Christmas 2015

"Therefore, when the time came for the eternal Son of God to be sent by his Father into the world, the work of the Holy Spirit was a quiet, unobtrusive work in the service of the Father and the Son. Through him the Father caused the Son to be conceived in Mary the virgin. So from the very beginning of Christ’s incarnation the Holy Spirit was quietly doing what needed to be done to put forward Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of man." (John Piper)

"Infinite, and an infant.
Eternal, and yet born of a woman.
Almighty, and yet hanging on a woman’s breast.
Supporting a universe, and yet needing to be carried in a mother’s arms.
King of angels, and yet the reputed son of Joseph.
Heir of all things, and yet the carpenter’s despised son." (Charles Haddon Spurgeon)

"How shall we deal with such a child? Have our hands, soiled with daily toil, become too hard and too proud to fold in prayer at the sight of this child? Has our head become too full of serious thoughts … that we cannot bow our head in humility at the wonder of this child? Can we not forget all our stress and struggles, our sense of importance, and for once worship the child, as did the shepherds and the wise men from the East, bowing before the divine child in the manger like children?" (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

"The enemy is not going to win. Christmas is but the beginning of the story. The baby brought light into the darkness, and He would break the back of the powers through His later death and resurrection. If you’re struggling this Christmas season, don’t forget the rest of the story!" (Thomas Rainer)

Prior posts:

Day 26 | Day 25 | Day 24 | Day 23 | Day 22 | Day 21 | Day 20 | Day 19 | Day 18 | Day 17 | Day 16 | Day 15
Day 14 | Day 13 | Day 12 | Day 11 | Day 10 | Day 9 | Day 8 | Day 7 | Day 6 | Day 5 | Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2
Day 1

Advent 2015 - Day 26

Come to the Manger - Melissa Kruger

Lights bright, sparkling tree

More to do, more to see

Busy we run, tired we fall,

Is this the greatest season of all?

Longing for stillness, fearing it too

What if we miss something important to do?

Parties, food, fine clothing to wear

Dancing in the ball of Vanity Fair.

Sisyphean labor, day and night

Bound by work, blinded by sight

The stillness calls, but we do not hear

Cold and distant, but God is near

“Sit still my child,” hear Him say

Come and meet with Him today

At His table we will share

A feast for the soul, the richest of fare

It matters not, rich or poor

Seek and knock, He’ll open the door

In Him we find the joy we seek

He’s lowly in heart, humble, and meek

Come to the manger, thirsty soul

Drink from Jesus, be made whole

Word of life, wrapped in flesh

Heavenly dweller, found in a crèche

This is your joy, This is your crown

This is the reason that He came down.

Second Adam alive for you

The One that is Holy, the One that is True

Greatest gift and feast for all

Listen now, hear the call

Come to Him, find life in His name

Sing to Him, with angels proclaim:

Glory to God and peace to mankind

Freedom for the captive, sight for the blind

Healing He brings, He takes our place

King of Kings, mighty God of Grace!

Prior posts:

Day 25 | Day 24 | Day 23 | Day 22 | Day 21 | Day 20 | Day 19 | Day 18 | Day 17 | Day 16 | Day 15 | Day 14
Day 13 | Day 12 | Day 11 | Day 10 | Day 9 | Day 8 | Day 7 | Day 6 | Day 5 | Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2 | Day 1

Advent 2015 - Day 25

"The babe of Bethlehem appears to be manifestly with us in weakness and in poverty. Let us not forget that He is equally with us in His glory and honor. Faith clasps the child, and love kisses Him with the kisses of her lips. Oh, for true spiritual fellowship with Immanuel all this day!" (Charles Haddon Spurgeon)

Prior posts:

Day 24 | Day 23 | Day 22 | Day 21 | Day 20 | Day 19 | Day 18 | Day 17 | Day 16 | Day 15 | Day 14
Day 13 | Day 12 | Day 11 | Day 10 | Day 9 | Day 8 | Day 7 | Day 6 | Day 5 | Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2 | Day 1

Advent 2015 - Day 24

"We have become so accustomed to the idea of divine love and of God’s coming at Christmas that we no longer feel the shiver of fear that God’s coming should arouse in us. We are indifferent to the message, taking only the pleasant and agreeable out of it and forgetting the serious aspect, that the God of the world draws near to the people of our little earth and lays claim to us." (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

Prior posts:

Day 23 | Day 22 | Day 21 | Day 20 | Day 19 | Day 18 | Day 17 | Day 16 | Day 15 | Day 14
Day 13 | Day 12 | Day 11 | Day 10 | Day 9 | Day 8 | Day 7 | Day 6 | Day 5 | Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2 | Day 1

Advent 2015 - Day 23

"On this fourth week of Advent, we declare our awe of your matchless glory and measureless grace.  Continue to open the eyes of our hearts to behold even more of your incomparable beauty; expand the chambers of our hearts to make room even more of the wonders of your love. Free us to be generous and joyful as the Magi. Liberate us to love as you love us, to forgive as you have forgiven us, and to pursue others as you so faithfully seek us. So very Amen we pray, in your trustworthy and worship-worthy name. " (Scotty Smith)

Prior posts:

Day 22 | Day 21 | Day 20 | Day 19 | Day 18 | Day 17 | Day 16 | Day 15 | Day 14
Day 13 | Day 12 | Day 11 | Day 10 | Day 9 | Day 8 | Day 7 | Day 6 | Day 5 | Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2 | Day 1

Advent 2015 - Day 22

"The character of Joseph, the man God chose for his Son to have for an earthly father, is not only interesting, it is also instructive to us. There are many who are righteous, but who are not kind. There are many who are kind, but who are not righteous. Joseph, however, loved God and his law, and that love of God touched his heart, causing him to be a kind man. When God chose a human father for his Son, he chose a man who would be righteous and kind, qualities that reflect God the Father himself. Is that not instructive for every one of us to be like our heavenly Father, and to be like Jesus’ earthly father? Righteous and kind. Concerned for God’s law. Concerned for God’s people." (Ligon Duncan)

Prior posts:

Day 21 | Day 20 | Day 19 | Day 18 | Day 17 | Day 16 | Day 15 | Day 14
Day 13 | Day 12 | Day 11 | Day 10 | Day 9 | Day 8 | Day 7 | Day 6 | Day 5 | Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2 | Day 1

Advent 2015 - Day 21

(From the Gospel Coalition blog post by Trevin Wax "We Lepers"

Father Damien was a priest who became famous for his willingness to serve lepers.

He moved to Kalawao – a village on the island of Molokai, in Hawaii, that had been quarantined to serve as a leper colony.

For 16 years, he lived in their midst. He learned to speak their language. He bandaged their wounds, embraced the bodies no one else would touch, preached to hearts that would otherwise have been left alone. He organized schools, bands, and choirs. He built homes so that the lepers could have shelter. He built 2,000 coffins by hand so that, when they died, they could be buried with dignity.

Slowly, it was said, Kalawao became a place to live rather than a place to die, for Father Damien offered hope.

Father Damien was not careful about keeping his distance. He did nothing to separate himself from his people. He dipped his fingers in the poi bowl along with the patients. He shared his pipe. He did not always wash his hands after bandaging open sores. He got close. For this, the people loved him.

Then one day he stood up and began his sermon with two words: “We lepers….”

Now he wasn’t just helping them. Now he was one of them. From this day forward, he wasn’t just on their island; he was in their skin. First he had chosen to live as they lived; now he would die as they died. Now they were in it together.

One day God came to Earth and began his message: “We lepers….” Now he wasn’t just helping us. Now he was one of us. Now he was in our skin. Now we were in it together.

– From John Ortberg’s God Is Closer Than You Think (HT - Darryl Dash)

Prior posts:

Day 20 | Day 19 | Day 18 | Day 17 | Day 16 | Day 15 | Day 14

Day 13 | Day 12 | Day 11 | Day 10 | Day 9 | Day 8 | Day 7 | Day 6 | Day 5 | Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2 | Day 1

Advent 2015 - Day 20

"The whole of Christ’s life was a continual passion; others die martyrs, but Christ was born a martyr. He found a Golgotha, where he was crucified, even in Bethlehem, where he was born; ... His birth and his death were but one continual act, and his Christmas Day and his Good Friday are but the evening and the morning of one and the same day." (John Donne)

Prior posts:

Day 19 | Day 18 | Day 17 | Day 16 | Day 15 | Day 14
Day 13 | Day 12 | Day 11 | Day 10 | Day 9 | Day 8 | Day 7 | Day 6 | Day 5 | Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2 | Day 1

Advent 2015 - Day 19

"It’s in a similar vein that we say at Christmas, “What child is this?” We know the answer. It has been plainly revealed. And it is almost too wonderful to be true. God himself has become man in this baby, and has come to rescue us. The eternal Word has become flesh and dwells among us (John 1:14). It is clear and certain. We must say it straightforwardly and with courage. And it is fitting that at times, like Christmas, we wonder, we marvel, we declare in awe, “What child is this?”" (David Mathis)

Prior posts:

Day 18 | Day 17 | Day 16 | Day 15 | Day 14
Day 13 | Day 12 | Day 11 | Day 10 | Day 9 | Day 8 | Day 7 | Day 6 | Day 5 | Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2 | Day 1

Advent 2015 - Day 18

"Look up, you whose gaze is fixed on this earth, who are spellbound by the little events and changes on the face of the earth. Look up to these words, you who have turned away from heaven disappointed. Look up, you whose eyes are heavy with tears and who are heavy and who are crying over the fact that the earth has gracelessly torn us away. Look up, you who, burdened with guilt, cannot lift your eyes. Look up, your redemption is drawing near." (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

Prior posts:

Day 17 | Day 16 | Day 15 | Day 14
Day 13 | Day 12 | Day 11 | Day 10 | Day 9 | Day 8 | Day 7 | Day 6 | Day 5 | Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2 | Day 1

Advent 2015 - Day 17

Prior posts:

Day16 | Day 15 | Day 14
Day 13 | Day 12 | Day 11 | Day 10 | Day 9 | Day 8 | Day 7 | Day 6 | Day 5 | Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2 | Day 1

Advent 2015 - Day 16

"Christmas is the end of thinking you are better than someone else, because Christmas is telling you that you could never get to heaven on your own. God had to come to you. It is telling you that people who are saved are not those who have arisen through their own ability to be what God wants them to be. Salvation comes to those who are willing to admit how weak they are. In Christmas there is a resource for something most of us don’t even feel the need of." (Tim Keller)

Prior posts:

Day 15 | Day 14
Day 13 | Day 12 | Day 11 | Day 10 | Day 9 | Day 8 | Day 7 | Day 6 | Day 5 | Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2 | Day 1

Recommended Posts - v3

A Prayer For The First Day Of 2016 - S Smith - 1/1/2016

Yesterday - Chambers - 12/31/2015

Reading The Whole Bible In 2016 - Taylor - 12/29/2015

Be Devoted To Prayer - Piper - 12/27/2015

A Christmas Poem: Come To The Manger - Kruger - 12/23/2015

A Prayer For Marveling At The Tenderness And Humility Of Jesus Incarnation - S Smith - 12/22/2015

We Lepers - An Unusual Christmas Meditation - Wax - 12/22/2015

Striving For A More Intentional Life Of Prayer - Raymond - 12/15/2015

I Am The Elder Brother - Guthrie - 12/11/2015

A Prayer Of Hope For Our Kids And Grand Kids - S Smith - 12/10/2015

A Prayer For Our Worship To Be Filled With The Presence Of God - S Smith - 11/15/2015

Calvin's Advice For Right Prayer - Qaoud - 10/12/2015

Advent 2015 - Day 15

"We must both read and meditate upon the nativity. If the meditation does not reach the heart, we shall sense no sweetness, nor shall we know what solace for humankind lies in this contemplation. The heart will not laugh nor be merry. As spray does not touch the deep, so mere meditation will not quiet the heart. There is such richness and goodness in this nativity that if we should see and deeply understand, we should be dissolved in perpetual joy." (Martin Luther)

Prior posts:

Day 14
Day 13 | Day 12 | Day 11 | Day 10 | Day 9 | Day 8 | Day 7 | Day 6 | Day 5 | Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2 | Day 1

Advent 2015 - Day 14

"We are to groan for glorification, but we are to wait patiently for it, knowing that what the Lord appoints is best. Waiting implies being ready. We are to stand at the door, expecting the Beloved to open it and take us away to Himself. This “groaning” is a test. You may judge a man by what he groans after. Some men groan after wealth—they worship money. Some groan continually under the troubles of life; they are merely impatient. But the man who sighs after God, who is uneasy until he is made like Christ, that is the blessed man. May God help us to groan for the coming of the Lord and the resurrection that He will bring to us." (Charles Haddon Spurgeon)

Prior posts:

Day 13 | Day 12 | Day 11 | Day 10 | Day 9 | Day 8 | Day 7 | Day 6 | Day 5 | Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2 | Day 1

Advent 2015 - Day 13

"What can we do to employ our time to a more noble purpose than reading of what our dear Redeemer has done and suffered; to read that the King of kings and the Lord of lords came from his throne and took upon him the form of the meanest of his servants; and what great things he underwent. This, this is a history worth reading, this is worth employing our time about: and surely, when we read of the sufferings of our Savior, it should excite us to prayer, that we might have an interest in the Lord Jesus Christ;" (George Whitefield)

Prior posts:

Day 12 | Day 11 | Day 10 | Day 9 | Day 8 | Day 7 | Day 6 | Day 5 | Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2 | Day 1

Advent 2015 - Day 12

"For the greatest, most profound, tenderest things in the world, we must wait. It happens not here in a storm but according to the divine laws of sprouting, growing, and becoming." (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

Prior posts:

Day 11 | Day 10 | Day 9 | Day 8 | Day 7 | Day 6 | Day 5 | Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2 | Day 1

Advent 2015 - Day 11

"Advent is to Christmas what Lent is to Easter. “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” Let every heart prepare him room . . . by engaging in sober self-examination and cleaning house" (John Piper)

Prior posts:

Day 10 | Day 9 | Day 8 | Day 7 | Day 6 | Day 5 | Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2 | Day 1

Advent 2015 - Day 10

"Jesus you are Wonderful Counselor—our righteousness, holiness and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30). In you are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:3). I look to you for knowledge of great mysteries, but also for wisdom about handling fresh disappointments, old hurts, and unfulfilled longings. You care so tenderly for your lambs" (Scotty Smith)

Prior posts:

Day 9 | Day 8 | Day 7 | Day 6 | Day 5 | Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2 | Day 1

Advent 2015 - Day 9

"Perhaps you are kept waiting in order that your desires may be more fervent. God knows that delay will quicken and increase desire, and that if He keeps you waiting, you will see your need more clearly and will seek more earnestly. He also knows that you will prize the mercy all the more for its long delay." (Charles Haddon Spurgeon)

Prior posts:

Day 8 | Day 7 | Day 6 | Day 5 | Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2 | Day 1

Advent 2015 - Day 8

"Look up, you whose gaze is fixed on this earth, who are spellbound by the little events and changes on the face of the earth. Look up to these words, you who have turned away from heaven disappointed. Look up, you whose eyes are heavy with tears and who are heavy and who are crying over the fact that the earth has gracelessly torn us away. Look up, you who, burdened with guilt, cannot lift your eyes. Look up, your redemption is drawing near." (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

Advent 2015 - Day 7

"The golden name, Immanuel, is inexpressibly delightful. It is a word fit for the lips of cherubim for its majesty, but, because of its marvelous condescension, none but men can utter it. He is not so with seraphs as He is with us. Immanuel, “God with us” (Matt. 1: 23)—in our nature, in our sorrow, in our lifework, in our punishment, in our grave, and now with us, or rather, we with Him, in resurrection, ascension, triumph, and Second Advent splendor." (Charles Haddon Spurgeon)

Advent 2015 - Day 6

"Emmanuel. God with us. The name that sums up what Christmas means for the believer. It’s not that God simply chose to become a man so that He could feel what it’s like to be in our shoes. Or that we needed a friend in God, and He wanted to be more accessible. God made Himself a servant. The infinite God enclosed Himself in a woman’s womb for nine months. God Himself was wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a feeding trough for a bed. God made Himself vulnerable. Picture Jesus, the firstborn above all creation, the one through whom God spoke the creation of the world, sitting on His mother Mary’s lap, learning to read and write! Such mysteries can never be fully explained. But it’s the story of God coming to man – God’s being with us – that lies at the heart of the Christian worldview. O come, O come! God, be with us!" (Trevin Wax)

Advent 2015 - Day 5

Jesus, throughout Advent, I want to give you more worship than whining, and more gratitude than grumbling. Just knowing you, or rather, being known and loved by you, makes us incalculably rich. For “I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Who do I have in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but you are the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:23-26) So very Amen I pray, in your near and joy-igniting name. (Scotty Smith)

Advent 2015 - Day 4

"The Advent season is a season of waiting, but our whole life is an Advent season, that is, a season of waiting for the last Advent, for the time when there will be a new heaven and a new earth." (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

Advent 2015 - Day 3

Meditate on the fact that we need a Savior. Christmas is an indictment before it becomes a delight. It will not have its intended effect until we feel desperately the need for a Savior. Use Advent as a time of reflection to help awaken in you a bittersweet sense of your need for the Savior.