So, some of you saw my post where I was talking about how I was just feeling motivated lately to write. Shortly after that, one of our pastors asked me if I would write two devotions for advent for our online advent devotional. I was very nervous, but excited to say yes. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed reading over the scripture she gave me, praying about it and writing those devotions. I hope for the opportunity to do a lot more of that. The devotions are online at our church website, but I thought I would do a post to include them on the blog to have them for the future.
Devotion 1
Titus 3:3-7
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
I don’t know about you, but I almost have to laugh at this passage starting with “at one time we too WERE…”.
Were? As if we Now no longer experience malice, envy, hate? I wish I could say none of these emotions ever enslave me. Unfortunately if I am honest, I experience all of these emotions from time to time. From simple envy, “I wish I had those boots”, to complicated hate, “I hate it when you don’t listen to me!” I don’t even like the word hate. We don’t allow our children to say the word. But do I feel it? Yes. Envy? Yes. Malice? Yes. If the story ended there, I would be left without life, without hope, without grace.
But thankfully it doesn’t end there. Paul reminds us…The KINDNESS and LOVE of God SAVED US. Through his mercy, through renewal by the Holy Spirit, we are SAVED. We are TRANSFORMED. We have HOPE. Through this grace we become a family in Christ and we worship. It’s not just that we ‘were foolish’ but we are foolish. And so we worship, because it’s not just that he ‘saved’ but that he SAVES us.
That leads me to think more about worship. How do we worship? According to Webster, worship can take many forms including prayer, meditation, reading scripture, listening to sermons, singing, dancing, and fasting. But there should also be more. He calls us to more. He calls us to Follow Him.
So what would it look like to worship by following Christ? How does he ask us to follow Him?
Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" and "love thy neighbor as thyself."
Can we do it? Can we love everyone? The people that hurt us? The people that believe differently than we do? The people that hate us? Can we love even them? Can we as the family of Christ adore him, by following his greatest commandments?
Heavenly Father, Please don’t leave me where I am today. Bring me with you. Teach me to love as you love. Amen.
Devotion 2
Day 18: Psalm 130
A song of ascents.
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, LORD; 2 Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. 3 If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? 4 But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you. 5 I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. 6 I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. 7 Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. 8 He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.
I had never truly experienced ‘out of the depths I cry to you, Lord’ until this past summer. After meeting our beautiful daughter in May, we had to leave her in the orphanage in Ethiopia to wait for the US Embassy to approve her visa.
We were told to expect to wait 6-8 weeks. Those first six weeks were hard. But then another six weeks went by and still no approval. One morning, I woke to an email that we were not approved, AGAIN. I felt total despair. I don’t know that I cried out to the Lord as much as I screamed out to Him, wailed out to Him to bring our daughter home.
Friends and family tried to comfort us by telling us to feel peace, it was all God’s timing. Really? Then why am I praying SO hard? Why am I HOPING so hard if it is all God’s timing. Does prayer even matter? So I consulted my trusty spiritual advisor (known to some as Owen Barrow).
And he said something that began to change how I think of prayer:
“What if human choice/error is actually disrupting/distorting/polluting God's timing? What if God wanted her to be home, and the powers that be are blocking God's will? Then, in fact, you would be praying for a miracle…or for God to in some senses override the brokenness and give birth to his kingdom right before your eyes. And in that case, we pray boldly.”
So I began to pray boldly. To pray on my knees. To wait for the Lord with my Whole Being and while I waited to HOPE.
“Hope is believing in spite of the evidence, then watching the evidence change.” (Jim Wallis, Faith Work)
All of us hope. My children are hoping for a bike for Christmas. My husband is hoping for his new business to grow. I am hoping for my daughter to sleep through the night.
I don’t believe that hoping and praying for these things are wrong. However, I worry that I can turn God into a vending machine ‘in the sky’. If I push a wrong button on my phone it says “Please wait…say a command”. Do I make God feel this way? Do I ask more than I listen? The answer often is yes.
But God teaches us to trust, to listen, to wait and to hope.
I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. Genesis 26:24
Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished. Luke 1:45
Be Still. And know that I am God. Psalm 46:10.
God, thank you for your unfailing love. As we wait for the birth of our savior, let us find time for silence in the midst of chaos. To Hope. To Pray Boldly. And perhaps most importantly to Be Still and Listen. Amen.
Devotion 1
Titus 3:3-7
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
I don’t know about you, but I almost have to laugh at this passage starting with “at one time we too WERE…”.
Were? As if we Now no longer experience malice, envy, hate? I wish I could say none of these emotions ever enslave me. Unfortunately if I am honest, I experience all of these emotions from time to time. From simple envy, “I wish I had those boots”, to complicated hate, “I hate it when you don’t listen to me!” I don’t even like the word hate. We don’t allow our children to say the word. But do I feel it? Yes. Envy? Yes. Malice? Yes. If the story ended there, I would be left without life, without hope, without grace.
But thankfully it doesn’t end there. Paul reminds us…The KINDNESS and LOVE of God SAVED US. Through his mercy, through renewal by the Holy Spirit, we are SAVED. We are TRANSFORMED. We have HOPE. Through this grace we become a family in Christ and we worship. It’s not just that we ‘were foolish’ but we are foolish. And so we worship, because it’s not just that he ‘saved’ but that he SAVES us.
That leads me to think more about worship. How do we worship? According to Webster, worship can take many forms including prayer, meditation, reading scripture, listening to sermons, singing, dancing, and fasting. But there should also be more. He calls us to more. He calls us to Follow Him.
So what would it look like to worship by following Christ? How does he ask us to follow Him?
Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" and "love thy neighbor as thyself."
Can we do it? Can we love everyone? The people that hurt us? The people that believe differently than we do? The people that hate us? Can we love even them? Can we as the family of Christ adore him, by following his greatest commandments?
Heavenly Father, Please don’t leave me where I am today. Bring me with you. Teach me to love as you love. Amen.
Devotion 2
Day 18: Psalm 130
A song of ascents.
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, LORD; 2 Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. 3 If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? 4 But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you. 5 I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. 6 I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. 7 Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. 8 He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.
I had never truly experienced ‘out of the depths I cry to you, Lord’ until this past summer. After meeting our beautiful daughter in May, we had to leave her in the orphanage in Ethiopia to wait for the US Embassy to approve her visa.
We were told to expect to wait 6-8 weeks. Those first six weeks were hard. But then another six weeks went by and still no approval. One morning, I woke to an email that we were not approved, AGAIN. I felt total despair. I don’t know that I cried out to the Lord as much as I screamed out to Him, wailed out to Him to bring our daughter home.
Friends and family tried to comfort us by telling us to feel peace, it was all God’s timing. Really? Then why am I praying SO hard? Why am I HOPING so hard if it is all God’s timing. Does prayer even matter? So I consulted my trusty spiritual advisor (known to some as Owen Barrow).
And he said something that began to change how I think of prayer:
“What if human choice/error is actually disrupting/distorting/polluting God's timing? What if God wanted her to be home, and the powers that be are blocking God's will? Then, in fact, you would be praying for a miracle…or for God to in some senses override the brokenness and give birth to his kingdom right before your eyes. And in that case, we pray boldly.”
So I began to pray boldly. To pray on my knees. To wait for the Lord with my Whole Being and while I waited to HOPE.
“Hope is believing in spite of the evidence, then watching the evidence change.” (Jim Wallis, Faith Work)
All of us hope. My children are hoping for a bike for Christmas. My husband is hoping for his new business to grow. I am hoping for my daughter to sleep through the night.
I don’t believe that hoping and praying for these things are wrong. However, I worry that I can turn God into a vending machine ‘in the sky’. If I push a wrong button on my phone it says “Please wait…say a command”. Do I make God feel this way? Do I ask more than I listen? The answer often is yes.
But God teaches us to trust, to listen, to wait and to hope.
I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. Genesis 26:24
Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished. Luke 1:45
Be Still. And know that I am God. Psalm 46:10.
God, thank you for your unfailing love. As we wait for the birth of our savior, let us find time for silence in the midst of chaos. To Hope. To Pray Boldly. And perhaps most importantly to Be Still and Listen. Amen.
