Tag: Christian living

Advent Reflections: 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Leave a comment

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

We’ve all been there before: hurting and in need of comfort. That’s never a fun place to be. In fact, we’ll often do just about anything we can to avoid it. And, when it comes to us anyway, we are often equally committed to getting out of it. Where do you go when you are in need of comfort? The season of Advent is a time when hurts from our past can feel a bit heavier than usual. Fortunately, it is also the season when God’s comfort became real in a way no one has ever experienced before. Let’s talk about finding comfort and the purpose of God’s comfort.

Read the rest…

Advent Reflections: Psalm 40:1-3

Leave a comment

“I waited patiently for the Lord , and he turned to me and heard my cry for help. He brought me up from a desolate pit, out of the muddy clay, and set my feet on a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and they will trust in the Lord.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Misery loves company. This saying is true in a couple of different ways. The first is that someone who is miserable will often try to make the people around him miserable, dragging them down into the much of life with him so that he isn’t alone down there. That’s the more common meaning of the phrase. It is also true, though, that someone who is in a miserable place in life can find hope and comfort by knowing she is not alone in her striving and struggling to get through a hard season of life. The season of Advent is a reminder that even when it feels like all the people around us are leaving us to our own miserable devices, there is one who is always ready to meet us there and bring comfort to us. Let’s talk about it.

Read the rest…

Advent Reflections: Hebrews 6:19

2 Comments

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

We tried to plant some plants this fall. They died. We tried to keep them alive. We never mean to kill the plants we put in the ground or in pots. We planted these, though, right in the middle of an exceedingly dry spell, and we were so busy that we forgot to water them. Without water, plants don’t tend to make it. Kind of like a plant needs water to make it, our souls need hope. Without hope, we gradually wither up and die. The Advent season is a reminder that hope is available to us. Let’s talk about it as we continue our journey today.

Read the rest…

Advent Reflections: Psalm 150

12 Comments

“Hallelujah! Praise God in his sanctuary. Praise him in his mighty expanse. Praise him for his powerful acts; praise him for his abundant greatness. Praise him with the blast of a ram’s horn; praise him with harp and lyre. Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and flute. Praise him with resounding cymbals; praise him with clashing cymbals. Let everything that breathes praise the Lord. Hallelujah!” (CSB)

Over the course of the various birth and infancy narratives of Jesus in the Gospels, every time someone encounters the baby who was God in human flesh their response is uniformly one of worship. Worship is something we are called to again and again throughout the Scriptures. Yet it often feels like worship can only happen in a limited number of ways. If you don’t happen to fall into one of those categories, too bad for you. Is this really how things are? Not for a second. Let’s talk about worship and Advent and encountering Jesus in the ways God designed us.

Read the rest…

Advent Reflections: Luke 11:1-4

Leave a comment

“He was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.’ He said to them, ‘Whenever you pray, say, Father, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone in debt to us. And do not bring us into temptation.’” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Throughout the season of Advent, we are to be preparing ourselves for Jesus’ arrival. One of the best ways to do this is through the spiritual disciplines. Of these several lines of ancient practice intended to put us into a posture of readiness for the action of God in, through, and around us, prayer sits among the most foundational. Knowing how to pray is something we often wonder about. Thankfully, Jesus gave us some instructions. Let’s talk about them.

Read the rest…