Advent Day 9 ~ Redemption

Today's word is redemption.

"Praise be to the Lord, 

the God of Israel,

because he has come and has 

redeemed his people."

Luke 1:68

"But when the time had fully come,

God sent his Son,

born of a woman,

born under the law,

to redeem those under the law,

that we might receive

the full rights of sons."

Galatians 4:4-5

I think Galatians has become one of my favorite books in the Bible. For Christ-followers, it is the story of our redemption - our freedom.

One of my favorite commentators, John Stott, sets up Galatians chapter 4, this way:

"In Galatians 3 the apostle Paul surveyed 2,000 years of Old Testament history. In particular, he showed the relation between three of the great figures of biblical history - Abraham, Moses and Jesus Christ. He explained how God gave Abraham a promise to bless all the families of the earth through his posterity; how he then gave Moses a law which, far from annulling the promise, actually made it more necessary and urgent; and how the promise was fulfilled in Christ, so that everyone whom the law drives to Christ inherits the promise which God made to Abraham."

In today's passage in Galatians 4, we come to that moment in history when God's plan of redemption through His incarnate Son ushers in our freedom.

God sent His Son.

This is our redemption. This is our freedom. This is our gift from heaven.

"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as as atoning sacrifice for our sins" 1 John 4:9-10

God promised to bless all the families of the earth; he fulfilled that promise in Christ. He sent His Son to redeem us from the bondage of sin. Rejoice! He has come and has redeemed his people!

Sovereign Grace Music paints a picture of this redemption in verse 2 of their version of the Christmas carol O Holy Night: O Holy Night (Hear the Gospel Story)

Humbly He lay, Creator come as creature,
Born on the floor of a hay-scattered stall.
True Son of God, yet bearing human feature,
He entered earth to reverse Adam’s fall.
In towering grace, He laid aside His glory,
And in our place, was sacrificed for sin.
Fall on your knees! O hear the gospel story!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night when Christ was born!

You can listen to it as well on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p22kKXgKqnM

My journal pages for today:

The Advent Words 2017 prompts and Scripture reading calendar can be found in this post or in the Facebook group.

Advent Day 8 ~ Peace

Today begins the second week of Advent. The theme for this week and today's word is peace.

"For unto 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 increase 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."

Isaiah 9:6-7

"He will stand and shepherd his flock

in the strength of the LORD,

in the majesty of the name of the 

LORD his God.

And they will live securely, for then

his greatness

will reach the ends of the earth.

And he will be their peace."

Micah 5;4-5

These two passages speak of the characteristics of the Messiah and what life will be like in His reign. I think these prophecies were meant to give the people who were looking for and longing for the coming Messiah a sense of peace and hope. The peace that the Bible speaks of is  more than  what we tend to think of as peace; the absence of war or conflict, or calm and quiet. It is a deep restoration of what is broken and painful in the world - separation with God as a result of sin. In Hebrew the word for peace is Shalom. Shalom is a sense of well-being and fulfillment that comes from God and is dependent on His presence. Shalom is wholeness, prosperity, security and fullness of life that only comes as a result of a restored relationship with God, through Jesus Christ. Ephesians tells us that the prophecy spoken of in Micah 4:5 has come to pass in the person of Jesus Christ ..."He himself is our peace." (Ephesians 2:14) Jesus Christ took on the sin that kept us far from God on the cross and made it possible for us to have peace with God. Acts 10:36; Romans 5:1-2, 9-11; Ephesians 2:14-18, Colossians 1:19-22 are all passages that explain how peace with God is made through Jesus Christ by His blood shed on the cross.

Jesus is our peace. He is the instrument through which God brings us back – reconciles – us to Him. 

If you do not feel you have peace with God, then please read the passages I spoke of above that show the way to peace with God through Christ. Pray over them. Then ask Jesus  for His forgiveness of your sin. Read Acts 10:43 and Romans 10:9-10 for more. Do this and know that you have peace with God and let this Advent season be a time of celebration for His goodness, mercy and grace in your life.

My journal pages for today:

The Advent Words 2017 prompts and Scripture reading calendar can be found in this post or in the Facebook group.

Advent Day 7 ~ Coming

Today's word is coming.

In the Advent season we celebrate and focus on Christ's three comings: His first coming, his arrival in history as baby in a manger, His second coming at the end of time, and His coming into our own lives in Spirit and power.

"He has come and is coming. One day, He will come again." ~Kris Camealy

Today's passages focus our attention to His second coming:

"At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."  ~ Luke 21:27-28

"Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly await for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful."

~ 1 Corinthians 1:7-9

My journal pages for today:

Let the words of the scripture passages give you encouragement as you reflect on them. Today I am keeping my words to a minimum because I want to share some of the artwork from members of our community. I want to highlight the variety of art forms being used and the creativity and talent in this group. I am overwhelmed that over 110 people accepted my invitation to join me on this Advent journey! My prayer for this group is that we would all draw closer to Christ, our Savior, in this season, and that slowing down and taking in the Scriptures and the creative time would deepen our faith.

Sherry Fakuda Cartwright is doing a combination of memory keeping, art journaling, lettering and Bible journaling through the Advent season.

Daphne Gihz Boder chose a pre-printed coloring page and is going to decorate each ornament with the daily Advent words.

Lythan Nevard is filling her journal with lettering the daily Scripture passages. 

Distinctly Daisy filling her journal with the word definitions and  collage.

Robin Williams is using images from past Christmas cards to decorate her pages.

Lindsey Van Niekerk is doing Bible Journaling.

Cindy Mayfield is painting her pages along with art journaling.

Ellen Etzler is painting a face for each of the Advent words.

Jane Lydia Henderson is painting and lettering on her pages.

We have a few followers who are posting exclusively on Instagram or their blogs:

Olga Lucia Orozco, Olgaluorozco on Instagram is lettering on found images. I love that even in another language we can still connect with God's Word together and share in the season.

Tracy Woodsford is participating on Instagram (sojournertracy) making pages in a tag size journal. 

Shawna Rash, artfromthespirit on Instagram doing art journaling.

It's amazing the wide variety of creativity all from the same set of words and Scripture passages! Next Saturday I'll highlight another group of pictures from the Advent Words group.

The Advent Words 2017 prompts and Scripture reading calendar can be found in this post or in the Facebook group.

Advent Day 6 ~ Reflect

Today's word is reflect.

"Great are the works of the LORD;

they are pondered by all who delight in them.

Glorious and majestic are his deeds,

and his righteousness endures forever.

Psalm 111:2-3

Luke 2:1-20 tells the story of the birth of Jesus. We read in this passage that Joseph and Mary had to travel late in her pregnancy to go to the town of Bethlehem for a mandatory census. While in Bethlehem Mary goes into labor and her baby, Jesus, is born. Because they had not been able to find a room to rent, they had to use a stable. And so, Mary wrapped baby Jesus in cloths and placed him in a manger.

On that same night an angel of the Lord, shining with God's glory, appears to some shepherds at work in the fields. "Do not be afraid." He tells them. "I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you: He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." At this news a "great company of heavenly host" appear. I imagine that they fill the sky and light it up as if the sun were shining. The angels begin to praise God.

"Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace to men on 

whom his favor rests"

Those shepherds immediately take off for Bethlehem and find Joseph and Mary and baby Jesus, wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger, just as the angel of the Lord had said. They spread the word about the angel of the Lord had given them, that this baby lying in a manger is the Savior. He is Christ the Lord, the promised Messiah. All who heard this were amazed. The shepherds eventually returned to their home "glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard".

Stuck in this passage, right before the story ends, is one sentence of Mary's response to these events:

"Mary treasured up all these thing and pondered them in her heart."

We have a clue to what Mary was treasuring and pondering in her heart. We have the events recorded by Luke in chapter 1 that reveal that Mary herself had been visited by an angel of the Lord. The angel had revealed to her the very things he revealed to the shepherds, so their words were not news to her, but rather confirmation. She had given birth to a king! Mary pondered the great, glorious and majestic works of the Lord. She reflected on them and treasured them in her heart.

"The Mighty One has done great things for me - holy is his name." Luke 1:49

Honestly, I read this story and immediately what comes to mind is a passage from the book of Romans: "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope." Romans 15:4. Probably not what you thought, huh? And maybe it just came to mind because I have spent some time in this chapter of Romans over the past month. But, you know, I read about Mary's response and I think, "I want that kind of faith. The kind of faith that immediately sees God's hand at work in every situation." Me, I probably would have focused on my circumstances, looking for a solution, and then turning to God in prayer once I had exhausted all of my own resources. But if you read chapters 1 and 2 of Luke, you see Mary time after time looking to the Lord and praising Him for His work in her life. You don't see a shred of doubt, not a glitch of worry or anxiety. She doesn't fret over her circumstances, or even try to manage them on her own. Mary is focused on God. For that kind of faith  I think Mary must have had a life that was filled with the scriptures. And she alludes to that in her song in Luke 1:46-55, referencing the mighty works of the Lord in the past, in Israel's history. She would have heard in the temple the prophecies of the coming Savior, the Messiah - the One that was hoped for. When that angel came to her, she believed. I want Mary's kind of faith. I believe this is the role of the scriptures in our lives. I can read Mary's story and witness her faith and from it I can have hope. God used this young, humble teenage girl to birth the Savior of the world. Mary's faith in believing what God says he will do encourages me and is my example of how to live in faith and in hope.

The Advent Words 2017 prompts and Scripture reading calendar can be found in this post or in the Facebook group.

Advent Day 5 ~ Promise

Today's word is promise.

" 'The days are coming', declares the LORD, 

'when I will fulfill the gracious promise 

I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.'

"In those days and at that time 

I will make a righteous Branch 

sprout from David's line; 

he will do what is just and right in the land.

In those days Judah will be saved

and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it will be called:
The LORD is our righteousness."

Jeremiah 33:14-16

This passage, which by the way is repeated from earlier in the book (Jeremiah 23:5-6), speaks of the promise of God coming to fruition. A time when Israel and Judah would be ruled in righteousness instead of the corruption that reigned for centuries, with power-hungry kings who often led the nations in worshiping false idols. The prophets longed for a king who would rule as God's anointed, modeling His justice and righteousness.The clues to who that king would be are found in this prophetic passage: "Righteous branch" and "David's line". The term "righteous branch" was used by the prophets to express the promise and faithfulness of God (see Isaiah 4:2, 11:1, Jeremiah 23:5, 33:15, Zechariah 3:8, 6:12). The Messiah, the prophets said, would come from the line of David (see 2 Samuel 7:12, Psalm 89:3-4, Isaiah 7:13-14, Ezekiel 34:23, 37:24). And so, Matthew's gospel begins with "the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David..." (Matthew 1:1). Then throughout the Christmas story found in Luke's gospel, we see this same phrase: Luke 1:32, 69, 2:4,11. Jesus Christ came to earth in fulfillment of the prophecies God gave Jeremiah, Isaiah and Zechariah. He is the promised One who will do what is just and right. He is the LORD our righteousness. (See also: Romans 3:21-24; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21)

In the Advent season we can reflect on passages such as the ones mentioned above that focus on God's righteousness in the past, in Israel's history. In them we can see the promise fulfilled in Jesus Christ. At the same time, we can allow these promises to build and strengthen our faith today and build our hope for Christ's promised return in the future.

The Advent Words 2017 prompt and Scripture reading calendar can be found in this post or in the Facebook group.