Day 23 - At Last, Joy!
Preparing to write this last Advent post, I was asking God to show me a illustration of what it looks like for Jesus to be with us.
Read MoreDay 22 - Complete Joy
The feast calendar is completed not with Yom Kippur, the most solemn of the feasts, but with the Feast of Tabernacles, the most joyous! The placement of this feast tells us that joy, not sorrow, is the completed state of the one with whom God dwells.
Read MoreDay 21 - Mega Joy
As we unpack mega joy, it might help if we look at some important celebrations in the Old Testament.
Read MoreDay 20 - Peace Within Me
Jesus doesn’t give peace. He gives HIS peace.
Read MoreDay 19 - Peace Among Men
Shalom is a scandal to the world.
Read MoreDay 18 - Peace with God
Peace with God.
How often to we think about what this means? Honestly, I don’t think about it all that much.
Day 17 - The Whole Peace
But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; the punishment for our peace was on him.
-Isaiah 53:5
Day 16 - Prepared
Yesterday we pondered what brings men peace with God— the shedding of blood. The blood of a spotless lamb.
Read MoreDay 15 - What Brings You Peace
One of the most common phrases printed on Christmas greeting cards and home decor is “Peace On Earth” from the angels’ announcement of Jesus’ birth to the shepherds in Luke 2:14. Peace is another one of those high-frequency words we use that has layers of meaning, which when teased out, can yield some amazing depth.
Read MoreDay 14 - Resurrection People
Waiting is torture, but when you’re a kid waiting for Christmas, you know the waiting will be worth it. After all, children are only ever waiting for good things. Why wouldn’t they be excited?
Read MoreDay 13 - Patience, Dear One
Prolonged waiting in extremely uncomfortable conditions often pushes us past the limits of what propriety usually is able to restrain.
Read MoreDay 12 - Active Obedience
Advent is often characterized as a season of stillness, of waiting, and it is. Waiting without purpose, though, is laziness.
Read MoreDay 11 - Settled
Quietness is not born of strength and determined courage. It’s confidence is the one who holds you.
Read MoreDay 10 - Get Busy Waiting
It’s a simple word—wait—but it’s more complex than it pretends to be.
Read MoreDay 9 - Room for Waiting
I can’t help but wonder if no one else saw Him because no one else was waiting for Him.
Read MoreDay 8 - How Long
Who looks for a Comforter without needing consolation?
Read MoreDay 7 - Not Disappointed
The prophet Isaiah says that those who hope in God will not be disappointed (Isaiah 49:23). What does that mean?
Read MoreDay 6 - Bulging Bellies
The curse pronounced on the seducing serpent was the gospel preached to mankind.
Read MoreDay 5 - Oasis
An oasis is a spectacle in a desert because it audaciously sustains green and lovely things in the middle of a hostile environment. To the one on a journey through the wilderness whose eyes have grown accustomed to barrenness and sand, it reminds him that the desert is not the ultimate reality. There’s a destination on the other side of the wilderness, and an oasis is where a form of the final place pushes through the surface of the desert floor. It’s evidence of the life that’s at the end of the journey through the wilderness.
Read MoreDay 4 - The Scarlet Cord
Our hope is not an abstraction. It has a tangible anchor--the baby in the manger.
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