Advent 2019 – Day 8
The second week of advent often has the theme of peace. When Jesus was born, a host of angels proclaimed, “Peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” (Luke 2:14) The peace of…
Advent 2019 – Day 7
Remind yourself every day that the pilgrim journey through this world is not meant to be done alone. This is why we have the church, local and universal. This prayer from Paul to the Thessalonians…
Advent 2019 – Day 6
While we wait… let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently… clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how…
Advent 2019 – Day 5
Yet you, LORD, are our Father. This statement is part of a confession from Isaiah 63 and 64. The confession is that none of us are clean, none of us are righteous. Humanity is full…
Advent 2019 – Day 4
The Advent season invites us to embrace wonder and hope rather than control over our future. Just as the first coming of Jesus did not happen as expected, so will the return of Jesus. There…
Advent 2019 – Day 3
Our blamelessness is the work of God. Any attempts to live a holy life should be done not out of an expectation that we will achieve it. Rather, holy living flows from the grace of…
Advent 2019 – Day 2
When Jesus arrived as the Messiah, he came in the most unexpected way. He was expected to be the next king of Israel, yet he was born in a stable. In Matthew 24, Jesus promises…
Advent 2019 – Day 1
“The days are coming…” Hope is a common theme for the first week of Advent. The purple candle often used in church services represents the hope of the coming Messiah, the “righteous branch” that will…
Advent Season
Advent is commonly associated these days with a combination of calendars, chocolate, candles, or religious liturgy. The word comes from the Latin word adventus which means “coming” or “arrival” and is the four-week season of…
Gratitude is a Gamechanger
Take a moment to evaluate what is important to you. What is really important? What are you really grateful for? What if all those things were taken away from you? Would you still be grateful?…
The Current Leadership Crisis
A recent Barna study has reported that 4 out of 5 young adults say society is in a leadership crisis. The crisis is related to the number of quality leaders today. Young people are concerned…
Too Much Advice?
I wonder if a source of anxiety for many of us is the abundance of advice available online. The difficulty with searching for advice online is that these people who are giving the advice don’t…