Advent Day 14

"Church seasons, like Advent, root us in a tradition ages older than ourselves, connecting us to a history of generational, celebratory worship in the church that has gone before us. Traditions like Advent give us a familiar place to dwell, a place that has long been settled before we wandered in, and a place that will likely remain after we have wandered on to glory. The familiarity and routine of the practice comforts us, offering a stability when the rest of the world rocks and sways with discontent, terror, sickness, disease and chaos." ~Kris Camealy, p67.

Resources:
Come, Lord Jesus: The Weight of Waiting by Kris Camealy. Available at Amazon.
Come, Lord Jesus Advent Book Club at Creative and Free.
Visit my church's website where we are offering a weekly Advent theme devotion and resources on our blog: Grace Church 

Advent Day 13

"Jesus came and announced to us, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). During His sermon on the mount, Jesus told the people, told us, that we are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). How can this be, we wonder, how can Jesus and we both be “the light of the world”? This is made possible because our lives as believers are hidden in Christ. Our lives now grafted to His, allow us to be a light as He was. Christ’s presence in us is reflected to the world through the living out of our active, sacrificial faith."

~Kris Camealy, p63.

Resources:
Come, Lord Jesus: The Weight of Waiting by Kris Camealy. Available at Amazon.
Come, Lord Jesus Advent Book Club at Creative and Free.
Visit my church's website where we are offering a weekly Advent theme devotion and resources on our blog: Grace Church 

Advent Day 12

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

"With everything else this season requires of us, God instructs us to pray without ceasing. It’s not only our continual prayer that He calls us to, but a continual position of gratitude. Give thanks in all  circumstances, Paul reminds. All circumstances. This is surely easier said than practiced. A pray-without-ceasing-with-an-attitude-of-gratitude lifestyle takes intentional effort and cultivation. Most of us do not inhabit this space by default, and without work.

To pray this way, we have to turn from our traditional view of prayer, where we sit still with folded hands and closed eyes for a time. To live out the prayer described here, requires that our very lives essentially become a prayer. We have to become aware of our need, and our complete and utter inability to create for ourselves the life God intends for us. Only in true humility, can we learn what it looks like to pray without ceasing. This kind of prayer can only come from recognizing and confessing our complete inability to do life on our own terms. We need God’s help, every hour, and so we discover in this recognition of our tremendous need, what it means to pray without ceasing."

~Kris Camealy, p56.

Today's reading was such a good reminder of the type of prayer God calls us to. And Kris has so much more to say on this in the rest of today's reading. Oh Lord, may my life become a prayer.

Resources:
Come, Lord Jesus: The Weight of Waiting by Kris Camealy. Available at Amazon.
Come, Lord Jesus Advent Book Club at Creative and Free.
Visit my church's website where we are offering a weekly Advent theme devotion and resources on our blog: Grace Church 

Advent Day 11

"Yes, we wait during Advent.We shift anxious with anticipation for the coming King. We prepare and plan and plot our next steps, diligently living each day as it comes, but sometimes, forgetting that though we wait, we are invited to dream. We are prodded towards hoping against all that our eyes see, for the heaven that is already here in our midst. Thy kingdom come. It has, it is, it will  again. Might we celebrate the fervent faithfulness of God, the restoration already given through Jesus, and the coming restoration of the earth like dreamers do, with shouts of joy, with visions of hope, with laughter on our lips? 

Let Advent be not only a contemplative time, but a spirited celebration of the joy of the already-here Jesus." ~Kris Camealy, p53-54.

Resources:
Come, Lord Jesus: The Weight of Waiting by Kris Camealy. Available at Amazon.
Come, Lord Jesus Advent Book Club at Creative and Free.
Visit my church's website where we are offering a weekly Advent theme devotion and resources on our blog: Grace Church 

Advent Day 10

"The blessing of Mary, through the gestation and delivery of Jesus, remains one of the most controversial miracles ever recorded. Never before, and never since, has there ever been another immaculate conception. Of all people from the beginning of time, God chose this one young woman, and no one else, for the birth that would change the entire world, forever. And here, in this passage [Luke 1:46-55], Mary recognizes the magnitude of what God has done, and she worships. She calls out the good faithfulness of God, reciting the mighty movement of His actions throughout history. She tells us that for those who fear Him, His mercy will stand, from generation, to generation (Luke 1:50). In other words, God has already chosen and will continue to choose us, again and again. He chose us first in Eden, in Egypt, in the wilderness, in Israel, in Gethsemane, and on the cross. He chooses us now, in Advent and all of the church seasons that come in between and after. 

Through Mary, God chose us, all these generations later. Out of her obedience and willingness, the miracle we long for has already come to us. Jesus. Immanuel. We are already filled with the only thing that can meet our every need."

~Kris Camealy, p48-49

Resources:
Come, Lord Jesus: The Weight of Waiting by Kris Camealy. Available at Amazon.
Come, Lord Jesus Advent Book Club at Creative and Free.
Visit my church's website where we are offering a weekly Advent theme devotion and resources on our blog: Grace Church