Christian Reflection and Prayer

(Day 13 of Advent)

Scripture:

Read Genesis 28:10-17. I will not leave you until I have
done what I have promised you (see Genesis 28:15).

Abraham's son Isaac grew up and married a woman
named Rebekah. In time she became pregnant with twin
sons-one of whom would continue the line that would
lead to the Christmas Child. God told her, "Two nations
are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall
be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the
older shall serve the younger" (see Genesis 25:23). The
younger twin Jacob was that child of promise, whose
descendants would form a great nation.

Jacob was an unlikely person to be a blessing to the
world. His name means "he cheats." This he proved
twice by cheating his older twin Esau-first by buying
Esau's birthright for a bowl of stew, then tricking his
blind father to receive the blessing Isaac intended to
give Esau. While fleeing from Esau's murderous rage,
Jacob dreamed of a ladder stretching from earth to
heaven with God standing at the top. The Lord repeated
the promise He had previously given Abraham and Isaac:
"in you and in your offspring shall all the families of the
earth be blessed" (see Genesis 12:3). The next 20 years
saw many ups and downs in Jacob's life, but God kept
His promise and never left him.

Each Christmas we remember how God fulfilled His
promise to bless all the families of the earth through
Jacob's offspring, Jesus Christ, the Baby of Bethlehem.
Like Jacob we don't deserve the blessings Jesus earned
for us. But God offers them to us out of His pure grace:
the gifts of forgiveness, peace and eternal life with Him
in paradise.

THE PRAYER:

Almighty God, You faithfully keep every promise You
make, and remain with us until all Your promises are
fulfilled. Keep us in this faith in Jesus Christ our Lord,
that we may receive the gift of eternal life You promised
when He returns. We pray this in Jesus' Name. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

(Day 12 of Advent)

Scripture:

Read Genesis 17:15-19, 26:1-5. God said, "Sarah
your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his
name Isaac. I will establish My covenant with him as
an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him"
(Genesis 17:19).

Abram was 75 years old when God called him to
travel to a distant land. He promised to make a great
nation out of him-and from that nation to send His
Son to bless all nations. Abram obeyed God and
brought his wife Sarai along to the land of Canaan.
But for 25 more years they remained childless. Over
that long period of waiting God repeated His promise
to Abram again and again, changing his name to
Abraham and his wife's to Sarah.

But it was hard for Abraham and Sarah to wait so
long for God to keep His promise. At one point Sarah
decided to take matters into her own hands. She
gave her maidservant to Abraham that he might have
the child of promise through her. But the servant's
son Ishmael was not the child God had promised
Abraham. By God's mighty power Sarah herself
would give birth to the promised child. Finally, when
he was 100 years old, Abraham's 90-year-old wife
Sarah gave birth to Isaac, whose name means "he
laughs."

Like Abraham, the world had to wait a long time for
the birth of God's great Child of promise: Jesus
Christ, the Baby of Bethlehem. Every year we
celebrate His birth with great joy and laughter, and
we rejoice in the great blessings of peace,
forgiveness and eternal life He brought the world
through His life, death and resurrection.

THE PRAYER:

Holy Father, thank You for faithfully keeping Your
promise. Give me patience to wait for Jesus' second
coming, when You will restore all believers and
creation to complete perfection. In Jesus' Name.
Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

(Day 11 of Advent)

Scripture:

Read Genesis 11:1-9, 12:1-3. In you all the families
of the earth shall be blessed (see Genesis 12:3).

After the flood Noah's children began to repopulate
the earth. But the flood didn't really change mankind's
fallen nature. Even while God was promising Noah He
would not send another flood because of man, He
noted, "the intention of man's heart is evil from his
youth" (see Genesis 8:21).

An episode in Genesis 11 illustrates this stubborn,
rebellious streak in mankind. God had commanded
Noah and his descendants to spread out after the
flood and fill the earth. But while migrating west, a
group of them decided not to keep spreading out, but
to stay together and make a name or reputation for
themselves. They began building a huge tower with
its top in the heavens. God confused their language
so they would not understand one another. As a result
they went out and spread across the earth.

Though they were spread out, history was slowly
repeating itself. Just like Seth's descendants before
the flood, the number of believers among Noah's
descendants began to plummet again. So the Lord
chose an unbelieving man named Abram. He called
him from worshiping idols and false gods to leave his
father's house and go to a land God would show him.
The Holy Spirit created faith in Abram, and he obeyed
God and went. The Lord promised to make him into a
great nation and bless every nation through his offspring.
Once again the promise of the Savior remained intact,
being passed down from generation to generation.

THE PRAYER: Lord God, Holy Father, by sheer grace
alone You called Abram to leave his home and follow
You. Give me such an obedient heart that I may leave
behind all temptations and sinful pursuits to love and
follow my Lord Jesus Christ. I pray in His Name. Amen

(Lutheran Hour Ministries).