Christian Reflection and Prayer

(This is the best explanation of the meaning of the
Advent and Christmas season I have seen)

THE MONTH OF DECEMBER BRINGS WITH IT THE SEASON
OF ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS.  It'S ALWAYS BEEEN MY
FAVORITE TIME OF THE YEAR, BECAUSE IT SHOW US
POWERFULLY AND PRACTICALLY HOW OUR CHRISTIAN
FAITH ENTERED THE WORLD. THE INCARNATION IS
UNIQUE AMONG WORLD RELIGIONS.  THE WAY I LIKE TO
SAY IT:  IN CHRIST, GOD HITS THE STREETS.  CHRISTMAS
GIVES CHRISTIANS THE ANNUAL OPPORTUNITY TO
REMEMBER THE INCARNATION OF GOD'S LOVE
BREAKING INTO THE WORLD--HOW IT DID AND HOW
IT STILLL CAN.

ADVENT IS ABOUT WAITING, AND CHRITMAS BRINGS THE
 NEWBORN WHO ANNOUNCES A NEW ORDER MEANT TO
TURN THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN--AND OUR LIVES WITH IT.  
CHRISTMAS ALWAYS RENEWS MY COMMITMENT TO BRING
THAT REVOLUTIONARY LOVE INTO A WORLD THAT SO
DESPERATELY NEEDS IT, AND INTO MY OWN LIFE AGAIN.

IN THE BUSTLE OF OUR DAILY LIVES, WITH ALL OF THE
DISTRACTIONS AND STRUGGLES THAT COME OUR WAY--
EVEN IN CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES--IT IS SO EASY FOR US TO
LOSE SIGHT OF US OF THE TRANSFORMING LOVE EMBODIED
IN THE PERSON OF CHRIST. SO IT'S VITALLY IMPORTANT THAT
WE HAVE THIS SEASON TO REMEMBER AND RE-ENCOUNTER
AND RE-CENTER OURSELVES ON THE HEART OF OUR FAITH:  
GOD BREAKING INTO HISTORY TO TRANSFORM IT, AND US,
IN THE PERSON OF JESUS.
(Jim Wallis Soujourners Magazine)

Read Luke 1:5-7. TEXT: ...There was a priest named Zechariah
... And he had a wife ... and her name was Elizabeth (Luke 1:5b).

Advent devos 2015As we begin the transition from Thanksgiving
to Christmas, we meet an old Jewish couple named Zechariah
and Elizabeth. Like us, they have much to be thankful for in their
lives. God has given them a strong faith in His coming Savior, and
they have a good reputation in their town.

But, like all of us, their thanksgiving is neither perfect nor complete.
One thing has eluded them, one thing that keeps their thankfulness
from being complete. God has not given them a child. They
celebrate the holidays together, but they have no earthly future, no
heritage, no one to whom they can pass on their holiday traditions.

What do you do when you've lived your life as well as you can,
sought to honor God, and yet find He has withheld something good
and beneficial from you--a spouse, a child, a job, a house, etc.? It
gets pretty hard to not feel there's something wrong in your
relationship with God. Either He's punishing you for something you
don't remember or understand, or maybe He isn't quite as loving as
you were always told He is.

Maybe you've exited the Thanksgiving season into the Christmas
season with a big hole in your life. Like Zechariah and Elizabeth,
we turn to God and wait for His will and time. There's often nothing
else we can do.

THE PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, Your Word promises that You are good, loving
and kind to all Your children. Yet there is an empty spot in my life.
Grant me the faith and courage to trust in Your goodness and love,
and give me the patience to wait for the good that You intend to
bring from this disappointment. I pray in Jesus' Name. Amen.

By Rev. Wayne Palmer
First Sunday in Advent: November 29, 2015

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
Colossians 3:15

A number of years ago I had the opportunity to perform a
wedding service for a very special couple. Although the family
was relatively well known, the wedding itself was very small.
When I asked the bride why, she replied, "I'm not going to hug
somebody I don't know."

That feeling was not shared by Greta Peske who married Tony
Hokanson at Celebration Lutheran Church in Sartell, Minnesota,
this past October 10th. Indeed, Peske reserved a dance at the
reception for a man whom she had met only once in her life.
Even so, that man was, in some ways, responsible for that
wedding taking place.

Let me share: the name of the 51-year-old man from Arkansas
was Danny Daniels. In 2007, he was contacted by medical
personnel. They told him the tests showed he was a good bone
marrow match for a high-school girl who had come down with
leukemia. They wanted to know if he would consent to helping
her out.

Peske thankfully acknowledges, "He didn't have to do what he
did, (that is help her), but he did."

Because of his donation, Peske survived, fell in love, and was
married, and she had a dance with Daniels to show her
appreciation.

When I read that story, I couldn't forget the line, "He didn't have
to do what he did, but he did."

That line described Danny Daniels, and it most certainly
describes the work of the Savior. After Adam and Eve's
disobedience and sin, they -- with all of their descendants --
were doomed to die. There was no escape; there was no cure;
there was nothing they could do other than wait for a bitter and
terrible end.

It was then that the Lord decided to help us.

He would do what was necessary to save us. Nobody asked
Him to make a sacrifice. He did what He did because -- along
with being a just God -- He is also merciful. It was that attribute,
along with grace, which had Him send His Son to save us.

Of course, this was not a simple bone marrow transplant.

Not at all.

This procedure which would save us -- the process which would
rescue us -- called for Jesus to give up His life in a most painful
manner. This He would do after having been rejected by His
country, His religion, and even His own hometown.

He didn't have to do what He did, but He did.

Now all who are given faith in the Redeemer, with repentant hearts,
are forgiven and saved. Now, those who are redeemed and
rescued show their thanks to the Lord, not with a dance at their
 wedding, but by living every day of their lives as if it were a real
Thanksgiving Day.

THE PRAYER:

Dear Lord, You didn't have to do what You did, but You did. May
my life reflect the thanksgiving I feel in my heart. This I ask in
Jesus' Name. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)