First Saturday of Advent

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 4:2-6

Key Verse(s): In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorified, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. ~Isaiah 4:2

After the judgment and the destruction comes life and fruitfulness. For Israel these words from Isaiah would have produced the kind of hope that sustains a person through the most difficult circumstances. A day is coming when this time of chastisement will end. There will be survivors, and the land will again be fruitful. Once again God’s presence will be known in the land. There is a reference to a “cloud by day and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night” (Isa 4:5). This would have instantly recalled for the Israelites God’s presence in a similar manner when the people of Israel fled Egypt. God is promising that he will come again and be with his people and he will be “a booth for shade…a refuge and a shelter” (Isa 4:6). These are words to bring hope to a dying people, a lost and wandering people. “The branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorified” (Isa 4:2). This is ultimately a reference to Jesus, the Messiah. Elsewhere Isaiah speaks of “a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him” (Isa 11:1-2). In our difficult times now we can rest assured that Jesus is in our midst, that he seeks to bear fruit in our lives if we remain connected to him, the True Vine (Jn 15:1-11).

Reflect: The Israelites could look back on past events like the pillar of smoke and cloud as reminders from their history of God’s presence and activity in their midst. Make a list today of times that God has revealed himself to you. Look at it frequently, especially during difficult times, as a reminder that God is on your side and will not leave you or forsake you.

Almighty God and Heavenly Father, thank you for the promise that you will return to your people and that joy and light will come again after darkness and sadness. Help me to always find my hope in you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

For Further Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Luke 21:5-19 Psalm 20

First Friday of Advent

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 3:8-15

Key Verse(s): Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. ~Isaiah 3:10

The problem with idols is that they leave us empty, hungry for more. The more we serve them, hoping to be satisfied, the more we desire, the emptier we become. We become completely absorbed with things that are of no eternal consequence that we can quickly find ourselves headed in the wrong direction fast. Judah found themselves in this position time and again and this is why Isaiah was sent – to call them back, to warn them of God’s judgment. This is why Jesus said to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matt 6:33). If we spend all our time chasing after things that pass away, we never spend time connecting to the One who does not pass away. The live righteously is to live at oneness with God, to be “right” with Him. And Isaiah tells the people of Judah that the wicked shall receive their punishment, but tells the righteous that “it will be well with them…they shall eat the fruit of their deeds” (Isa 3:10). Matthew’s gospel tells us that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness “will be satisfied” (Matt 5:6). With what will they be satisfied? With God Himself, who is the very source of life and all good things in it. Their ardent desire to live rightly with God results in their being with God. There is nothing greater than this.

Reflect: What types of things are you cultivating in your life right now? Ask God to help you use this Advent season to begin cultivating righteousness in your life that you would be prepared for His coming again.

O God, you know my heart, search me and cleanse me, that I may be made new. Fill me with a hunger for your righteousness that I might not sin against you but might live according to your statutes. Grant this for the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.

For Further Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 Luke 20:41-21:4 Psalm 16

First Thursday of Advent

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 2:12-22

Key Verse(s): Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?

If we’re willing to be honest with ourselves we have to admit that our hearts are frequently divided in their loyalties. Rather than being fixed solely on loving God we are filled with fleeting attractions to and affections for those things which cannot satisfy because they are not God. They are idols. Israel struggled mightily with idols, frequently abandoning their worship of the One True God for the worship of statues of wood and stone. At other times they tried to worship both idols and God. But God will not be shared. He desires and demands all of us for all of Him. Today our idols may not be statues or stone and wood, but they may take the form of success, independence, money, power, possessions, and pride. If we are to have hearts that belong to God alone then we must become humble people so that God alone may be exalted (Isa 2:17). There is nothing that man can offer that compares with what God desires to freely give us. Isaiah 2:22 says “Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?” The point isn’t to demean human life, but to redirect our priorities and our perspective. If a person stops breathing they die, their physical life ends, they are finite and their abilities and powers are finite. Yet we spend so much time following the ways of man when we should be seeking the one who gives life to man in the first place. We need to remember that in the Garden of Eden “God breathed into him [Adam] the breath of life and he became a living creature” (Gen 2:7). No person and no idol made with human hands have that capacity.

Reflect: What things have become idols in your life that divide your heart from loving God and serving Him? Begin the work of ridding yourself of them and giving an undivided heart to God.

Heavenly Father, teach me to love you alone. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

For Further Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:1-13 Luke 20:27-40 Psalm 18:1-20

First Wednesday of Advent

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 2:1-11

Key Verse(s): Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his path…O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord. ~Isaiah 2:3, 5

The second chapter of Isaiah begins with the description of a coming time when God will restore the people of Israel and establish Jerusalem as His holy city once again. It was a reminder that a day was coming when God would set things right, a day when justice and peace would come for those who “walk in his path” (Isa 2:3). The reign of God would be characterized by peace between individuals and nations as tools that had previously been used in war for the purpose of killing and destruction would then be used for bringing forth life and prosperity from the ground. Advent is preparing us to remember that God has acted in a decisive way by sending Jesus to be born and that He ushered in a new era as the Savior of the world. But we know that we are also waiting for the redemption of the world to be completed at the last day, when finally all things will be put right. So we are encouraged to continue to “walk in the light of the Lord” (Isa 2:5) as we wait.

Reflect: Read Psalm 119:1-24 and do a personal “spiritual inventory.” Write down the things that characterize the “blessed one” in that Psalm and pray for God to help you in developing each of those things in your own life

. Heavenly Father, thank you that by sending Jesus you have defeated evil and ushered in your Kingdom on earth. Help me to live more and more in your Kingdom as I await your second coming and the final restoration of all things. Assist my by your Holy Spirit to walk in the light you have revealed in Jesus Christ, the true Light of the world. In His Name I pray, Amen.

For Further Reading: 1 Thessalonians 2:13-20 Luke 20:19-26 Psalm 119:1-24

First Tuesday of Advent

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 1:21-31

Key Verse: Zion shall be redeemed by justice, and those in her who repent, by righteousness. ~Isaiah 1:27

The first chapter of Isaiah concludes with one final condemnation of the wickedness found in Judah and the consequence of such waywardness. If you’re feeling slightly battered, take heart: there is good news. But we have to be honest before we can receive it. We need to recognize the disastrous consequences of rebelling against the One who created us. In Isaiah 1 God speaks forth a word of judgment, but it is a word tempered by love and mercy and a desire for healing and restoration. This healing process comes by way of repentance, of seeking justice and righteousness (Isa 1:27). This is the way to blessedness, to being dedicated to and in communion with God. We must be a people who “hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matt 5:6). Then will we find healing as we enter into the Divine Life. I am reminded of an ancient Eastern Orthodox hymn which includes the verse “The choir of the saints has found the fountain of life and the door of Paradise. May I also find the way through repentance, I am the sheep that was lost, call me up to You, O Savior, and save me.” The way of Advent, and truly of all life, is a way of repentance.

Reflect: Read the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5:1-12 and consider the way of life they outline. Compare it with what you have read in Isaiah 1 and ask God to teach you to walk in the way of repentance.

Merciful God, I turn to you as one who has wondered far from the path you have lain before me and I ask for forgiveness. I turn again to You and hunger to live a righteous life. Teach me to model my life after the example set by Your Son Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.

For Further Reading: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12 Luke 20:9-18 Psalm 5

First Monday of Advent

Today's Reading: Isaiah 1:10-20

Key Verse: Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. ~Isaiah 1:18

Frequently when we realize we have wronged someone we try to "make it up" to them. We buy flowers or gifts and try to "work off" our debt. Often we interact with God with the same mind set. "I'll go to church more" or "I'll give more to the poor" or "I'll pray harder and read my Bible every day." What we're doing is trying to appease God, to pay off our debt without necessarily a change in our heart and a change in our actions. This is precisely what the people of Judah were doing - offering sacrifices and having feasts and praying - but they were going through the motions without changing their hearts or the way they conducted their lives. God said he wished they would stop doing those things if they didn't reflect the inner attitude of their hearts and that he wanted them to "remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes...learn to do good, seek justice, correct oppression, bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause" (Isa 1:16-17). Those things are harder to do than any "religious activity" because they require a heart that has been changed by God. The good news comes in Isaiah 1:18 where God promises that even though we are stained by sin, he can make us white as snow, clean, new, and able to love and serve in a way that is pleasing to him.

Reflect: Thank God for his forgiveness; ask Him to show you those people around you who are in need of compassion and service. Serve them.

Gracious Father, thank you for cleansing me of my sin and making me new. Help me to offer you the love and service that pleases you and make me aware of those who are in need that I may share with them the love you have shown me. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

For Further Reading: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 Luke 20:1-8 Psalm 1

First Sunday of Advent

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 1:1-9

Key Verse: Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. ~Isaiah 1:5

Isaiah calls us to observe this Advent season by reminding us that “the Lord has spoken” (Isa 1:2). Isaiah’s prophecy begins with God handing down his judgment about Judah. It is an indictment about their waywardness. Advent calls us to reflect upon our own waywardness, our own failings, as we prepare to celebrate the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah. Israel waited for centuries for the Messiah to come, and many missed His appearing. Advent provides us with an opportunity to examine our lives, to see the ways in which we have become “laden with iniquity” (Isa 1:4) and then to repent, to turn back to God and trust in the One who he has sent to be our Savior. Isaiah speaks a word of challenge to us as we begin the Advent journey, reminding us that if we are to have our wounds healed and to receive the gift of God: Jesus Christ Himself, the Messiah, the Savior, then we must begin by reflecting upon our lives and turning from our sin.

Reflect: Verse two begins “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken.” How well are you listening to the Lord? Do you know His voice? Do you seek to hear Him? Spend some time asking God’s forgiveness for the times you have failed to hear and to listen, and then ask Him to speak to you today. And listen.

Heavenly Father, thank you that you have spoken your love to the world by sending your Son. Please speak to me again today and give me ears to hear, a mind to understand and a heart to love and obey you. Help me to us this season of Advent to draw closer to you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

For Further Reading: 2 Peter 3:1-10 Matthew 25:1-13 Psalm 146