Half an hour of listening is essential except when one is very busy. Then, a full hour is needed.
From Isaiah 41:1: “Listen to me in silence, O coastlands; let the peoples renew their strength; let them approach, then let them speak; let us together draw near for judgment.”
From 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
From Zephaniah 3:14-15: “Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgments against you, He has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more.”
Looking inward, changing selves
Repenting, reversing course
Searching for life’s cherished peace
Joy spreads from Bethlehem’s source
Reading, praying, reflecting
Preparing our minds and hearts
Beaming starlight in dark times
Joy brightens, world seeks restart
Rejoicing always, Lord is near
Restoring fortunes, Prince of Peace
Renewing tomorrow’s hope
Joy transcends Father’s new lease
Trusting in God’s promises
Waiting with welcoming grace
Singing praises, justice calls
Joy blossoms in this birthplace
Proclaiming mercy-filled peace
Glowing, rising midnight sun
Igniting life’s dormant faith
Joy worships birth of God’s Son
You are invited to join in prayer: Lord God, your love and mercy promise hope, joy, and peace. During this season of Advent, open our hearts in preparation to receive our Savior. Amen.
“Joy to the World” is frequently sung during the Advent and Christmas season. Written in 1719 by English minister and hymn writer, Isaac Watts, this hymn has been a favorite for well over 100 years in North America.
The greatest honor we can give Almighty God is to live gladly because of the knowledge of His love.
From Proverbs 4:25-27: “Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Keep straight the path of your feet, and all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.”
From 1 John 4:9-10: “God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
Father reigns from above
Revealing divine love
Heaven’s whispering dove
God’s love never changes
Spanning earth’s vast ranges
Blessed interchanges
Mankind living in sin
Loving Christ, life begins
Cross becomes faith’s linchpin
Lasting love, none greater
Needing no translator
Grace shines, from Creator
Love’s divine foundation
Nurturing salvation
Life’s eternal station
From the words of American pastor and Christian teacher, Charles Stanley: “We didn’t earn the love God has for us, and that’s why we can never lose it.”
“I will hold you up,” God says. When you lean on another person or another thing, your focus is sideways, not vertical. Human crutches paralyze the walk of faith.
From Isaiah 41:10: “Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My victorious right hand.”
God’s love for us and our resulting love for Christ compel us to obey Him in all things.
From John 14:23-24: “Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.'”
From Isaiah 40:3-5: “A voice cries out: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.'”
World’s brokenness cries out
Peace sprouts, despite faith’s drought
God’s salvation shares grace
Every time and space
God’s love prepares His way
Light of peace on display
Paths straightened, valleys filled
His promises fulfilled
Anticipation warms
Preparation now forms
Mercy reigns, blessed peace
Endurance shall not cease
Faithful waiting with hope
Love focused through God’s scope
His joy draws up new lease
Spirit breathes, filled with peace
Mothering God prepares
Peace surrounds David’s heirs
Of events now to come
Hope’s steady, beating drum
You are invited to join in prayer: Lord God, your love and mercy promise hope, joy, and peace. During this season of Advent, open our hearts in preparation to receive our Savior. Amen.
As we leave to go on with the rest of our day or night, here is an Advent hymn to send us out with prepared hearts, “Prepare the way, O Zion.”
Sometimes we love with nothing more than hope. Sometimes we cry with everything except tears.
From 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: “ Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
Entrusting
Holy Father
Repenting for transgressions
Life’s new page turns
Righteousness
Accepting
Father’s guidance
Follow with obedience
Walking life’s new season
Faithfulness
Desiring
Father’s world
Honoring His covenant
Grace breathes new life
Deliverance
This series of poems (written in the German-inspired style of Elfchen or Elevenie) shares a total of eleven words in each poem, with a sequence by line of one, two, three, four, and one words.
The more reverence we have for the Word of God, the more joy we shall find in it.
From Isaiah 40:8: “The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.”
