow LUKE 1:46-55 And Mary said: My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me Holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors. This psalm reminds me of our God s greatest power. He will always provide for us in our every need, whether we are able to clearly see it at that moment or not. Through our adversity, He promises to guide us along the right path, even if we were not loyal to Him prior to that experience. He is faithful and merciful to those who walk with Him with the greatest respect. Our Lord will enrich those who are hungry for His love, shining light upon our darkest shadows and showing us an existence beyond a horizon that we can only see as the end. While sometimes we cannot see as far along His path that He created, it is important to remember that we should not dig up in doubt the seeds we have planted in faith. Become bold because of what you know about our Lord. Our God is a God of abundance. Absorb as much of His light as you can and let it overflow to the rest of our city, bringing warmth into the dark alleys, and internal richness to the places of poverty. As He gives to us, we should give as well. If you cast your bread upon the waters, it will eventually come back to you. Written by: Pilar Monroe
Once For All HEBREWS 10:5-10 Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, Here I am it is written about me in the scroll I have come to do your will, my God. First he said, Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, Here I am, I have come to do your will. He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Did you know that we have St Francis of Assisi to thank for the manger scenes you see set up all around? According to Franciscan theology, the birth of Christ the incarnation is, in fact, the moment of healing and salvation, the revelation of Immanuel, God with us, that the Hebrew Scriptures desire and have been hoping for all this time. So what s this talk about sacrifice in the verse selected from the letter to the Hebrews? I mean, if it s all solved in the incarnation, should we not rather celebrate and get on with being happy, the rest of our days, in light of this? Why bother with mentioning sacrifice all over again? Well, don t we all believe we must first have something before we can do something that will ultimately allow us to BE something? Paradoxically, this "have - do - be" paradigm must actually be sacrificed, and reversed, in order for us to experience true happiness, success, or the things you really desire: So we see, there is something to be sacrificed in order for us to BE whatever it is we want to BE. We can then start doing things from this space of being; and almost immediately, what you are doing will bring you the things you want to have. You attract what you are. If you want the things happy people have, you must first BE happy to get those things. Results translate from attitudes and behaviors. Not the other ways around. God so desires our healing and salvation that God became one of us, born as a baby in a manger. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Thanks be to God! Written by: Logan Jones
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