Peace and grace to you!
Advent is a season to reflect, remember and anticipate. During this time, we remember the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We anticipate the time when He will come again. And, we reflect on the meaning of His coming, past and future, in our lives.
The Advent Calendar begins four Sundays before Christmas, which falls on November 27 this year. Our focus text for the season is the First Letter of John. The call to discipleship is a call to growing deeper in Christ and like Christ. Therefore, "all who have this hope in Him purify themselves." In other words, the writer emphasizes that the hope we find in Christ should manifest itself in how we live our lives in relation to God and to one another. The gospel is lived. We not only "tell it on the mountain," we show it in the workplace, the grocery store, and in rush hour traffic. That is a challenging task for all of us, but it is made immeasurably easier when we begin each day devoting it and ourselves to the Lord. In truth, that is the only way we can purify ourselves - by relying on God to do the work in us and having a receptive heart and spirit.
I pray that you will use this devotional guide to help you reflect and to draw nearer to God during this season when so many distractions vie for our attention. Each day, you will be given a song (that may be found on YouTube), a Scripture passage, and a reflective thought within each devotion. Everything else comes from your own prayerful reflection and the Holy Spirit. And while I provide a directed devotional, feel free to move as the Lord leads. If there is another passage of scripture that speaks to you, by all means, reflect and respond to that message.
You may complete this devotional time in 10 minutes or an hour-it's up to you! Use a journal to record your thoughts or download the entire devotional here.
My prayer is that each day you will rest in God's love!
In Christ,
Rev. Cheryl
