Week of December 4 - 10
| "JOY is Found in the Wonders of This Season" |
December 4
| "PEACE is Found in the Wonders of This Season" |
| Peace Is Found in ... |
| Peace Is Found in ... |
| Peace Is Found in ... |
| Peace Is Found in ... |
December 9
| Peace Is Found in ... |
Peace Is Found in ... |
Luke 2:14
Jesus brings us Peace in many ways; Jesus gives us inner Peace (John 14:27), the Peace that comes from our assurance of salvation; Peace of mind knowing that God will heal this broken world; and that we await Jesus coming again. Shalom. Peace from God, biblical Peace comes as we trust in God & God's promises through a faith that is restful and tranquil, no matter what faces us in this world, His Peace surpasses it.
| Jesus, {Prince of Peace} We intentionally take this moment, and the days of this week, to sing praise and glory and honor to You for coming down from heaven to walk the earth we daily trod. Thank You for Your sacrifice, and the opportunity for new life it ushers into our souls as we turn to You for salvation. Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit, living in every believer, discerning and empowering us to do work the Father has purposed for His Kingdom. We are overjoyed we get to accept adoption into the family of God! Praise and glory to You, Jesus! As we anticipate Advent, and the celebration of Christmas, we dream of Your coming to set the world at peace once and for all. We long to live with You eternally, and we love You with our whole hearts. Peace flows from You, Living Water, like a raging river to calm our hearts… in this year full of intensity and isolation, we know the peace we have is supernatural. Thank you for Peace, and perspective. We turn to You {and pray in Your Name Jehovah Shalom} most is from Meg Bucher, Advent Bible Study ... |
I will be continuing to add more the following days each day:
| Peace Is Found ... |
The first thing that came to mind was the song "Joy to the World" (which comes next week in my plan) because of the lyrics "Let every heart prepare Him room" ... since at the time that Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem during a census, there was no room anywhere for them or for Jesus Christ to be born.
Now this brought me to my next thought: if I (or you) are expecting someone to stay at your home especially if the visitor is someone special - what kind of "Preparing" would need to take place; of their guest room or your entire house for that matter. {a little more on this later}
Then my mind, ventured to one more thought (that I probably won't write more about) but if you (or someone close) was in need of a heart transplant, heart surgery or open heart surgery; what kind of Preparation would take place? What do we need to do to PREPARE our heart or to PREAPARE Him room?
I think that many of you reading this would find that these above situations call for special considerations of PREPARATION ... and if you were "preparing ..." your heart - your home or just a room; you would do even more if you knew that you were making space, cleaning, etc. for a famous person, a celebrity, royalty, so what should you consider necessary for the most famous One, the King of kings, the Messiah? For the One that you have waited for your entire life - to save you.
Advent is this time ... it's a season of "Preparing ..." We are inviting Jesus Christ to dwell within our hearts. To return and save us. So you see this is time for major heart surgery & preparation; this is the time to make ready our place for Jesus, and for Jesus' second coming (but for some of you, it might be the first time you opened your heart for Him). We will not know the day or the time for His coming (contrary to what some say) Jesus tells us in Luke 12:40. Yet each of us realize that our end could come any time unexpectedly. So we must be ready & prepare every day. We need to empty out whatever is taking up the space and make room for Jesus. It's time to clean out whatever God reveals to you or what you know does not belong in those dark, secret places; filled with dust and probably cobwebs too. Stuff you leave hanging around that needs to be cleared out to make ready for the new. No superficial efforts - half hearted or swept under the rugs ... we need to put forth our best - our best efforts, our best attitude and make those changes. Our hearts need to pound with anticipation and expectation for the best results of just BE-ing in the Presence of the One who makes our heart beat! He loves us so much! He has given us endless Gifts! What Gift do you have for Him this Christmas?
Let Him give us "an undivided heart" - "one heart" and put a new spirit in as He removes hearts of stone replacing with hearts of flesh. [Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26]
{this points right back to my very first post where I voiced some of my concerns from a heart of compassion on the first day of Advent; perhaps you didn't like it or it hit a nerve or just didn't agree; that's OK with me, but it won't be for God}
All I know is that Jesus is coming and we need to examine our hearts to make room for Him, the proper space that only He can fill when we are empty of 'self' and ready for Jesus Christ to reign - when all our PREPARATION is complete so we can welcome Him and have room for Him because we opened our hearts and lives to His Holy Spirit bringing the Truth, filling us with His fruit & speaking life to one another in Love, Peace, Hope and Joy to the World. Let's do it! Let's do as Jesus; & be ready with our hearts prepared as we sing in harmony and one accord:
and let it
begin
with
me
God, You made room for me so I can make room for others.
Help me make room. Help me prepare my heart.
Show me how to prepare & be ready for
Jesus!
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Where have you found Peace in this season or in your life?
How do you make room for Jesus at Christmas?
In what way(s), have you prepared for Jesus' coming?
Are you ready?
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Reminder:
This Blog posts remains visible. It won't be one of the ones saved in drafts.
So you can comment here or later on December 10th,
but the rest of the week's posts move forward each day & then are drafted.
