From 1 Corinthians 13:4-5: “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; it keeps no record of wrongs.”
Faith makes all things possible, love makes all things easy.
From Galatians 5:6: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.”
D. L. Moody (1837-1899), also known as Dwight Lyman Moody, was an American evangelist and Christian teacher. He is frequently credited with inspiring modern mass revivalism.
From Luke 2:15-16: “When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger.”
Courtesy of Pinterest.
Love breathes at creation
Stirring throughout darkest void
Goodness pouring from light
Father’s plans fully deployed
Love’s promises share hope
Flowing with peace, yet to come
From depths of Father’s Word
Mercy’s steady, beating drum
Love fulfills prophecy
Abounding in Father’s grace
No longer in darkness
Joy framing faith’s new embrace
Love’s assurance descends
Flowing from Father’s goodwill
Bethlehem’s stirring peace
Silent night, shepherds stand still
Love pours into each heart
Enduring Father sows seeds
Messiah fulfills hope
Light releasing joy’s proceeds
Courtesy of Pinterest.
Advent Prayer: Heavenly Father, as we remember and reflect upon this Advent season, assist us in turning our hearts toward You as we approach the birth of Your blessed Son. Encourage us to celebrate the gifts received from that very first Christmas: hope, peace, joy, and love. Amen.
English pastor and hymn writer, Isaac Watts, wrote the lyrics for “Joy to the World” in 1719. These verses embrace his interpretation of Psalm 98, which serves as a blessed completion of this Advent series of poems.
A harsh Arctic weather system had pummeled the community, leaving it to endure the coldest winter night in recent memory.
Trudging through drifts of snow, a young man braced against the freezing wind and cold. He was only dressed in a few thin layers of clothing, topped off with a faded and tattered hoodie from his college days.
Hopelessness had left him waiting for life’s next train. Whenever it might arrive would be anyone’s guess. His hand touched the few dollars hiding in his jeans’ pocket.
Looking all about, he realized that he needed to find even the barest of shelter on this coldest and most silent of nights. Coming around a corner, his eyes caught a glimpse of a small church.
Situated in the small yard in front of the church was a nativity scene. The young man surveyed the yard and discovered that the stable’s construction made for an adequate shelter.
Slipping in between the figures of Mary, Joseph, and some shepherds, he found straw that would provide a dry mattress, and the wind could not penetrate the outer walls.
Tumbling down into the piles of straw, he nestled next to a manger. He had barely noticed the setting around his makeshift bed. Falling quickly to sleep, his mind began to dream with the help of the warm, dry stable.
As he slept, the stillness of the night came upon the midnight clear. Choirs of angels could be heard in the heavens, proclaiming the birth of the Messiah. Shepherds gathered to witness the arrival of God’s promised Son.
The young man continued to dream and sleep. He had not really rested for over two days.
Morning arrived, and the sun was breaking through the few remaining clouds. The young man stirred from his warm, overnight journey of dreams. He realized that he was covered with a thick sleeping bag. Next to him waited a thermos of hot coffee and a lunchbox of sandwiches.
Turning the sleeping bag into an improvised tent among the nativity characters, he felt the warmest of joy. He sat up to drink the hot coffee and ate some of the food. Peace was backfilling his empty heart. Inside the lunchbox was an envelope with a note.
The note read:
I found you soundly sleeping here last night. I didn’t want to wake you on this most special of nights. I saw that you could use a grace-filled hand from My Father. I covered you up with the sleeping bag and left you some coffee and food. I will be with you always.
Suddenly, the young man realized that he had been blessed in ways he had never imagined. His faith had rediscovered hope. He found the love of his Savior on this warmest Christmas night.
From Colossians 4:5-6: “Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.”
From Luke 6:45: “The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil, for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.”
To be humble in heart . . . is to be submissive to the core. It involves being more interested in serving the needs of others than in having one’s own needs met.
From Philippians 2:3-4: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others.”
You will find as you look back upon your life, that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.
Character grows in the stream of the world’s life.
Henry Drummond (1851-1897) was a Scottish evangelist, writer, and lecturer.
