Advent Devotions

He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. 

Isaiah 2:4, NIV

In a year marked by the waging of a devastating war in Ukraine and countless acts of gun violence in the United States, the utopic vision of peace that emerges in these words from the prophet Isaiah can feel more like a laughable fantasy than a picture of a possible reality. Nonetheless, this prophetic vision invites us to imagine a world in which the armed services, military action and gun ownership cease to exist. 

If this description of the text sounds overly political, that’s only because Isaiah himself describes peace in such political terms. The prophet is not simply painting a cozy picture of lions lying down with lambs. Rather, he is calling for a reality marked by the demolition of weapons and the dismantling of military infrastructure. These are words that would have been as likely to provoke discomfort in ancient time as they are today. Yet, for those who truly trust in God, this vision of peace bids us to take action that would make this vision a reality. 

Prayer Guide:

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. 

Hebrews 11:6, NIV

This text is about Enoch, Adam’s great-great-great-great grandson and Noah’s great grandfather. Enoch walked with God (365 years) and was known as one who pleased God. How did Enoch walk with God? Genesis 5 tells us he had a firm trust in God. Enoch’s walk involved fellowship and communion with God. When two friends walk together, they do so to enjoy each other’s company. God desires companionship with his children. Equally necessary is obedience. The apostle John emphasized this in 1 John 1:6: “If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” One cannot walk with God and live in sin. 

Uncertainty can result in Christ followers becoming passive, numb or having a survival mentality. Follow Enoch’s example this Advent season. God can restore relationships. God can build our spiritual lives. Prayer can make a difference. Revival can happen in this nation. God can develop our children to be his vessels. Look towards 2023 with a holy confidence. 

Prayer Guide:

He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 

John 1:10-13, NIV

Jesus came and dwelt among us, yet many could not, or chose not, to recognize him or receive him. The creator of the universe voluntarily withstood this rejection and denial to present his life-saving persona to those who, by God’s ultimate grace, believed in his name and put their faith fully in him. Jesus is still revealing himself today and offering faithful believers that wonderful “right to become children of God.” 

Prayer Guide:

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” 

Luke 1:39-45, NIV

“But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Elizabeth is unexpectedly and joyfully pregnant at last. In fact, she is not only pregnant, she is carrying a prophet. And no ordinary prophet, but the one who will announce the coming of the long-awaited Messiah. 

When Mary arrives, this baby kicks and kicks! At this moment Elizabeth has a choice—to believe that her baby is the prophet announcing the Messiah, or simply to attribute the kicks to something else. She chooses to believe this is no ordinary set of kicks, but God fulfilling his promises. 

By faith Elizabeth recognizes God moving. By faith she does not see a scared, young, pregnant and unmarried teenager, but the mother of the Messiah. By faith she knows that the Messiah has come to her. 

And she asks, “why me?” How can this wonderful thing be happening to me? Why would God come to an ordinary old woman, making her the first person other than Mary to know that the Messiah has come? Why are ordinary people so important in God’s plan of salvation? 

Prayer Guide:

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 

Matthew 1:20-21, NIV

From Joseph’s human perspective, his betrothed Mary has betrayed him. She is pregnant and he is not the father. To assume she was unfaithful is how most of us would react in that situation. If that were the case, Mary had violated the legally binding agreement to marry Joseph. Yet Joseph shows an exceptional compassion to what looks like obvious infidelity. 

Instead of exposing Mary to the community and possibly death, Joseph plans to divorce her quietly. He has no interest in bringing greater shame on her or her family. 

Before he takes that action however, an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream. The angel calls Joseph by name, tells him to take Mary home and shares the miracle that the child is conceived by the Holy Spirit. 

When the angel tells Joseph to name the child Jesus, he begins to understand that he is to be the earthly father of Jehovah, the savior of the world. 

Prayer Guide: