Saturday December 3, 2016 Hope

In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:4-5 NIV

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “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 NIV

Traditionally, the first candle in the advent wreath symbolizes hope. Dictionary.com defines hope the noun as: the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best. As a verb it means to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence. The older meaning is to place trust in; to rely. We light the candles of the advent wreath; we see the golden light that reminds us that Jesus is the light of the world. As the scripture states: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Surely this is the basis for our hope. Where there is light, darkness can no longer be. I'm not sure how the board of discipleship chose the  weekly themes for Advent this year, but "watch" seems a perfect partner for the traditional "hope". The very idea of watching implies hope does it not? For who would watch for something if they had no hope that it would come. We know that all the promises of God are true.  That Jesus will return, is promised: My Fatherʼs house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. John 14:2-3 NIV. Therefore, during this Advent season we watch because we have hope in the One who has promised to return and take us to be with Him. I can think of no better blessing for this glorious truth than that of Apostle Paul in His letter to the Church in Rome: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. -Romans 15:13 NIV

Prayer

God of truth, just as the candle brings light to the darkness, so You have brought light into a dark world through Jesus, in whose name we now pray. In the same way that darkness cannot exist in light, neither can despair exist where there is hope. Fill us with hope, we pray O Lord, as we watch and prepare for Your coming. AMEN!

Friday December 2, 2016 Shepherds

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

Luke 2:8-14 KJV

I don't know of any statistics, but surely this is one of the best loved and often recited passages of scripture. I can't remember a Christmas among the many I have counted when I failed to hear or read or speak these words and I pray they will never become so familiar that they no longer cause joy to well up within me. What strikes me as I read these beloved words now, as we consider how we are to watch, are the shepherds on that first Christmas night. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. How interesting that not only did God choose to come among us in the humblest form: as a helpless baby born to an unnoteworthy young couple in a dark and dusty cattle stall, but the first to hear the Good News of the saviour's birth were simple shepherds, the humblest of witnesses. Shepherds occupied the lowest rung of both the economic and social ladder of that time.  In fact they were so little trusted that they were not allowed to testify in court. Yet this is who God chose to first reveal the news of His arrival as Immanuel, God with us. We are told After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished -Luke 2:17-18 NLT

Would it not have made more sense for God to reveal His arrival to those ones who had spent their lives studying His coming? Or to those who would have great influence over others? Surely shepherds would not qualify on either of those accounts. But that is exactly the point: God is not looking for the qualified or the influential. In fact, we are told  Instead God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. -1 Corinthians 1:27-28 NLT. In coming to the shepherds the angel brings good news of great joy to those who were considered of little value and least likely to influence their world. In so doing not only does God show us that the saviour has come for EVERYONE, but He shows that anyone can spread the Good News. And that friends includes you and I. So how about it? Are we willing to be like those shepherds? Keep watch and then have the faith to share the Good News? It would seem to be God's plan!

Surprising and marvelous God, though You have told us in Your word that Your thoughts are not our thoughts nor are your ways our ways, still we are amazed at what and who You will use to build Your kingdom. Give us faith and trust like those shepherds, we pray, that we would be steadfast in keeping watch and quick to share the Good News of salvation with those who need to hear. We ask in the name of the One we watch for even now: Lord Jesus. AMEN!

Thursday December 1, 2016 Watch and Pray

December 1, 2016
Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:40-41 NKJV

Jesus in the garden...with the disciples...those closest to Him. Those ones who were hand chosen and walked with with daily during those years of His public ministry. Those ones who not only heard his teachings, but afterwards received private tutoring. Those ones who loved Him deeply. And yet, in the hour when he so greatly needed them, not once, but three times the disciples failed Him. If those who were with Jesus face to face on a daily basis, listening and learning directly from Him needed to watch and pray so as not to enter into temptation, how much more we who follow Him today?  Perhaps now, more than at any time in history,  worldly distractions tug at us and threaten to lead us away from all of our good intentions. The world is full of loud and shiny things that cry out for our attention, more so at this time of year than any other.  Jesus' voice, though persistent,  calls quietly. The world speaks to our fleshly love for ourselves and concern with our own well being. Jesus calls us to love and serve Him by loving and serving the least of these. The irony is that this season which exists to point us to Jesus has become something so different that we have to work   against our consumer culture to even keep in the front of our minds what we are actually celebrating. As Jesus tells us in this passage, our watching needs to be intentional and it needs to be fortified by prayer. In prayer we connect our spirit to that which we cannot see with our eyes: our triune God. In prayer, if we practice it regularly, we can sense that tender love that  God has for us and which we so desire, yet so often miss in a world where how we look and what we do is often valued more than who we are. But prayer does take practice...regular practice and we fool ourselves if we think otherwise. So in these days of watching, let us respond to Jesus call to watch and pray, that when he comes he finds us ready and waiting to receive all that he has for us...heavenly treasures that nothing in this world can ever match.

Prayer
Loving God, Source of all that is good, help us, we pray to be strong against the temptations all around us. Open our ears to hear Your voice calling to us to watch for You. Lead us and guide us that our feeble attempts to meet You in prayer would be engulfed and overwhelmed by Your almighty power and great desire to draw us to Yourself as demonstrated by Your coming to this very earth as a helpless child, Jesus, in whose name we now pray. AMEN!

Wednesday November 30, 2016 Forevermore!

He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you— the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Psalm 121:3-8 NIV

Are you tired of waiting? Tired of watching? Has that light of hope that once burned bright begun to flicker? Have you lost sighted it completely? Has sadness crept in? Know this: you are not alone! For many, many people, this holiday time is a time of internal struggle.  It is a good bet that all of God's children have felt deep sorrow at one point or another. In fact, even Jesus knew soul wrenching sorrow: Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death." (Matthew 26:38 NIV). But hear this good news: more than the fact that we are not alone in our suffering because others suffer as well, this psalm reminds us that although we may tire and fail to keep watch, our God never does. The psalmist tells us He neither slumbers nor sleeps. The promise here is that He watches now and He will watch for all eternity. The key to unlock that promise? Jesus Christ, who we are told is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us (Romans 8:34). This same God who watches over us and promises to do so forevermore, is joined in the Godhead by the very One we are watching for. Jesus who was not just fully God, but was a fully human person. Jesus who knows and feels and understands our every sorrow, because He too experienced earthly sorrow, sits at the right hand of God and pleads for us to the One who has promised to Never. Stop. Watching. Ever! This is a promise to lay hold of and sustain us as we watch.  Hallelujah!

Prayer
Eternal God, eternity...forevermore, is a difficult concept for our human minds to conceive of yet that is precisely what you have promised: to watch over us forevermore. And even more than that, through Jesus Christ, You have opened the gates of heaven and invited us to join You forevermore. Thank You Jesus that such a thing is even possible!  Remind us of this great Good News, even as we struggle to focus and keep watch during this special season of Advent. We ask in Your precious name. AMEN!

November 29, 2016 The Watchman

November 29
The coming of the Son of Man can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. When he left home, he gave each of his slaves instructions about the work they were to do, and he told the gatekeeper to watch for his return. You, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know when the master of the household will return—in the evening, at midnight, before dawn, or at daybreak. Don’t let him find you sleeping when he arrives without warning. I say to you what I say to everyone: Watch for him!
Mark 13:34-37 NLT

In the ancient world, the watchman played a critical role. In the countryside, high stone towers were build in the vineyards and fields.  From atop these towers, as the harvest approached, a watchman would survey the surrounding fields or vineyards and watch for animals or thieves who might destroy or steal the crops planted around them.  The watchman was responsible for the food supply of the townspeople. Likewise, the cities, such as Jerusalem, were surrounded by a high, thick wall. From atop the wall the watchmen could watch over the approach to the city. From their high vantage point they would be able to see in the distance and warn the people inside. If enemy armies were approaching the city the watchman would sound an alarm and the gates to the city would be secured as the inhabitants prepared for battle.
It is no wonder then,  that scripture uses the image of a watchman to describe the prophets who were to look to the approaching future, and warn the people of what was to come if they continued in their wicked ways. In the New Testament, however Jesus charges all of His followers to keep watch, this time for His return. In today's scripture, as in yesterday's,  Jesus warns His listeners that no one knows when that time will come, so they must remain vigilant and prepare. This is the image we bring to Advent. We are to watch and be prepared for that day when Jesus Himself returns. So even as we prepare our homes and surroundings to commemorate and celebrate the birth of Jesus long ago, we are to mend our own ways and prepare our hearts for that time when He returns. Keep watch!

Prayer
Holy God, we love You and offer all our praise to You.  As we find ourselves in this Advent time of waiting and watching, remind us, we pray,  that even as we wait with anticipation for a day of celebration of the birth of Jesus, in a larger way, we also await the day You will return and every knee shall bow every tongue declare allegiance. Stir in our hearts O Lord, a strong desire for You that outweighs our desires for lesser things of this world. Show us we pray, what You would have us do in this time of waiting and longing for Your presence. Help us to be vigilant and keep watch so that our own hearts are prepared for Your arrival no matter when that happens. We ask in Jesus' name. AMEN!

Monday November 28 Watch

However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.  When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes. Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left. So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into.You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected. Matthew 24:36-44 NLT

Advent. A season rich with dichotomies. A season of already and not yet. A season our consumer culture calls us to rush through to arrive at Christmas  while our Christian culture calls us to slow down and look inward  preparing our hearts. A time of commemoration of the birth of Jesus and a time of anticipation of  His final return. A time to look back and a time to look forward. Even the word itself is defined as both coming and arrival. So which is it? It is both, and that is the tension of Advent. That is why Jesus tells His disciples, both then and now, to keep watch; for no one, not even Jesus Himself, knows when the Kingdom will come. That knowledge is for God the Father alone. What we are told though, is that not only has Jesus come as Immanuel, God with us, but he will return as the King of Kings and Lord of lords. If we want to be prepared, we are told in this passage precisely what to do: keep watch, for surely He will come when least expected. And just as surely,  we will want to be ready.

Prayer
Gracious God, we are awed by You and the enormity of Your love for Your children such that You were willing to step out of heaven and become one of us, entering our world in the humblest of ways. Immanuel,  God with us in the person of Jesus. We give thanks for the reminder from scripture that only You know the day and the hour of His return, so we need to keep watch and be prepared. Help us to use these days of Advent as a time to draw closer to You. Remind us, we pray, that we get to participate even now in building Your kingdom here on earth, and motivate us to do just that. We ask in Jesus' name. AMEN

Sunday November 27 WELCOME! Happy New Year!

The season marked by the four Sundays before Christmas is known as Advent. Advent is the beginning of the Christian new year. It is so fitting that our Christian year begins with Advent. Just as the secular world marks the passing of another year by looking back at what has come and making plans for what the future will bring, so we, as followers of Christ, begin our year by looking back in time remembering the birth of Jesus, while keeping watch for His promised return. Advent has often been a season rushed through on the way to Christmas, that glorious celebration of the birth of our Lord. This year, before we fix our eyes on the star that marks His incarnation among us, let us look with anticipation and yearning for the clouds on which He will return to make all things new.

To help with Pastor Jen's challenge to look at our Bible as much as we look at our email or Facebook, we will include a scripture passage each day, followed by a devotional reading and a prayer. Would you consider taking a moment to introduce yourself in the comments section and tell us where you are from and perhaps share what bings you here? Blessings to all in this season of preparation!