The sun was shining, but she was not sharing her warmth with earth on this December morning. She lured me out under false pretenses, shining brightly, promising warmth, delivering none. So I was in my car headed to the gym to walk the indoor track when I saw her. There is no mistaking my friend, the faithful, all-weather walker. Even bundled from head to toe, with no face showing, it was her, for sure! Maybe the pink shoes gave it away?

But who else would be out on this bitingly cold winter morning? None but the most committed, the fearless, the few, the faithful. I was re-inspired as I, in my warm car with heated seats, passed by my friend as she bravely battled the elements. (ok, maybe that’s a little dramatic in that the cold was the only element, no wind, no snow, no hail, etc. and my friend did not look distressed – she had chosen this challenge – she chooses it everyday.)

The consistency of my friend is a reminder to me that I need to keep showing up everyday, day after day, to the things I am called to do, even if they are hard or inconvenient or don’t seem to be making a difference. Their impact may not be apparent until a later time. My part is to show up and keep on showing up, because if I don’t show up – I am giving up. My friend, the all-weather walker, always shows up. She inspires me to do the same.

This Advent season I am reminded of God’s faithfulness – how He always shows up at just the right time.

“But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5)

“When the time had fully come,” means that Jesus was born in Bethlehem at just the right time in human history. Jesus’s birth happened in God’s perfect timing. His death on the cross occurred according to God’s timetable as well.

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6)

This Advent season I am celebrating the fact that God kept His promise and showed up right on time.

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” (Isaiah 9:2)

“Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 52:8-9)

When Jesus showed up, good things happened. “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy ae cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.” (Matthew 11:5)

Jesus’s birth marked the Advent of a new day. The world would never be the same again. Jesus showed up right on time as He always does. When He comes again, it will be at just the right time. The world was not ready for Jesus the first time. Will we be ready for Him when He returns? Even as I prepare now to celebrate the memory of Jesus’s first Advent, I want to be faithfully, showing up each day in preparation for His second coming, the Advent still to come. I want to be ready to welcome Him in – having taken down all barriers and completely cleared space for Him to come in and make His home. After all, Jesus said,

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 4:20)

“Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is He, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty – He is the King of glory.” (Psalm 24:7-10)

sincerely, Grace Day

They sat in church, side by side, my friend and her husband. Nothing remarkable in that, you might say. But you would be wrong. This was a miracle fifty-two years in the making. Some mountains are not so easily moved. However, the faith that had so long eluded my friend’s husband, has been her firm foundation these many years. I dare to say, she has more than a mustard seed of faith, and it has sustained her these many years.

For fifty-two years she has faithfully prayed for her husband while attending church alone. She never lost her faith and she never gave up hope that he would find his. I could not believe my eyes when I saw them together, singing, worshiping, praying along with the rest of us. My heart is overjoyed for my friend. Her prayer, for the deepest desire of her heart, has been answered! A once immovable mountain has been moved because with God all things are possible.

She never gave up hope. She never gave up on her husband, just like God never gives up on me or on you, dear readers. God moved mountains and made a way for us to know Him when He sent Jesus to us that first Christmas. The people of Israel had waited so long that they may have given up hope and stopped looking for their promised Messiah. But God said,

“I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:19)

God had a plan all along. He made a way where there had been no way, He moved mountains and opened the door to relationship with Him once again when He became flesh and made His dwelling among us. Then we saw His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. He did all this through Jesus.

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) We are told more about this “way” in Hebrews 10:19-23, where we read,

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.”

Jesus is that new and living way that God gave to us, the first gift of Christmas. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son” – God’s love found a way, God’s love made a way, God’s love is the way back to Him. The mountain moving miracle of Advent has come. God moved heaven and earth to enter into our lives here on earth. He did it once and He has promised to do it again. The hope of the first Advent has been realized. The hope of the second Advent remains as an anchor for our souls. (Hebrews 6:19)

Sometimes I fear that the mountains in my life may never be moved. There seems to be no way that I can see – probably because those mountains are blocking my view. But those mountains in my life are not blocking God’s view at all. He will move them when the time is right. My hope is in Him. I think of my friend’s steadfast faith, faithfully praying and hoping for fifty-two years. Others would have given up but she didn’t. Her hope is in God and He moved the mountains standing in the way of her husband’s faith. He made a way for her husband just as He makes a way for each one of us to come to Him.

The hope of Advent – our miracle working, mountain moving God. He came! He is coming again! Let us not lose hope. Mountains will again be moved!

“In the desert prepare the way for the Lord, make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:3-5)

sincerely, Grace Day

Who is this baby in the manger, that He makes the angels sing?

Who is this baby in the manger, that for Him the heavens ring?

Who is this baby in the manger, that Wise Kings leave their home?

that shepherds shout “hosanna – the King is on His throne!”

Who is this baby in the manger, that the world should rejoice His birth?

Who is this baby in the manger, that He brings His peace to earth?

Who is this baby in the manger, that He fills the world with His love?

He’s the Holy King, the Prince of Peace, He’s the Son of God above!

His reign shall be forever, His kingdom know no end,

He will come in power and glory, when He comes to earth again.

Now I know the baby in the manger, and I know why the angels sing –

They sing because the babe in the manger, is Jesus, our long-awaited King!

“For to 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. O 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)

sincerely, Grace Day

Advent is the season of miracles. And oh how many of us are longing for a miracle right about now? It has been a tough couple of years and we are weary and waiting – not unlike the people were when Jesus was born. They had been waiting long for their promised miracle, and they were weary with the wait. Oppressed by a tyrannical king, Caesar, they longed for Someone to set them free. However, when that long awaited Deliverer arrived, they did not recognize that the miracle they had prayed for, was now in their midst. And because they did not recognize Him, they did not welcome Him, they did not make room for Him.

“He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him.” (John 1:11)

Today I have to ask myself if I am ready to recognize and to receive the Advent miracles God is giving me this Christmas. Or am I failing to recognize the miracles made possible by just a mustard seed of faith? I don’t want to miss out on any of Advent’s miracles, starting with the miracle of reconciliation. Reconciliation is always a miracle because it requires heart change. And heart change is always a miracle.

We have been hopelessly separated from our Creator God by a chasm too great for us to navigate ever since Adam and Eve chose the serpent’s lie over God’s truth. It will take nothing short of a miracle for anyone of us to be reconciled to God. But God will have to be the maker of the miracle, the supplier of the solution, because there is nothing we can do in our own power to cross this chasm or to eliminate it.

And that’s just what God did – He became the maker of the miracle of Advent that would save our eternal souls. We couldn’t find our way back to Him, so He came to us and made His home with us for a little while, so that He could show us the way to reconciliation and relationship with Him. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he explains it this way –

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in His flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:13-18)

Did you notice how many times peace was mentioned? Peace is the result of reconciliation. When we are reconciled to God and to one another we experience peace. It is said that “charity begins at home.” Well, that is true for reconciliation also, as it is with all things actually, they must begin at home. How many of us long for the miracle of reconciliation within our families this Advent season? We want to see those mountains moved. If only we could find that mustard seed of faith! And something else –

Forgiveness. Forgiveness forges the road to reconciliation. Forgiveness is the prerequisite, it always precedes reconciliation. Without forgiveness, reconciliation doesn’t happen. Forgiveness is the foundation for the miracle to take place. How many are praying for reconciliation with loved ones this Advent season? We want to see walls come tumbling down just like they did in Jericho many millennia ago. That event was a major miracle, attributable only to the work of Almighty God. Repaired relationships are no less of a miracle and no less a work of God.

God reconciled us to Himself that first Christmas when He sent Jesus to us to be our peace. I pray we can each experience this miracle of reconciliation and the peace that comes with it, this Advent season. This world is in dire need of peace right now, but then perhaps in every age that has been the case. I pray the reconciliation that starts in homes will spread to neighborhoods, then to cities, then to countries – bringing peace around the world, just as the shepherds announced on the first Christmas –

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.” (Luke 2:14) God made the first move when He sent us Jesus.

“All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)

Not counting my sins against me? That’s the forgiveness that allows me to be reconciled to my Creator. That same forgiveness allows me to be reconciled to others. And that reconciliation brings me such peace! Truly a miracle! Let the forgiveness I find in the arrival of the Christ Child fill my heart, let it fill every heart, tearing down long standing walls, making a way for reconciliation to enter in, bringing restoration of relationships and peace. Oh, how we long for peace! How we long to hear from long-lost loved ones! How those empty spaces in our hearts long to be filled by their presence! This day, in this season of Advent, I hold these words of Jesus close,

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

the Prince of Peace will fill my heart today, if I will but let Him in –

“Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is He, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty – He is the King of glory.” (Psalm 24:7-10)

sincerely, Grace Day

I exhaled slowly and let myself enjoy this rare moment of unexpected quiet in my classroom. All the students were seated and self-engaged, whether with their schoolwork or with their phones – but either way the result was a quiet room – an anomaly in a high school for sure. The class had not started off this way though. There had been a big commotion in the hallway outside the classroom due to a fight. Consequently, the students who entered the room were riled up and ready to continue the mayhem, or at least to continue discussing it loudly. This made the quiet I was now experiencing all the more surprising. It must be a Christmas miracle!

No sooner had I given thanks (silently of course) for the peaceful, quiet atmosphere of the classroom than another student entered the room and the spell was broken. He was loud, said everything he thought in a really loud voice and the other students responded to his remarks in equally loud voices. He was out of his seat and soon other students followed suite, leaving their seats to wander the room. It was a completely different room than the one this student had walked into only minutes earlier. I watched the transformation take place before my eyes, noting what a difference one person’s presence can make. This student had interrupted the classroom’s calm by bringing his chaos into it when he made his appearance. The classroom never did return to its previously quiet state. It was permanently altered. I was glad when the bell rang, dismissing the students.

Yes, one person’s presence can make such a difference that people are forever changed. When that person is Jesus, the difference is dramatic, life changing, life giving and permanent. Jesus’s birth interrupted this world in such a big way that things here have never been the same since He made His appearance. Time was torn in two when Jesus entered into our physical realm and into our history. And Time is not the only thing that has been torn in two because of Jesus.

“With a loud cry, Jesus breathed His last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard His cry and saw how He died, he said, ‘Surely this man was the Son of God!’ ” (Mark 15:37-39)

The tearing of the temple curtain took down the barrier that separated a Holy God from sinful man. Jesus came to make a way for us to be reconciled to our Creator, God. And as it turns out, Jesus is that way. “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’ ” (John 14:6) But now, we do have access to the Father through Jesus! Consider what Hebrews says,

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the Blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:19-22)

Jesus came to be that “new and living way through the curtain” to God, for each of us. With the Advent of Jesus arrival on that first Christmas so long ago, things here on earth have been forever changed. Jesus brought life and light into the world. John tells us,

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

Jesus’s presence brings a glimpse of God’s glory to earth for all to see. There was a man named Simeon who waited long for just such a look at God’ glory, revealed through His promised Messiah. Simeon’s faithfulness in waiting was rewarded when he beheld the baby Jesus with His parents in the temple courts. This was his reaction,

“Simeon took Him (Jesus) in his arms and praised God, saying: ‘Sovereign Lord, as You have promised, You now dismiss Your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to Your people Israel.” (Luke 2:28-32)

Simeon knew that because Jesus had entered the room so to speak, human history would be forever altered. His presence is just that powerful. When I invite Jesus into my life, I am changed by His presence. I am inevitably transformed.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Some two-thousand years ago, Jesus interrupted human history. Lord, this Advent season I pray You interrupt me, get my attention, transform me and take up residence in my heart.

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20)

time to let the King of glory in!

sincerely, Grace Day

What if Christmas comes and I am not ready? This is the thought uppermost in my mind today – that and the realization that Christmas will come whether I am ready or not. Christmas waits for no one, including me. My mental to do list is long. Gifts are not wrapped (probably because they have not yet been purchased) decorating is not done, and space still needs to be made to accommodate decorations and guests. There is no tree and there are no cookies. Santa may not come if there is no place for him to put the presents and no treats for him to eat.

Maybe admitting to these shortcomings out loud isn’t the best way for me to alleviate my Advent anxiety. Now that I’ve shared the true state of my Advent situation with you, dear readers, it is real and I must deal with it. I liked it better when I could tell myself everything is on track, I have it all under control and it will all get done in time for the big event of Advent.

So why am I thinking of my Heavenly Father’s command to “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10) This does not seem like the time for me to be still, as the Psalm says. Instead, I feel like these Advent days of mine should be filled with activity, non-stop activity, either in preparing in order to be ready, or in celebrating with family and friends. I am already suffering from Advent anxiety, being still would only add to that, not eliminate it.

Or would it? True I am surrounded by whirlwinds of activity everywhere I look. Our normally busy lives get even busier during Advent because many extra events and activities are added to our calendars. Advent in our culture is a time to be busier, not a time to be still. And yet – the context of Psalm 46 is interesting because this “be still” command comes after these words,

“Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. . . . Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; He lifts His voice, the earth melts.” (Psalm 46:2-6)

It is amid these circumstances that God’s command to “Be still,” comes to us. It does not seem to me that it would be very easy to be still during such chaos as is described in this Psalm. I think in such circumstances I would be in fight or flight mode, but definitely not in be still mode. It seems counterintuitive to me. If I am experiencing Advent anxiety, the solution seems obvious to me – get busy and work longer and harder to prepare – not be still.

The first verse of this Psalm says, “God is our (my) refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore I will not fear,” (Psalm 46:1) My Heavenly Father does not want me to be fearful or anxious. He wants me to know that He is my refuge, my strength and my ever-present help. But I cannot know this and experience this unless I take Him up on His offer to “Be still, and know that He is God.”

My being still allows me to know God. It is in the being still that the knowing takes place, and it is in the knowing that I discover the character of my Creator and learn that I can trust Him with my anxiety, Advent or otherwise. God wants me to know Him. He actually invites me to know Him. “Be still, and know that I am God.” This is an invitation I want to accept. I have the opportunity to know God! When I take the time to be still in obedience, God will meet with me there in the stillness.

As I come to know God as my refuge, my strength and my ever-present help in trouble, my anxiety is replaced with His peace, one of the many gifts His presence brings. Peace is a gift of the Advent season, along with hope, joy and love. Today, I will choose to be still and receive this gift from my Heavenly Father. Jesus said,

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

How fitting that on the night of Jesus’s birth the angels proclaimed,

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.” (Luke 2:14)

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)

may it be so for you this Advent season,

sincerely, Grace Day

Advent is a season of giving. I guess the three Wise Kings get credit for this tradition because they were the first to bring gifts to the Christ Child. Although truthfully, God really gave the first gift when He gave His only Son, Jesus, to the world. Nevertheless, now Santa Claus has taken up the gift giving cause in a world wide kind of way, involving workshops at the North Pole run by elves, a magical sleigh, flying reindeer and a midnight ride that makes Paul Revere’s pale in comparison. (Santa covers a lot more ground than Paul did)

Perhaps I am thinking of gifts now because today is the day of the annual white elephant gift exchange and I am scrambling to select something worthy of this occasion. It is said that this term “white elephant gift” originated with the King of Siam, who gave albino elephants to courtiers he did not like, so that they would be ruined by the animal’s upkeep costs. Over time, this became more generalized to kings giving worthless or undesirable gifts to those who were not favored. Today a white elephant gift is something we have lying around the house that we don’t really like or use, something we wish to get rid of, something or anything we no longer want which would make a humorous or a silly gift.

Now one man’s junk could turn out to be another man’s treasure, but most often a white elephant is just that, a white elephant – no matter who the beholder. I don’t see where white elephant gifts were a popular concept anywhere in the Bible. In fact, gifts were a big deal in the Bible and taken very seriously. It was their gifts to God that caused the conflict between Cain and Able. King David said he would not give to God an offering that cost him nothing. Gifts to God were to be from the firstfruits of the individual’s crop or herd, not from what was substandard or leftover. Animals sacrificed to God in the temple were to be the first born, perfect, unblemished animals from the flocks.

Gifts were a sign of reverence, respect and esteem due the recipient of the gift from the giver. The original three gifts given to Jesus set the bar pretty high for future offerings. We read about these first gifts of Advent brought by the Wise Men to Jesus in Matthew 2:9-11 – they were gold, frankincense and myrrh.

” . . . and the star they had seen in the east stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.”

Gold was a gift given to royalty, given to Kings. Gold was considered the most valuable substance of all and was the standard by which the value of everything else was measured. By giving Jesus gold, the Wise Men acknowledged the Kingship of the Christ Child even if the rest of the world did not. Frankincense was used to worship the King and this gift recognized Jesus’s role as our great High Priest before God. Myrrh was a costly spice used to embalm the dead. This gift foretold Jesus’s sacrificial death on our behalf, the sacred purpose for which He was born.

These first gifts of the first Advent were rare and costly gifts, befitting the One who was born King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This causes me to consider what gifts I am offering to the Christ child during this Advent season. Am I giving Jesus my firstfruits or am I giving Him my leftovers? Am I giving white elephant gifts or am I offering to Jesus something befitting of who He is? Still, what could I possibly offer up to the Savior of all mankind, Creator of the universe, Lord of all? God Himself says in Psalm 50:7-13,

“Hear, O My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, your God. I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are ever before Me. I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are Mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and all that is in it. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?”

So what does God desire from me? He certainly doesn’t need anything I have to offer. However, God says –

“Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.” (Psalm 50:14-15)

A grateful heart toward God, honoring God, acknowledging Him as my provider – these things are what He desires from me. Hebrews 13:15-16 tells me more about what I can give to God, saying –

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess His name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

So now I am learning what pleases my Heavenly Father – praise, confession, sharing, generosity, – these are the sacrifices God desires rather than burnt offerings. I also learn in Psalm 50:15-17 –

“O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”

Micah asked this same question so long ago – what gift could he give to God that God would want?

“With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

How clear that is! God wants me to be acting justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with Him. I am to offer up to God a broken, repentant, humble spirit and a contrite heart. The psalmist says God does not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

Well, we don’t do animal sacrifices and burnt offerings anymore, but we do something similar – we give our money in the offering plate. I guess that’s our altar of sacrifice. Maybe in our culture today, money is what the burnt offerings were to the Israelites then. They gave some of their possessions to God in place of giving themselves to God. We do the same thing. We give our money, all the while holding onto our hearts, keeping them for ourselves or giving them to other gods. Turns out, God doesn’t want our stuff – He wants us. Go figure? Paul writes to the believers in Rome these words,

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1)

So God wants me, not the substitute of an animal sacrifice or money. And He wants all of me.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30)

God wants my heart, my soul, my mind and my strength and the operative word seems to be all. God gave me all when He gave me His Son, Jesus.

“He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)

Jesus gave me His all when He gave His very life on that cross so that I could be forgiven of my sins and receive eternal life.

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

God has already given the greatest gift, the perfect gift to me and to the whole world. This Advent season, as I ponder the perfect gift to bring to Him, may I not be guilty of offering to Him a white elephant gift, – an unwanted castoff, the leftovers of my life, my partial, half-hearted attention and affection. No, may I give to God that which He desires – thank offerings, sacrifices of praise, a contrite heart, all of me with nothing held back. God’s word says thanksgiving, praise, contrition are the sacrifices He desires.

Then I read 1 Samuel 15:22 and I know I have found the perfect gift –

“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

I will offer up obedience, I will be all in, and I will say along with the psalmist –

“Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise His holy name.” (Psalm 103:1)

such are the gifts of Advent,

sincerely, Grace Day

Today is cold and very windy, so windy there are weather advisories abounding and some states have had tornadoes taking lives and doing damage. It is our morning to walk and pray in the neighborhood, and so we gather and head out into the streets as we have done so many times before. On this particular day however, I don’t expect to encounter any people out in their yards or on their porches or out walking due to the weather.

And this proved to be true until, as we neared the end of our time outside, we met a couple walking as we were, because as it turns out, their car is in need of repair. We were able to pray with them, give them some local resource information and encourage them. As we all stood in the windy, winter cold, I was warmed by the exchange of hope and caring that we were able to share with these two strangers – well, strangers to us, not to God.

How appropriate that in this season of Advent, we should be about sharing the Good News that Christ has come. Isaiah 52:7 says,

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’ ”

Reminds me of the Christmas carol proclaiming, “Oh tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy!” Which is what the angel said to the shepherds on the night Jesus was born – “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” (Luke 2:10)

The Good News of Christmas is that Jesus came and He is coming again. We rejoice in this Good News as we celebrate His birth even as we wait expectantly for His return. Advent is all about hope – the hope that Jesus brought into the world with His birth and the hope the promise of His return gives to every person.

“Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord will lay bare His holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.” (Isaiah 52:8-10)

God has comforted – one of the gifts of Advent – comfort. Something I sorely need in troubling times. Something ushered in by the presence of the Christ Child.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

oh tidings of comfort and joy! a song of Advent – how beautiful the feet of the messengers of Advent! Today my friends and I got to be those messengers – what pure joy!

sincerely, Grace Day

I wasn’t feeling very adventful yesterday, that is my confession. I can’t tell you why, exactly. I just was not feeling what we refer to as the “Christmas spirit.” Then two things happened to lift my spirits and refocus my attention. The first was an unexpected delivery to my door. As I had not ordered anything, the element of surprise brightened my day immediately. It turned out to be a Christmas gift from my oldest daughter and son in law and it was the perfect gift for me – ice cream! (my favorite food group)

Nothing says fun like multiple flavors of gourmet ice cream. Then I went with friends to the movies and saw, “Christmas with The Chosen” – the story of the first Christmas. I have watched the first season of “The Chosen” on DVD and am looking forward to watching season two soon. So this special Christmas movie of The Chosen is an unexpected bonus. It is a bonus that does not disappoint.

Both the music and the message of this movie ministered to my spirit. I left renewed and refocused on the reason for this season. The message from the manger is a powerful one – Christ came for us. We are chosen, you and I, and all who will believe in the miracle of Immanuel – God with us. This was Good News then, it is still Good News today. Jesus came for the poor, the marginalized, the neglected, the rejected, the overlooked, the undervalued, the despised, the outcast, the prisoner, the oppressed, the broken, the hurting, the struggling, the seeking, the lost among us. Jesus came for me. Jesus came for you. He came to redeem each one of us for Himself.

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” (Jeremiah 31:3)

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” (Isaiah 61:1-3)

Jesus was clear about His purpose in coming here. In Luke 19:10 He said,

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

That’s me, lost and needing to be saved, mourning and needing comfort, brokenhearted and needing to be healed, a captive longing to be set free. Jesus came for this very purpose. You and I can know that we are chosen! We are called and we are carried. We are known and we are named by our Creator. We are pursued and we are prized by the God of all the universe.

“For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. Since you are precious and honored in My sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life.” (Isaiah 43:3-4)

And that’s just what God did. He gave His only Son, Jesus, in exchange for my life and for your life, too, dear readers.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

That’s the Good News of Christmas – God gave us a Savior in the person of His Son, Jesus. Advent reminds me never to take this gift for granted but instead to remember at what great cost Jesus came here to rescue me and you. And make no mistake, the cost was very great.

” . . . Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5-8)

Such an expensive gift, my Heavenly Father freely gives to me. I must make room to receive this gift and to welcome in the Giver of the gift, Himself.

“Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is He, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty – He is the King of glory.” (Psalm 24:7-10)

sincerely, Grace Day

Who is the baby in the manger? to answer this question, is to answer Advent’s mystery.

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)

Immanuel, meaning God with us, The Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, Son of the Most High, The Word become flesh, Light of the world – so many big names for such a small baby –

“But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.’ ” (Luke 1:30-33)

The angel told Mary she was to name her baby, Jesus. And so she gave him that name. And what a name it is! Philippians 2:9-11 explains the significance of this name, saying –

“Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

The mystery of Advent is answered when I discover the identity of the baby in the manger. By learning this baby’s many names, I learn who He really is. His names reveal to me His true identity. When He was a baby, others spoke His many names. When He could speak for Himself, Jesus said this,

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” (Revelation 22:16)

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty. . . . I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.’ ” (John 6:35 & 51)

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)

On that adventful night, the angel told the shepherds about the baby in the manger’s birth, saying, “a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) These were just two more names or titles identifying who Jesus is, who He was born to be – both Savior and Lord. The prophet Isaiah really blows the mystery of Advent wide open with his declaration of who this long-expected child is as revealed by His many names and titles.

“For to 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.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)

Messiah, Anointed One, Son of God, our great high priest (Hebrews 4:14) – each name helps me understand more fully who Jesus is. And then there is this revelation in Revelation (of course) 19:11-13 which identifies Advent’s baby in the manger in a whole new way, reminding me that this baby in the manger grew up to be the man on the cross who died for my sins. (Lamb slain before the foundation of the world – another title) This same Christmas baby is now my Advocate, sitting at the right hand of the Father, making continuous intercession for me and for you, too, dear readers. If that’s not good news, I don’t know what is! So here’s John’s revelation –

“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. (two more names) With justice He judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God.”

Of course! the Word of God – that name of Jesus makes perfect sense and reveals His true identity. On that adventful, first Christmas night, John described baby Jesus’s arrival here on earth with these words,

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

Immanuel, God with us! “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” (John 1:1-2)

the miracle and the mystery of Christmas Advent – all wrapped up in a manger bed on a cold winter night.

“who is this baby in the manger? that the stars should shine so bright –

who is this baby in the manger? filling the world with His light –

the angels seem to know Him, they tell the shepherds His name –

Wise Men want to worship Him, just look how far they came!

who is this baby in the manger? the Prince of Peace, the Lamb,

He’s the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, He is the great I AM!”

O Come, let us adore Him! Christ the Lord!

sincerely, Grace Day