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We want each of you to show this same DILIGENCE to the very end, so that what
you HOPE for may be fully realized. We do not want you to become lazy, but to
faith
and
imitate those who through
inherit what has been promised. HEBREWS 6:11-12
Introduction The word “advent” comes from the Latin word adventus, which means “coming.” The Advent season is one in which Christians remember the need for a Savior and focus on God’s gracious promises to provide one. It is traditionally a time of purposeful reflection, expectation and waiting. As we study Hebrews this year at Calvary, we are looking at the journey of faith that God has called each one of us to take, and that Jesus himself has walked before us. Travelers on a journey are, by definition, going somewhere. They have not yet arrived. In the meantime, until they get where they are going, they must be patient. To keep from getting
off the track, they must continually keep their destination in focus. They must be faithful in the journey all the way until the end. In many ways, a journey is a long period of waiting. Waiting is something we all know plenty about. We wait to get a job or a promotion and we wait for a spouse or a baby. Children can’t wait to get bigger or for their birthdays. We wait at the grocery store, in traffic, or at the doctor. We wait to hear news, good or bad. We wait to get better or for help or for love. God knows a few things about waiting as well. He waited thousands of years for the right time to send Jesus to earth as a human baby. Hebrews tells us that Jesus is waiting right now for His enemies to finally be defeated.
God waits for us to come to salvation or to fully trust Him.
be fulfilled that joyous Christmas night.
Everyone is waiting, then. We wait on God; He waits on us. But when we think about waiting in the context of a journey, we realize that waiting does not mean inactivity. It means patiently and faithfully continuing on. It means holding onto hope. It means experiencing peace and joy along the way. It means being a part of God’s community – His family – of love.
• We can also see what it looks like in the life and character of Jesus, who took every step in His journey that we must take in ours (even those we are unable to take for ourselves).
During this season of Advent, we want to reflect on what it means to wait with hope, peace, joy and love as we travel our journeys of faith. • We can see this in the lives of those who waited for Christ’s birth, whose hopes began to
• Finally we will look for it in our own time, as we wait for Christ’s second coming and His final victory over sin and death.
This Advent Guide Our hope is for this Advent guide to provide a few moments of purposeful reflection during your busy holiday season. To help you stay on track, we are also providing it by email this year. If you would to receive each day’s reading in a short, morning email, sign up for the Advent Guide Email on MyCalvaryGR.org. On Sundays we also include a few questions or activities for families with children plus suggestions for lighting candles in an Advent wreath. You may wish to spread these suggestions through the week.
Advent Wreaths An Advent wreath is a simple wreath with four candles arranged around the perimeter, with a white candle in the center, reserved to commemorate Christ’s birth. Each week of Advent, an additional candle is lit until Christmas Eve, when all of the candles are lit, including the central Christ candle. At Calvary, we follow the tradition of focusing on the virtues of hope, peace, joy and love for the weeks of Advent. Usually the candles for hope, peace and love are purple (a symbol of the royalty of Christ) and the one for joy is pink or rose. But if you create your own wreath at home, you can use less traditional colors as needed.
Hope
Sunday, November 30 HEBREWS 11:1, 13-16, 39-40 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.
Advent Wreath Light the first (purple) candle in your wreath, the Hope candle.
Sing a verse of a All these people were still living by faith favorite Christmas when they died. They did not receive the carol as you light things promised; they only saw them the candle. and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
The Old Testament saints listed in Hebrews 11 show us what it means to hold onto hope in our journey of faith. When Noah believed God and built an ark to protect his family from something they had never seen and couldn’t possibly understand, his acts of faith showed his confidence that God’s promise of salvation was sure. When Abraham believed God’s promises and followed Him to a new land, even when he didn’t know where he was going, his acts of faith showed his confidence that God’s promises were true and would surely be fulfilled. Throughout the chapter we see example after example of saints who not only believed God’s promises, but also lived their lives based on that belief, patiently continuing on, even though they could not clearly
see where they were going — day after day — even until death. Many of them saw glimpses of God’s grace to encourage them along the way, but they knew that the path they were on was a long one and that hope is not wishful thinking, but a rock solid belief in something we know to be true that we simply can’t see yet with our physical eyes. We are blessed to see so much more than them. Jesus, the fulfillment of God’s promise, has come! And yet, we still can’t see the end of the journey; the road ahead of us can be difficult and long. To get to the end, we must follow the path of faith with the same hope as those who have gone before us.
PRAYER FOR HOPE This week as we meditate on the hope we have in Christ: • Thank God that He is faithful and that His promises will never be broken. • Thank Him for including us, for including you, in the promises He made all the way back in the Old Testament. • Pray for strength and patience to hold onto hope as you continue your journey of faith all the way to the end. FAMILY TIME 1) Can you think of something that is hard to wait for? What is it? 2) Patience means waiting peacefully. Patience is so hard! But sometimes other people must be patient and wait for us. Can
you think of a time when someone has been patient with you? 3) Patience is an act of love. That is why parents and grandparents and brothers and sisters and …well, everyone who loves you, is patient with you. The Bible tells us God is patient with us because He loves us. Think of the people that you love. How can you be more patient with them? 4) Sometimes patience means that you keep going all the way to the end of something instead of stopping — like a long hike with your family or getting all of your homework done. Choose a family activity this week (like baking cookies) that you need to keep going to the end to experience the joy of finishing.
Monday, December 1 PSALM 33:16-22 No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you. The Psalms are full of hope. They are also full of the basis of our hope: God’s unfailing love and faithfulness. Nothing we can devise is capable of saving us. In our context, we may try to protect ourselves from harm or hurt by surrounding ourselves with strength or technology or money. But when we realize that none of these are trustworthy and we place our hope in the Lord, then we experience peace and joy even while we wait on Him for salvation. Whatever you are facing in your journey, put your hope in God, knowing that with unfailing love He is your help and shield today and every day.
Tuesday, December 2 PHILIPPIANS 3:10-14 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. There are a lot of motivational quotes and training resources related to running. Apparently they have been around for thousands of years, because here we have Paul telling us to do what track coaches everywhere still tell every high school athlete: keep your eyes up, on the finish line. The difference here is that Jesus has already won the race – and that He won it for
us. He is waiting at the finish line to share the prize with us -- as if we, ourselves, are the winners. How great is that? We are not only inspired to run the race, but we run with confidence, knowing that we cannot fail. Today when you are tempted to focus on the frustrations of the day, lift your eyes to Jesus and remember that the race is ultimately won.
Wednesday, December 3 HEBREWS 10:12-13 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. After Jesus gave His own life as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, the law was fulfilled. Salvation, forgiveness and peace became available to all who follow Him in faith. But not every promise has been realized. The world still suffers from sin and war and hatred and death. We are living in an interim between the beginning of salvation and its final completion. But we are not the only ones who are waiting and hoping for God’s kingdom to be established. Jesus is waiting too. When we look forward to the time when all of God’s enemies will be vanquished, we can know that
He looks forward to it even more. When it breaks our hearts to see pain and hurt continue in the world, we can know that it breaks His heart even more. As we pray today, asking for God to fulfill all of His promises and make all things perfect, we can do so knowing that we are not asking for something He does not want to do. We may not understand God’s timing, but we can know and understand how much He wants to set all things right and that He will do it when the time is right. We can put our hope and trust in that.
Thursday, December 4 PSALM 130 Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord; Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you. I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.
Psalm 130 is a “song of ascents” which means that it is a pilgrim song. The songs of ascents were the songs that faithful Israelites sang on their journey to Jerusalem to participate in the annual Passover celebration. They were not sung to simply pass the time, but to remind the pilgrims why they were on their journey (to commemorate God’s saving acts in history), and to remind them of where they were going (to meet their redeeming God at his dwelling place). At this time of year, we are surrounded by the songs of Christmas. Today when you hear them, turn them into your own pilgrim songs, remembering where our hope comes from—the redeeming work of Christ on the cross; and looking forward to where our hope takes us—our eternal dwelling place with Christ in the new heavens and the new earth.
Friday, December 5 HEBREWS 10:19-23 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Our journey of faith is not a trip we are taking alone. As we continue along the way, our faith in Christ allows us to draw near to God and to experience His presence. Our assurance in God’s faithfulness should cause us to find ways to encourage fellow travelers. If you know with certainty that every day brings us closer to God’s kingdom,
it will be hard to stand by idly and watch others become discouraged or falter. Pray for God to show you someone that you can encourage. When God brings that person into your day, spur them toward God’s love by loving them and by sharing words of hope that you know to be true.
Saturday, December 6 MATTHEW 1:18-25 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Joseph believed. Like the saints we read about in Hebrews 11, he confidently put his hope in the coming Messiah, even though he could not see with his physical eyes whether it was true. Not only did he believe, but he lived his life based on that belief, taking Mary as his wife and caring for her and for the baby she bore. Joseph’s journey of faith is such a familiar story, it is easy to overlook how difficult it probably was for him. What did his friends and family think? Can you imagine the pressure he must have felt to keep the baby safe? And then it was “tax season,” and he needed to travel all the way to Bethlehem at the worst possible time!
We don’t have details about any of that, but we do know one thing: “he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him.” Whatever the difficulties were that he surely faced, Joseph faithfully and patiently continued on in obedience. Ask God to strengthen your faith today, enabling you to hope in Him and take the next steps of your journey in obedience.
Peace
Sunday, December 7 HEBREWS 12:7-11
Advent Wreath
Light the first (purEndure hardship as discipline; God is ple) candle in your treating you as his children. For what wreath, the Hope children are not disciplined by their facandle. ther? If you are not disciplined—and Light the second everyone undergoes discipline—then (purple) candle in you are not legitimate, not true sons your wreath, the and daughters at all. Moreover, we have Peace candle. all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How Sing a verse of a much more should we submit to the Fafavorite Christmas ther of spirits and live! They disciplined carol as you light us for a little while as they thought best; the candles. but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
When we think about peace, discipline is probably not the first word that pops to mind. More likely, we think of a happy, harmonious environment in which there is no conflict or negativity of any kind. We think of heaven and the life that has been promised to us in the future. The promise of that future is true and is certainly something that we can look forward to with confidence. It gives us hope.
In our journeys of faith, we are going to come to difficulties in the path. There is going to be hardship along the way. What matters in these times is whether or not we submit to the heavenly Father and continue on in faithfulness. If we do, we will grow in Christ-likeness, and we will experience peace.
But God also wants us to know peace right now and, come to find out, peace is something we learn through training. To phrase that another way, peace is a discipline. It is not the absence of problems from our environment, but a way of living in it. Even more difficult to accept, peace is not the absence of pain, but rather the result of enduring it.
PRAYER FOR PEACE This week, as we meditate on the peace of Christ: • Thank God that He will one day establish eternal peace in Christ’s kingdom. • Thank God for making a way through Christ for us to be at peace with Him, permanently free from the guilt and separation of sin.
• Thank God for the gift of the Holy Spirit, who breathes peace into our lives. • Pray that God would help you to be faithful through every situation, and that His peace would be evident in your life. FAMILY TIME 1) To get better at anything (reading, drawing, baseball, or whatever), you have to practice. What are some things you want to get better at? 2) Sometimes we don’t want to practice, because it is hard. It helps to realize how much you have already learned. Is there anything you are better at right now than you were a year ago? Or longer? Ask your parents to remind you of some things that you have learned.
3) Did you know that God can help you grow more like Christ through practice too? Find some things you can do this Christmas season that would be good practice in Christ-likeness: volunteer at church, undecorate a tree, invite a friend to church, or to Festival of Lights. Think of a family project you could do this week that would help you practice things like obedience, peace or love.
Monday, December 8 ISAIAH 40:27-31 Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. As Israel waited for the day of salvation to come, it felt at times like God had forgotten them, like they were wandering aimless and lost without Him even paying attention to where they were. We can feel like that too, but nothing could be further from the truth.
God is strong and faithful. Hoping in Him is a fountain of strength that enables us to walk and even run. If you are feeling weary, remember that God – your everlasting God – is strong and waiting to share that strength with you.
Tuesday, December 9 PSALM 85:8-13 I will listen to what God the Lord says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants— but let them not turn to folly. Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps. Our God is loving and faithful and He promises peace to His faithful servants. It is interesting that the threat here to peace is not an external factor, like war or poverty or sickness; it is our own decision to turn away from God and His wisdom and toward foolishness.
In those times when we foolishly convince ourselves that God is far from us, this verse reminds us that God’s salvation is always near. Peace flows from God’s promise that He will always give us what we need to sustain us for the journey if we turn toward Him.
Wednesday, December 10 JOHN 16:32-33 “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” As Jesus neared the end of his earthly ministry, He could clearly see the painful walk ahead of Him, and He chose to walk it anyway, in submission to the Father, resting in the knowledge that the Father was with Him. The peace He experienced through submission can be our peace, just like His righteousness can be our righteousness.
The trouble we encounter as we follow Jesus does not need to cause anxiety and discouragement. Take heart today! You are not alone. And the person who is with you has already overcome the world.
Thursday, December 11 MATTHEW 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.� On a long journey with no end in sight, there comes a point when every step can feel like a burden. We especially get weary when we think it is our responsibility to carry everything all by ourselves. But it is not. Not only has Jesus walked the road already, but He wants to walk it with you. He is not asking you to carry your own burdens to the end,
He is asking you to lay them down, be yoked to Him and let Him do the heavy lifting. We just have to stay with Him and continue to go where He is going. Do you have burdens and concerns right now? Share them with Jesus today.
Friday, December 12 JOHN 14:1-7, 27 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him. ... Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” Maps are only as accurate as the information they contain. How many of us have relied on a GPS, only to realize that its information is outdated and that we are now someplace other than where we wanted to go?
God does not give as the world gives. He does not intend to get us only within the vicinity; He intends to get us to the end of the journey. Therefore, we need never fear, because Jesus is the way.
Saturday, December 13 ISAIAH 9:2-7 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. The feeling of being released from slavery and oppression is one that Israel experienced more than once. They knew the joy that followed freedom – but they continued to wait for the everlasting joy and peace that was going to come from the Messiah. They knew that when that day comes, peace and justice will be permanent. Our experience is similar; we also know the joy that comes from freedom. Thank God today for taking your burden of sin and giving you freedom in Christ! If you are burdened with worry or trouble right now in your journey, pray to give Christ that burden as well, and to receive His peace in return. Finally, pray for the coming of Christ’s kingdom, when there will be complete peace forever, everywhere.
Joy
Sunday, December 14 HEBREWS 12:1-3 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Advent Wreath Light the first (purple) candle in your wreath, the Hope candle. Light the second (purple) candle, the Peace candle. Light the third (rose) candle, the Joy candle. Sing a verse of a favorite Christmas carol as you light the candles.
Sometimes you need to stop doing something. Maybe it is a bad habit. Maybe it is a hobby that you know is taking up too much of your time, and diverting your attention from where it should be. Maybe it is a job or a sports team, and you know that God is leading you to something different. At other times, you are tempted to stop doing something when you know we should keep going. Maybe it is continuing to patiently show love in a difficult relationship. Maybe it is continuing to lead or attend a small group that is taking more energy than you realized. Maybe it is making a sacrificial decision that you know will be difficult. Maybe it is continuing to do the right thing, knowing you are the only one at your workplace doing so.
Satan wants us to feel weary, because that is how he tempts us to give up on our journey and, ultimately, to give up on God. Don’t do it! Think about Jesus, where He is right now, and how He got there. Now, think about your own life and compare the joy of finishing something well (a run you completed, an assignment you finished, a great meal you cooked) against times when you gave up too soon. Now multiply that by a zillion, and that’s about half as much joy as there will be when you finish this journey of faith with Jesus. Are there things you should stop doing that are secretly sapping your energy and stealing the joy from the path to which God is calling you?
PRAYER FOR JOY This week, as we meditate on joy in the journey: • Pray that God would reveal any sin or distraction in your life that is keeping you from serving Him with joy. When He reveals them, ask forgiveness and put those things (permanently) aside. • Thank Jesus for all that He endured to rescue you and bring you into a life of joy and freedom. • Pray that God would help you to persevere in faithfulness, and that His joy would be evident in your life. FAMILY TIME 1) Christians are sometimes surprised at the times when they expected to be sad, but were
instead joyful. For example, a time when a fun trip was canceled, but then they discovered they were just as joyful as if they got to go. Can you think of a time like that in your own life? 2) At Christmas, many people like to make lists of all the blessings in their life that bring them joy. Take some time with your family to make your own lists of blessings together and then pray and thank God for them. 3) At this time of year, we often look forward to the happiness we feel when we open presents. But at some point we learn how much joy there is in giving and in making other people happy. Find a way this week to give joy to someone else.
Monday, December 15 ISAIAH 61:1-3, 7-11 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.
“For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. In my faithfulness I will reward my people and make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed.� I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations. This is truly good news! It describes the day of joy that is coming when mourning, despair, shame and disgrace are all replaced by everlasting joy. Make the last lines your prayer today, praising God for clothing you with salvation and righteousness in Christ and looking forward to everlasting joy in His kingdom.
Tuesday, December 16 LUKE 15:7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
It’s interesting to think about what brings God joy. We have many verses that tell us that He delights in righteousness, lovingkindness, justice and faithfulness. But here we see that the real party in heaven happens when just one sinner repents. As God’s children, shouldn’t we feel the same? If changed lives are the thing that bring us the most joy, how should we live our lives today?
Pray for three people you know today who need to experience the freedom and joy that can be found in Jesus. Pray for God to give you an opportunity to show His love to them in a tangible way.
Wednesday, December 17 1 THESS. 5:16-24 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. Joy and thankfulness are not special emotions reserved for major holidays or for days of particular blessing. They are everyday things, and they go hand-in-hand together, along with prayer. Though we may not be thankful for every circumstance, we can be thankful in every circumstance. How? By remembering that our
God is faithful and that He is training us to hold onto what is good, to reject evil and to be at peace. Find five reasons to thank God right now. Later today, when you find yourself feeling weary, think of two more reasons to thank God. As you build a habit of encountering every circumstance in prayer and thankfulness, your joy will grow.
Thursday, December 18 PSALM 146:2, 5-10 I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God. He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—he remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord. When we see what God has done in the past and believe that He will do what He has promised, how can we not have joy? It’s the best news ever! Remind yourself of all the ways that
you have seen glimpses of God’s grace in your life. Remind yourself of the stories in Scripture of God’s salvation – and of our hope in His coming kingdom. Spend time today praising God who is faithful forever.
Friday, December 19 1 Peter 1:6-9 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. After describing our perfect future waiting in heaven, Peter here uses the metaphor of a refiner’s fire burnishing away imperfections to describe current trials. And yet the joy he describes is not entirely deferred;
he says we are being filled with glorious joy now, because we know we are on the way to the future. We don’t see Christ now, but we know we will see him and that hope brings us joy.
Saturday, December 20 MATTHEW 2:1-12 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him
with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
As far as we know, the Magi did not know God. And yet, God called them to himself through something they could understand, a special star. When the star appeared, they were filled with joy because THIS was something that they could follow! Even if they did not see the end of the journey clearly, they could understand enough to follow the star when it appeared.
God has done the same thing for all humanity by sending us Jesus, in the flesh. A God who is spirit is mysterious to us, but a flesh-andbones Jesus is something that we can understand. Even if we can’t see the end of the journey clearly, this is someone we can follow! Thank God today with joy for becoming human in Jesus in order to lead us home to Himself.
Love
Sunday, December 21 HEBREWS 2:9-13 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises.” And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.”
Advent Wreath Light the first (purple) candle in your wreath, the Hope candle. Light the second (purple) candle, the Peace candle. Light the third (rose) candle, the Joy candle. Light the fourth (purple) candle, the Love candle. Sing a verse of a favorite Christmas carol as you light the candles.
When we baptize believers at Calvary we do so using the phrase “Buried with Him in His death and raised with Him to new life.” Baptism is a visible sign that we are not just followers of Christ, but that we are indeed united with Christ. To be united with Him in His death means that we will not taste death because He has already died for us. To be united with him in His resurrection means that we will share in His glory. The result of this is that if you are united with Christ, then you are also a member of the royal family. Not just the royal family of your everyday run-of-the-mill king, but the royal family of the King of kings. What an act of love is that! Jesus became human so that He could
be the “pioneer” of our faith — enduring everything that we must endure and some things (death and punishment for sin) that, thanks to Him, now we don’t have to. The path to life has been blazed and we are invited to go on the journey. We are mere creatures, lower than the angels, who constantly wander off of the path, yet He chases after us to make us not only adopted members of His family, but full heirs. You have an inheritance! One that you did not earn. It is rightfully Jesus’, but He has chosen to bring us into His family and to call us His brothers and sisters because He loves us. He loves us so much, He died to make this happen. There is no greater love!
PRAYER FOR LOVE
FAMILY TIME
This week, as we meditate on love:
1) What is love like? Write down a list of ways that you would describe love or draw a picture of what love is like.
• Thank Jesus that He loves you so much that He wants you to be a member of His family and to share all of God’s blessings with you. • Thank God that His love never fails. It always patient and kind. • Pray that God would fill your own heart with love for Him and for His children. Pray that your heart would overflow with love for those who are not yet a part of God’s family.
2) Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 to see what God’s love is like and how we should love one another. Talk about how love should look in your lives and family. 3) Think of a special way to show love to someone this week. You might make a card or an ornament to surprise a neighbor or friend, or do something extra-special to help your parents during this busy holiday week.
Monday, December 22 PSALM 36:5-12 Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals. How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart. God’s love is unfailing; it is not going to end. Ever. We can always take refuge in Him. We can always look to Him for light in dark places. If you know God, and have tasted His
love, you can continue to know that love forever because God is faithful. Thank God for faithfully loving you today.
Tuesday, December 23 2 PETER 3:9-15 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation.
As we wait to get where we are going, we can become impatient. We know that the end of our journey is perfect peace, joy and love and waiting to get there gets hard. Our voices can sound like children in the backseat of the car calling “Are we almost there? Why is it taking so long?”
In these verses we find out why it is taking so long: because God loves us and He wants everyone to get on the road of faith to Him. God wants the end of the journey to come as much as we do, but He is patiently and faithfully bringing us along. God’s patience means love and salvation. Be encouraged today to continue in faith, and to bring others along on the journey with you.
Christmas Eve, December 24 LUKE 1:67-79 [John the Baptist’s] father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us— to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
Advent Wreath Light the first (purple) candle in your wreath, the Hope candle. Light the second (purple) candle, the Peace candle. Light the third (rose) candle, the Joy candle. Light the fourth (purple) candle, the Love candle. Light the central (white) candle, the Christ candle. Sing a favorite carol!
and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” When the angel, Gabriel told Zechariah that John the Baptist was going to be born, he did not immediately believe it could be true. But that did not stop God from doing what He had promised, it just caused Zechariah’s experience of that fulfillment to be more difficult and trying.
Here we read Zechariah’s joy when he sees God’s loving promises faithfully fulfilled. Thank God tonight for fulfilling His promise to send a savior; thank Him for His presence in your own life; and pray for patience and joy as we await His everlasting kingdom of peace.
Calvary Church
707 East Beltline NE | Grand Rapids, MI | 49525 616-956-9377 | calvarygr.org