Today is December 10th in the second week of Advent.
 
Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.  
 
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence, and say Come Holy Spirit.  
 
Today’s reading is from the book of Ephesians, chapter 5.  
 

“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for it is because of these things that the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not associate with them, for once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” 
 

The New Testament writers often refer to Christ as ‘the light of the world’. Here, Paul urges the church in Ephesus to recall their movement, in Christ, from darkness… to light. And he reminds them that the ‘fruit of light’ is found in all that is good, right, and true. He also reminds them that disobedience to the light is serious business…. Bringing about wrath. Consider this as you move into prayer: God is serious about the fruit of the light… about what is good, right, and true… How does that make you feel? 
 
“Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord…” How often do you meditate on what pleases God? This season of Advent, have you taken time to invite God to lead you in ways that please Him? 
 
As you begin to pray, ask the Lord what it means for you to ‘walk in the way of light’ today… invite Him to help you turn from ‘unfruitful works of darkness’… 
 
This Christmas, the world is full of ‘people walking in darkness’… who are experiencing the impacts of ‘unfruitful works of darkness’. Pray that you would be a bringer of light this Advent season to those around you. Pray that God would fill you with ‘all that is good, right, and true’… and that you would spill out good fruit this season of Advent. 

 
Come, thou long expected Jesus, 
born to set thy people free; 
from our fears and sins release us, 
let us find our rest in thee. 
Behold, the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome in… 
In the name of the Father, and the son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Today is December 9th, in the second week of Advent.
 
May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.   
 
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence, and say Come Holy Spirit.  
 
Today’s reading is from the book of Isaiah, chapter 60.  
 

“The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you by night; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.” 
 

The king of peace comes to us as an everlasting light, an everlasting glory. And yet, as we wait for the Coming of Christ, we still live in ‘days of mourning’. Can you bring all of your emotions to the Lord today in prayer… from feelings of brightness to experiences of sadness or mourning?  
 
Advent prepares us to celebrate the birth of Christ. And yet even as we behold this King of Peace… we walk through days of mourning.  
 
Take time to talk with Jesus about all that you are carrying today as you begin a shift toward the final week of Advent. What is making you feel weary or weighed down?  

The King of peace says to you: come to me, and I will give you rest. And not a rest that requires us to check out of our daily life. But a rest that we can find, through Him, in the midst of it. Ask God to draw your attention to Him, and to His rest, as you continue through advent. 
 
Come, thou long expected Jesus, 
born to set thy people free; 
from our fears and sins release us, 
let us find our rest in thee. 
Behold, the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… 
In the name of the Father, and the son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Today is December 8 in the 2nd week of Advent.


The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.   
  
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence, and say Come Holy Spirit.  
  
Today’s reading is from the book of 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4.  
  
As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 
3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit. 

9 Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10 And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. 
    
 
Welcome to prayer. Our text today urges believers to live in a way that pleases God... not just occasionally, but “more and more.” It calls us to please God, to be holy, and to love one another. Some of the instructions in the text feel very practical: like ‘mind your own business’! Let’s begin today’s time of prayer doing an honest inventory. You can ask the Lord for the grace to see areas of your own life where He is calling you to ‘more and more’...  
 
As we listen to the text again, pay special attention to the very practical details. This Christmas season, do you find yourself at peace, demonstrating the fruits of the spirit? Or do you find yourself anxious, or stressed, and demonstrating your own grumpiness or impatience? You can be honest before God! Listen to the passage again, and imagine Paul is reading this bit out loud to you personally. What does that bring up for you? 
   
"You yourselves have been taught by God to love each other.” What a beautiful picture of God’s purposes for our relationships. And how sad that all too often, it doesn’t feel real to many of us. This Advent, is there a broken relationship in your life? Someone you need to ask for forgiveness? Could you, in humility and grace, demonstrate moving towards that relationship in a ‘more and more’ kind of way?  
  
Come, thou long expected Jesus, 
born to set thy people free; 
from our fears and sins release us, 
let us find our rest in thee. 
Behold, the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome in… 
In the name of the Father, and the son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Music: "Christ The King" - Heaven and Earth

PEACE | Second Sunday of Advent

Today is the second Sunday of Advent. In the quiet, simple routines of our ordinary daily lives – things like taking a moment for Advent. OR things like: washing dishes, caring for an elderly parent, or playing with a child – the peace of Christ is near to us, and we can learn to be attentive to it, just like we can pay attention to small flames of these advent candle in a dark room. Jesus assures us along with the early church that Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. Advent reminds us that the peace of Christ is a grace that brings peace in ways we can’t understand, to situations that feel impossible. The peace of Christ is not childish, and it does not deny the reality that surrounds us that’s filled with unrest. Actually, Advent reminds us that Christian peace is brought into a hostile world through the birth of a baby…. Tender and vulnerable… fragile and meek. The peace of Christ is supernatural. It is a gift from God. As we consider the light of our second Advent candle, remember that the peace that calms our fears and fills our hearts with tranquility comes from Christ alone In what ways are you lacking peace today? (pause) from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. 69 He has raised up a horn[a] of salvation for us in the house of his servant David 70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), 71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us— 72 to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham: 74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, 77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

In the light of the candles, pray to find the courage to be a person of peace in a world that desperately needs it. Now may the Lord of peace himself give us peace, at all times, in every way. The Lord be with us all. Amen

This is the Saturday examen for the season of Advent. 

I’m glad you’ve joined us for a time of reflection and prayer. Pray along with me.


Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas. We who have so much to do and seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day, We who are anxious over many things… look forward to your coming among us. We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom. We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence. We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light.


Now take a moment to quiet yourself, and pray: Come, Holy Spirit!


Look back over this past week and ask God to draw your attention to moments where you’ve felt dissonant, agitated, or where you’ve lacked the fruit of the spirit toward others. Where have you experienced the darkness of your own heart? Or of the world around you?


Now offer those moments to the Lord. Invite Him to lead you toward engaging in a way that might bring relational repair or reconciliation. Ask God to help move you into action in whatever way He leads.


Consider the week ahead: What are you feeling joyful about as we approach Christmastime? Who do you want to pay special attention to this week? What do you want to be particularly present to? Ask God to help draw your attention to these things. If people came to mind, pray over them by name.


Behold… the psalmist tells us… God is our helper… he is our sustainer… he does not merely bring good news, Luke says… he IS good news…

Behold… he stands at the door of our heart and knocks… he will pour out His spirit on you…

Behold… we read in 1 John… what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 

As we end our examen, ask God to give you eyes to see Him this advent and to give you a heart that longs for Him.

Ask God for grace to behold the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!


Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.

Amen.

Music: "Emmanuel" - Heaven and Earth (YouTube)

Today is December 5th in the first week of Advent.
 
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you.   
  
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence, and say Come Holy Spirit.  
  
Today’s reading is from several verses from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 15. 
  

“He calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ / ‘She calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ / ‘It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ 
  

The lost sheep. The lost coin. The lost son. For God so loved the world that He came to seek and to save that which is lost. The savior of the world enters into history not as a God who despises things that go missing, but rather as the God of the cracks, the corners, the far-off spaces… the God who seeks… and the God who then celebrates when he finds that which is precious. This is what love looks like: a willingness to get low, to get messy, to go out of His way… in order to go after ‘the one’. Take a moment and let this settle over you. That ‘lost and found one’ is you.  
  
All of these parables tell of personal things get lost. Is there anything – or anyone - lost in your life right now? Are you seeking after them in the same way Christ seeks after you?  
  
Now enter a personal moment of prayer and pray specifically – by name if you can – for those you know who are lost, and who need to be saved and restored by love. 
  
Advent is a time of looking forward to a celebration of joy! An event that reminds us: we are not lost! We are not alone! We are not left in the corner, stuck out of sight, unworthy of rescue! Ask God, as we end our time of prayer, to help you grow as a seeker… someone with eyes to see those around you who might be holding out hope for to be ‘found’ themselves. Ask God to give you grace to speak His words of invitation to someone who might be ready to hear them. 
  
Come, thou long expected Jesus, 
born to set thy people free; 
from our fears and sins release us, 
let us find our rest in thee. 
Behold, the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… 
In the name of the Father, and the son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today is December 4th in the first week of Advent.


May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.   
  
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence, and say Come Holy Spirit.  
  
Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 3.  


“In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiber'i-us Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturae'a and Trachoni'tis, and Lysa'ni-as tetrarch of Abile’ne, in the high-priesthood of Annas and Ca'iaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechari'ah in the wilderness; and he went into all the region about 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, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” 
  

We have reflected this week on God our savior, who came to seek and to save, who came to make a smooth path toward salvation, who came to demonstrate the love of God through the forgiveness of sins by the Grace of God. We began with the image of a door, and we prepared our hearts to open the door in order to BEHOLD THE SAVIOR, lying in a manger, the God of the universe not only with us – but with the least of us, the last of us.  
  
Take a moment to quiet yourself and bring that image back to mind. Contemplate this paradox: it is through this infant: poor, vulnerable, a baby in the middle of the mess of a barn… that ‘all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ John the Baptist tells us that this salvation comes through a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 
  
Take time in personal prayer to consider your baptism, your own repentance, and the forgiveness of sins that is yours. Consider that this advent, you are not only waiting to behold the savior of the world, but YOUR savior as well.  
  
Our repentance comes in a moment, and in a lifetime of moments. When we behold the goodness of God, His compassion, tenderness, forgiveness, and blessing, we are reminded all too often of our distractions, our ridiculous irritabilities, by all the way we do not love the way He loves. Ask God to strengthen the gift of love in you, that in this season of Advent those around you might behold a glimpse of God’s celebration every time He saves that which is lost.  
  
Come, thou long expected Jesus, 
born to set thy people free; 
from our fears and sins release us, 
let us find our rest in thee. 
Behold, the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… 
In the name of the Father, and the son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today is December 3rd in the first week of Advent.

Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.  
  
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence, and say Come Holy Spirit.  
  
Today’s reading is from the book of Isaiah, chapter 55. 
  

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” 
  

Again, the call of scripture is to Behold – to look deeply at our God and the way He has interacted with us through history. The prophet Isaiah wants us to look deeply at something that God has brought to his attention: he tells us to ‘incline our ears, and come to God, listen to him, that our souls may live’… We’re living in a world where the souls of many are weary and worn, unsure of the compassion of God. As you enter into prayer, consider with the Lord the state of your own soul today. 
  
I am aways so thankful to be reminded that God’s ways are not my ways. My ways are not very loving. My ways are not very compassionate. My ways are not very steadfast. The goodness of ‘my ways’ too quickly have an edge. The goodness of ‘my ways’ don’t go to the cross.  
  
Take a few moments of prayer now and talk to the Lord about the length of His saving love: that God not only comes near to us to demonstrate His love, but that He went as far as death as well. What implications does that have for you this Advent? For the way you love?  
  
Take time today to ask God to reveal His thoughts, and His ways to you… Ask Him to lead you towards those whose souls may need a word of refreshing from Him, through you.  
  
Come, thou long expected Jesus, 
born to set thy people free; 
from our fears and sins release us, 
let us find our rest in thee. 
Behold, the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… 
In the name of the Father, and the son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today is December 2 - in the first week of Advent

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence, and say Come Holy Spirit.

Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 1.“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’”

We begin this Advent with the question: what does it mean to truly BEHOLD something? Not just to notice it, or to get a glimpse… but to see, and to see deeply? Our reading from Mark says: “Behold, I will send my messenger before your face” Think for a moment: when was the last time you looked slowly and deeply at something or someone, as though to work the image of what you see deep into your mind and memory?

Now, imagine yourself standing at the ‘doorway of advent’. Slow down and consider what you are opening that door to as you step into this Holy season: to God himself, incarnate, a vulnerable infant born into a wild and reckless world. The savior of all that is, lying there in a dirty stable. Lying there, a soon-to-be refugee. Lying there: the love of God revealed as WITH US.

Now, enter into a personal moment of prayer by imaging yourself opening the door that is before you… what do you see, or feel, or hear, or smell… as you behold your savior in this scene?….“Behold, I will send my messenger before your face.” That sounds to me like a description of something that gets very, very close. In your face, it seems. As we end our time of prayer today, ask God to help you keep your awareness of His presence ‘before your face’ this Advent season.…

Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee.Behold, the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome in…In the name of the Father, and the son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Music: "O Come O Come Emmanuel" - Heaven & Earth (YouTube)

Today is December 1 in the first week of Advent.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.  
 
Take a moment and quiet yourself. Take a deep breath. Welcome God’s presence, and say Come Holy Spirit. 
 
Today’s reading is from the book of Romans, chapter 6. 
 
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

This passage reminds us that following Christ isn’t just something we believe, it’s a way of orienting our whole lives that transforms everything. It changes our allegiances, it challenges our habits and patterns, and it calls us to a new kind of life. Consider the phrase ‘count yourself dead to sin but alive to God in Christ’ as we enter into prayer. Perhaps you could imagine what it might look like to be ‘dead to sin’. What images comes to mind when you hear ‘alive in God in Christ’? 

This is a dense passage! As we listen to it again, consider why the writer is so emphatic, and why he might be using such language about death, life, crucifixion, and resurrection...
  
Advent is a time where we anticipate not only new life, but a new KIND of life. The birth of Jesus – the incarnation – interrupts our old ways, our old habits, and all that is bad and broken. And it brings with it hope... hope in a new way, in a new life. As we end, imagine one area of your life or your family where you feel desperate for new life. Ask God to meet you in that place today.
  
Come, thou long expected Jesus,
 born to set thy people free;
 from our fears and sins release us,
 let us find our rest in thee.
Behold, the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.