Today is December 30th.

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 Titus, chapter 2, the MSG version.

  
11-14 God’s readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation’s available for everyone! We’re being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting right now, and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears. He offered himself as a sacrifice to free us from a dark, rebellious life into this good, pure life, making us a people he can be proud of, energetic in goodness. 
 

One of the fruits of Advent is that we are given birth to a new life. It’s not just that Christ is born. We are reborn! This new life is starting right now, and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears. Reflect for a moment on the places where new life is growing in you right now. Where do see have joy, or peace, or love in your life?  

We think of repentance as a painful process of denying pleasures. Paul, in this passage invites us to think about repentance as embracing more of God’s new life in us. He is motivating us to repentance by reminding us that repentance actually leads to more life. He says, We’re being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God honoring life. Consider how turning away from indulgence might actually lead you to more life in Christ. 

As we close our time, take a moment and ask God for more of his life to replace the old places of sin and death in your life. Ask his life to fill you and move in you so that you may be free from your old dark life and energized into this new, good life in Christ.  

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

To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever! The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Amen.