Advent Season
Week 50 Day 4
Pray:
Ask God to reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.
Read:
Luke 2:1-16 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Reflect:
The story of the birth of Jesus evokes strong “cultural emotions.” In fact the Christmas season as a whole brings warms feelings to the general population, at least in much of the western world. But sadly these warm feelings are often devoid of sound thoughts. Most people do not believe that the birth of Jesus into the world was the most important event in history in terms of the advancement of “human knowledge.” It may seem strange to think of the birth of Jesus this way but we must in fact “think” not just feel regarding the incarnation. The greatest “knowledge” leap forward for humanity was not a scientific discovery but the incarnation. Jesus brought to us the knowledge of God as well as the only way to relationship with God. He brought to us what we could not, in an infinity of time, have discovered on our own. Read the account of Jesus’ birth again but do so as if you are reading “real information” not “religious information.” Read, as it is, a historical narrative with spiritual implications. Read it as “news” with important facts that concern how you deal with your life today and in the future. Read it as valuable, incredibly valuable information that you desperately need to escape disaster and experience good. Read it again and rouse yourself as you do. Tell yourself the truth about this. If only you could see it as the terrific news that it is you would read it laughter, or tears, or shouts, or fear…or all of that. Ask God to help you think and feel what is appropriate to think and feel about this news of Jesus entrance into our collective history. If we can think more clearly and accurately and feel more appropriately about the coming of Christ into the world we will be positioned to live more accurately and appropriately in the world. Have warm cultural feelings regarding Christmas season, or not. Some do and some don’t. Whether the season evokes warm or terrible feelings it is very important that the truth evokes correct thoughts. Let the facts of Jesus settle deeply in your mind, so those facts can shape how you feel, and those feelings can power your life to worship him in the totality of your life.
Pray:
(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)
Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today.