December 5, 2023 

Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 11:1-12:6; 2 Peter 2:1-22

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus. (1 Corinthians 1:4)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The season of Advent, these days leading up to Christmas, is full of anticipation.  We are invited to wait, as Israel did, for that shoot to spring out from the stump of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1).  Some 800 years after Isaiah penned these words, God made good on His promise to send the one whose belt is righteousness and faithfulness (Isaiah 11:5) and upon whom the Spirit of the Lord rested upon (Isaiah 11:2).  Jesus was born; the Lord has come, and He’s bringing gifts for you.  

The Apostle Paul reminds the Christians at Corinth how he is always giving thanks to God because of the “grace that was given you in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor. 1:4).  Paul is beside himself with joyful gratitude when thinking about how gracious and giving God is for us whom he loves.  God doesn’t hold back; He gives it all to you and for you, all because of Jesus.  

All of what?  Everything you need to keep you until our Lord Jesus’ second Advent, His second coming.  You are not lacking any gift, Paul writes.  You have all you need in Christ to live these days knowing God has your back. God is faithful!  And while you live these days waiting, trusting, and living daily under God’s grace, God promises to sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:8).  Seriously?  What must I do?  Nothing!  That’s why it is called grace.  This is why the coming of Jesus is God’s gift for you and for the world. And like the gifts we are given from those who love us, we simply stretch out our hands to receive them and say, thank you.  That’s what faith does with God’s gifts, it simply receives and says thank you. 

The Lord has come, and He will come again. Now we wait with our eyes of faith fixed on Jesus who came bearing the gifts of forgiveness and life.  Now we live, with our eyes of faith fixed on Jesus who will come for you, to gather you to Himself, and present you holy and blameless, and completely guiltless – all as a gift for you.  Thanks be to God!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Then when You will come again as the glorious King to reign, I with joy will see Your face, freely ransomed by Your grace. (LSB 352:1)

- Pastor Darrin Sheek is the Senior Pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran in Anaheim, CA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.