Tag: Advent

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We believe that self-reflection and meditation is a significant part of our ongoing Discipleship. As such, regularly (at least weekly) reflecting and journaling out responses to deep questions is an essential part of our Spiritual Formation.

Take some time today to reflect and journal on the following questions:

What are you willing to surrender to God in order to grow in your relationship with Christ? 

What are you unwilling to surrender? How may God be inviting you to surrender this area of your life over to Him? 

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Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

There’s a joke some use in our culture to express a confidence about what they will do the following day. For example, somebody may quip, “Remember that one time when I went out to buy a new car tomorrow?” It’s spoken as a future event but with a humorous sense that it has already happened.

The Greek for the word confidence in Hebrews 11:1 is somewhat unique. Other English versions translate this word as assurance, or reality, or certainty. It is an inward attitude. It’s not a wish of what might happen, but an assurance of what will happen. Not in humor, but in absolute confidence.

While we do not know the author of the Book of Hebrews, he was likely very educated and knew this kind of language parallels that of Isaiah 9. This brief section in Isaiah are written in what scholars refer to as the prophetic perfect. They are events which are described as being in the future yet also written as if they’ve already happened. They were written with the confidence and assurance that they would happen. 

READING & PRAYERS:

     HEBREWS 11:1, ISAIAH 9:2-7 (also read the commentary notes in your Study Bible of choice.)

QUESTION: Take the opportunity to examine your current hopes. How may God be inviting you to not only hope, but to grow in confidence that what you hope for will actually happen?

DIGGING DEEPER: Trying to control a person or a situation to your desired outcome isn’t hoping for something, it’s more likely manipulation. How may God be inviting you to give up control and instead maintain a confident hope? 

Take a Step: Practice listening to God by utilizing the One Minute Pause app at least twice a day.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I acknowledge there are some days in which I have tremendous confidence that Your will be done. Days in which I experience peace and contentment beyond measure. Yet there are also days in which I live as if there is nothing to hope for. May I grow in confidence that Your hopes and desires will come to fruition, and that I will get to experience the fulness of Your hopes! In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

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Romans 15:3 For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.”

It’s a sad reality that in our day and age there are some who believethat ultimate truth does not exist. Unfortunately, there are also those who disagree with this idea so strongly they try to force truth onto others.

As an example, there are those who declare absolute truth is found only in Jesus Christ, yet this is declared not in humility, but by bashing people who disagree. As Brennan Manning has written, “We miss Jesus’ point entirely when we use his words as weapons against others.”

Instead, followers of Jesus need to recognize what Pastor and author Timothy Keller came to conclude: “At the very heart of [Christianity] was a man who died for his enemies, praying for their forgiveness. Reflection on this could only lead to a radically different way of dealing with those who were different from them. It meant they could not act in violence and oppression toward their opponents.” 

READING & PRAYERS:

     ROMANS 15:3, JOHN 6:38 (also read the commentary notes in your Study Bible of choice.)

QUESTION: Are there any areas of your life in which you try to force truth onto others? How may God be inviting you to a radically different way of dealing with those who think differently from you? 

DIGGING DEEPER: In John 6:38 Jesus says he came not to do his will, but the will of God who sent him. If you had to summarize it in one sentence, what is the one purpose God has for you to live out? 

Take a Step: Practice listening to God by utilizing the One Minute Pause app at least twice a day.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, as the season of Advent begins, I pray that You will break my heart for what breaks Yours. Reveal to me the areas of my life in which I may use Your words as weapons against others. Break my will, and lead me deeper into a life of Your will – praying for the forgiveness of those who wound me, and living without oppression or manipulation toward others. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

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John 1:5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 

Yesterday we noted that the people of God had been waiting hundreds of years for their coming Messiah. Approximately 400 years had passed since the last of the Old Testament writings. To make matters worse, their entire country had become overwhelmed by the Roman Empire. Israel was no longer it’s own nation. 

With so much time, there were likely some who had given up hoping for a coming Messiah. Similarly, there were others who were hoping for a warrior king to arrive to overthrow the evil Roman Empire. Those who maintained a hope in power and strength. 

But there was also a remnant of people who continued to have hope for a coming Messiah. A people who meditated on Old Testament prophecies. A people who prayed with a desire to understand the heart of God. A people who prayed for God to do what only God could do. A people who hoped to one day see a “Light that shines in the darkness” be fulfilled. 

READING & PRAYERS:

     JOHN 1:5, 2 CORINTHIANS 4:6 (also read the commentary notes in your Study Bible of choice.)

QUESTION: Is there any area of your life which has been consumed by darkness? What would it look like to begin allowing God to be light in this area of your life? 

DIGGING DEEPER: Write down a list of things that could potentially be leading to you experiencing despair in this area of your life. Consider what steps you may need to take to begin eliminating these thoughts or activities from your life one by one. 

Take a Step: Practice listening to God by utilizing the One Minute Pause app at least twice a day.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I confess there are areas of my life in which I desire You to fulfill my will instead of me seeking to understand Your heart and fulfill Your will. Continue to mold me into one who is able to see the world, people, and circumstances through the lens of the Scriptures. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

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