December 6: Luke 1:45

There was a promise made many generations before Mary received “good news of great joy that would be for all the people (2:45).”  In Eden, Eve believed the “Edenic Poison” from Satan. God’s word was not true—she would not die for disobedience (Gen. 3:4). God’s character could not be trusted. God was restrictive (Satan asked if she could not eat of any of the trees in the garden). Adam bought into this Serpentine theology too.[1] Believing this plunged Adam and all of us offspring under the curse and condemnation of God (Rom. 5:12). But God did not leave Eve without a promise. He promised One would come to crush the Serpent through His suffering (Gen. 3:15). God confirmed this promise through Abraham, David, and the Prophets. One was coming who would reverse the curse! Isaiah promised this offspring would be crushed by God, make atonement for sin, and out of His obedience would count many righteous (53:10-11). Fast-forward back to an obscure town in Galilee named Nazareth. The fulfillment of the promise made to Eve had come! Gabriel had Good News for Mary. The One in whom all blessing was to be found, God incarnate, would dwell inside of her. And Mary simply believed. Mary became a partaker of God’s blessing in Christ—trusting God’s word was absolutely true and that His character was absolutely good.  He had come to save His people from their sin (Matt. 1:21). The Father “moved with nothing but His free love to mankind lost”[2] sent His Son. If we want to know what God is like, we will find Him incarnate in a cattle stall. The love of the Father freely given in a Savior who delivers all from the curse and condemnation of sin who will receive Him, like Mary, with the empty hands of faith. Whether it be for the first time or if it has been nearly a lifetime, our response is to be the same.  This Advent, we are called to receive, as “she who has believed,” this good and gracious Savior, who is ours to have today.

Tyler Swadley

[1] See Ferguson, Sinclair, The Whole Christ: Legalism, Antinomianism, and Gospel Assurance: Why The Marrow Controversy Still Matters. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016.

[2] Fisher, Edward, The Marrow of Modern Divinity. Ross-shire, UK: Christian Focus, 2009. 371.

December 5

December 4: III John 2.

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. 

When I was younger this little verse about good health wouldn’t have meant much to me. But as I get older things have changed. My body doesn’t work like it once did. I now have to tell myself how to get out of bed. Ok, turn slowly on my right side, push myself up until I’m sitting, put one foot down, now bounce up to where both feet will be touching the floor. Ah, I’m standing.

Or I start off the day thinking I want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch. I try to open the jelly jar. I can’t. I try using a rubber gripper. No good. I hit around the lid (hard) with a knife. Still nothing. It turns out I don’t want jelly after all.

Now I can hardly put into words how much I would appreciate the prayers of a friend like John, caring about my health, praying that all will go well with me. Thankfully, I have that someone.

When I stand before a doctor and hear a report I do not want to hear, and I fall backwards, I land in the arms of someone who cradled children and grieving mothers—someone

who cut wood and nailed boards together and formed stars and made the world.   

When I feel my heart start to break because one of my kids is so sick and I sit up to watch over her, I feel Him standing beside me all night. I know I slept, if only a little, but He didn’t.

When I watch my friends hurt and am so incredibly sad I’m gasping for air, I hear Him say, “I remember feeling that way too.”

When I weep, I know that He wept.  I know it as I stand here rooted between this crazy, upending, inconceivable idea of God arriving as a baby, and his going away and saying something as unbelievable as, “I’ll be back. And while I’m gone, I won’t leave you alone.” 

During this advent season I hope you know you are never alone.     

Gail Foresee

December 3: 2 Corinthians 9:15 – “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift.”

There are many things I love about the Christmas season.  I love the bright and cheerful decorations, the rich and comforting food, and the endless stream of predictable yet heart-warming Hallmark Christmas movies.  I love listening to nostalgic Christmas songs, reading advent devotions, making gingerbread houses, and having time to celebrate with friends and family.  However, one thing I don’t love about Christmas is giving gifts.  Shopping for gifts is stressful. There are so many questions running through my mind as I try to decide the gifts to give the people in my life.  What do they want?  What do they need?  What do they already have?  Is this gift too generic?  Does it cost the appropriate amount?  Shopping for gifts is no fun for me. Then when I have chosen a gift, presenting the gift to the person is unnerving.  I don’t want them to feel obligated to respond in a certain way.  I’m curious to see if they like the gift, but I know I can’t trust their overt reaction because they are probably just trying to be nice to me and not hurt my feelings.  Thus, there’s this deep sense of dissatisfaction because I’ll never really know if they like the gift.  Let’s just say I am grateful for my family’s tradition of telling each other exactly what we want for Christmas which eliminates a lot of this stress.

                In 2 Corinthians 9, Paul is exhorting the people in the Corinthian church to live and give generously.  He even says, “God loves a cheerful giver.” (Okay, so maybe I’ll work on my gift-giving attitude this Christmas.)  Paul ends the chapter with a reminder of the gift that God, the best gift-giver, has given to all his children, a gift that is beyond words, the gift of God’s “surpassing grace.”  This undeserved grace is the great blessing of our salvation in Christ, who came to this earth to live and die among us so that we might all experience the ultimate gift of free and abundant communion with our Creator.  This is truly the greatest gift of the Christmas season and always.

Cherith Tucker

December 2: John 3:16

The season of Advent is a time for remembrance and anticipation.  We look forward to Christ’s second coming while looking back on his first coming as the babe in the manger.  Just as Jewish people looked back on the Exodus out of Egypt as the foundation of their nation as God’s “chosen” people and now have faith that God will act for them, Christians look back on Christ’s birth while looking forward to the coming of God’s kingdom when he will come for his people.

            With Christ’s birth, the promise was fulfilled for our salvation (John 3:16) and completed with his death and resurrection.  Now, as we wait and prepare for the second coming, we are tasked with growing in stature while carrying on Christ’s work until he comes again. That means dealing with division, disease, poverty, grief, and violence as we go about our lives—no easy task.

            As COVID 19 has spread around the world taking thousands of lives, causing loss of jobs, and creating frustration and division, we demonstrate our love of Christ by setting the example of hope while protecting others and ourselves by following the required protocols and by getting the vaccine when it became available.  We grieve with those who have lost loved ones, remembering that we have eternal life and will meet again in the next life.  We follow Christ’s example of feeding the hungry and clothing the poor on whatever scale is needed as thousands have lost jobs and insurance coverage while incurring huge medical expenses.  And with so much division, hatred, and escalating violence, we continue to love our fellow man and stand firm in our faith that God will make things right in his own time.  We look to God and remain alert to opportunities to do good, listen to his word, and keep his precepts.  In so doing, we have hope for the future, joy in God’s presence and provision, and peace as we work in this troubled world.

            As his children, our hope is in Jesus Christ; He has come to provide salvation to a lost world.  He works through his followers in the chaos of this life, and he will come again to gather his people home.

Ozelle Scrutchins

December 1: John 14:16

Advent reminds us to prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ. But the significance of Christ’s work extends even further than Himself. John 14:16 says, “And I will ask the Father and He will give you another counselor to be with you forever.” This verse contains all three persons of the Trinity: Christ as the Intercessor, God as the Giver, and the Holy Spirit as the Counselor.

            When we lived in Lubbock, a dear lady named Roberta was our tiny church plant’s resident intercessor. If she said, “I’ll pray for you,” you knew that she was going to faithfully and continually pray. One time I tearfully told her that we were wanting a baby, and she held my hand and prayed for me. God answered that prayer later that year. Not everyone has a Roberta, but we ALL have Christ to intercede to God on our behalf. Romans 8:34 says, “Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”

Not only is Christ interceding, but God the Creator, who is powerful and good, is listening. James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” God is a giver of good things, and the best gift of all is the Holy Spirit, or in this verse, the Counselor.

Other translations of the Bible give different words for the term Counselor: Comforter, Helper, Advocate, Companion. Jesus knew that life is hard, and we desperately need someone to fill these roles. We need a counselor who listens and guides us. In times of loss or grief, we need someone to walk alongside and provide comfort. When we are overwhelmed with all the things, we need a helper. An advocate will plead our case when we cannot. And when loneliness haunts us, the Holy Spirit is our Companion. This Advent, we can celebrate the fullness of the Trinity.

Amanda Newsom

November 30: Hebrews 4:16

I keep a hand-written Christmas list of our daughter’s from when she was about 8 years old – it is stuck in a photo album that occasionally gets viewed.  It has always made me smile when I happen on it.  It reminds me of the boldness of children, the honesty with which they approach events and people and activities, and the sheer belief that if you ask for something you just might get it. 

It also reminds me of where I came from.  I can’t imagine my father or mother making such requests of their families, and I cannot remember ever doing the same with mine.  There was always the idea that there was not enough to go around and that asking for such things was just going to upset everyone.  It was always better to be surprised and happy by what might show up on Christmas morning rather than expect something. 

This passage in Hebrews is speaking of grace, not Christmas gifts.  The passage tells us to ‘come boldly.’  And when we approach our Lord, asking for grace, I hope we all take this to heart – that we should find grace in our times of need by purposely and boldly asking for it.  It seems like a scriptural command to me – that if I do not ask boldly I am likely not to receive it.  How often do we assume that since we need grace that we do not deserve it?  In our dealings with each other the burned hand teaches us best.  It is easier to just swallow our request than to speak it. 

During this Advent season, ask for grace.  Ask for it boldly.  Ask the Lord to give you the ability to grant others the grace they need, and to boldly request that the coming of the Christ Child be a time of renewal of your faith and of your dedication to the fellowship of believers. 

Jim Vernon

November 29: Genesis 1:1

         We were not there to see it, but God’s raw display of His infinite power, as He brought the whole universe and all that is in it into being, must have been awesome and beyond description.  When we reflect on the book of Genesis and specifically on the first verse in the Bible, this act of creation immediately grabs our attention.  Yet, something else was going on as God created.  A deeper understanding of the entire Creation account reveals what God was really doing: Creation was an act of His providential love for us.  In his first works, well before humans were created, our heavenly Father already had all of us in mind.  He provided the elements that made all of life – and ultimately humanity and our unique dwelling place, Earth – possible.  Humans, referred to in Holy Scripture as “God’s Masterpiece” in Creation (Eph. 2:10 – NLT), are the beneficiaries of His great act of providential love from the very beginning.   

         We were not there to see it when, again, God’s amazing act of providential love bestowed upon sin-plagued humanity what we most needed: the birth of Christ, our Savior.  This time, however, the display of the Lord’s still awesome power was as simple as it could get.  It came in the form of a tiny cry in the night, a poor newborn lying in a manger, a tired mother, and a caring father keeping watch over them.  Although celebrated in the heavenlies and announced by angels to shepherds in fields just outside the town of David, the mood inside that humble Bethlehem barn was one of rest and quiet.  Mary treasured up the eternal significance of her son’s birth, keeping in her heart that in the “City of Bread,” Jesus, the “Bread of Life,” had come to us.  Once again, in His loving providence, God had given those he loves the essential Element for our lives: the Messiah Who would bring us life everlasting. 

         This Advent Season, may we ponder anew the magnitude of God’s gift of life. How wonderful is His providential love for us! Amen

Dr. Toni Chiareli