Advent 2025 – Day 1: Hope in the Promise of God

Advent 2025 – Day 1
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6
The first week of Advent focuses on hope, and hope is rooted in the promises of God. Isaiah 9:6 is a promise from the Lord that He would send Someone who would make all things right. Not through military force or government overthrow as the Jewish people expected, but through His Son.
His Son, who is the Wonderful Counselor, because He is all-knowing – He has absolute wisdom. He leads with knowledge of the way ahead. He speaks from His Word – full of righteousness with not even a hint of error. All His ways are right and true. His counsel is without cost, His office never closes, and He is never too busy to meet with you. Your Wonderful Counselor is only a whispered prayer away.
His Son, who is a Mighty God because He is all-powerful. This Child was born to save the world. He is a warrior who defeated the foe of His people. Only the enemy is not a human army; the enemy is death – that is, eternal separation from God. And He did not do battle with arrows or spears or any man-made weapon. He used a wooden cross and an empty tomb. “Death has been swallowed up in victory!” (1 Corinthians 15:54), and we will live forevermore.
His Son, who is our Everlasting Father, because in Him is everlasting life. But not merely an existence that never ends, It is about the uninterrupted presence of God and His everlasting love (Ps. 103:17), everlasting righteousness (Ps. 119:142), an everlasting kingdom (Ps. 145:113), everlasting Joy (Is. 35:10), everlasting salvation (Is. 47:17), everlasting kindness (Is. 54:8), everlasting light (Is 60:19, 20), and an everlasting name (Is. 56:5). It will be an everlasting paradise (Rev. 2:7)!
His Son, who is the Prince of Peace, came to this earth, not to a castle, but a stable. He came to bring us peace that cannot be broken. Certainly, in Him there is peace of mind and peace in the storm and peace between men, but Jesus Christ came that you and I might have even more – peace with our Creator. He came to lay His body down as a bridge between God and us, ensuring peace in the most important place of all, our souls.
Beloved, do you know this Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace? Do you know God’s Son?

God at Work

I was nine when I asked Jesus to come into my heart and went through the baptismal waters, but I struggled with doubts for many years afterward – even into my adulthood. I would agonize over whether I “got it right” when I prayed the prayer. Was I sincere enough? Did I say the right things in the right way? I knew that salvation comes through faith, so was my faith good enough? Was I good enough? I would go through “dry spells” where I didn’t “feel” very Christianly. So I would go back through it all again and again. Pray the prayer, recommit myself to follow Jesus, stumble in my walk, ask the same questions. Rinse and repeat. Once, I was even rebaptized. All I knew was I had to get it right so it would “stick.”
Then I read a verse, a beautiful, hope-filled verse that changed everything for me. “May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Do we understand what this means? God does all the heavy lifting of salvation and all the hard work of sanctification. God sent His Son, who sacrificed Himself and shed His divine blood to cleanse you and me from all of our sins. That’s the salvation part.
He is also doing the work of sanctification, or making us holy; the word literally means a reformation of the soul. He is remaking us from the inside out. I can’t do that, nor can you. I may be able to change my behavior for a moment, but that never lasts. Only God, through the Holy Spirit, can create lasting (and everlasting) transformation.
Paul added the perfect finish to this verse: “The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it” (1 Thess 5:23-24). And there was the answer to my confusion. He is the one who saved me, and He is the one who will keep me. It’s not up to me to say the right things or do the right things to “stay saved.” I couldn’t even if my life depended on it. But He is faithful, and He will do it. That gives me tremendous peace.
What’s our part in the salvation and sanctification process? Trust and obey. Beloved, if He saved you, He will keep you. God never lets go of His children.

The Day After Thanksgiving

It’s the day after Thanksgiving. I woke up with warm memories of family and friends and good food from yesterday. But just because Thanksgiving Day is passed doesn’t mean I can put away a thankful heart. My practice in November is to work through the ABCs of gratitude each day. It always helps me remember how good God has been and restores my hope that He will always be so. But is there no reason to be thankful today? I believe there is.
“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” (Ps 106:1). The love of God is the chief reason I can be thankful. His love is never-failing, never-ending, eternal, faithful, perfect, and holy. And it has nothing to do with me and everything to do with who He is. John said, “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8), and I am so thankful.
“The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him” (Ps 28:7). When I am weak, He is my strength. When the enemy is on the attack, He is my shield. When I am in distress, He is my help. How can I not thank Him?
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor 15:57). I was a sinner, a slave to my flesh and bound for hell. But now I am saved by the blood of Jesus, and my eternal home waits for me in heaven.
“The Lord is near…” (Phil 4:5). There is never a moment that God is not near. He promised to never leave me (Jos 1:9), and to be with me “always, to the very end of the age” (Matt 28:20). I am thankful that He is before me and behind me and beside me every minute of every day.
“We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers” (1 Thess 1:2). God has graciously given me friends and family who love me and bless my life every day. I am thankful for every one of you.
That barely scratches the surface of all I have to be grateful for. I’m going to start a new practice of daily thanksgiving, “counting my blessings, one by one.” Will you join me, Beloved? I know we can find something to be thankful for every day.

Thanksgiving

“I will give thanks to You, Lord, with all my heart” (Psalm 9:1).
The Ark of the Covenant, the one element of the Tabernacle that was God’s special dwelling place, had been captured by the Philistines. David set out to bring the Ark home, and the people and their king were ecstatic. They celebrated with sacrifices and offerings and Joyful thanks. The king wrote a psalm: “Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done” (1 Chr 16:8). With the Ark secured in its rightful place, David appointed priests and Levites to minister before the Ark, to present the daily offerings, and some to guard the gate to the tent.
There was another important position to be filled: “With them were Heman and Jeduthun and the rest of those chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the Lord, ‘for His love endures forever’” (1 Chr 16:41). Their sole responsibility was to express gratitude to the Lord who was again dwelling among His people. They led the Israelites in songs and exclamations of thanks.
Did you know that you are also chosen to give thanks? You may not be a descendant of Aaron, the first high priest, but 1 Peter 2:9 says: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness and into His wonderful light.” If you are in Christ, you have been chosen by God to be His royal priest. But there is no temple anymore, and the Ark of the Lord has long been missing. So, what is your role in the priesthood in Christ?
You have been given the special mission of leading your family, church, community, and nation in gratitude to the Lord who created you, sustains you, provides for you, and, most importantly of all, the One who saved and redeemed you and marked you for eternal life. Being a priest of God is a high and holy calling.
As you gather with family and friends today, remember that God is with you in your celebration. And never forget that you are a priest chosen by the Lord to express gratitude. Give thanks, Beloved – today and every day. I pray you have a blessed and Joyful Thanksgiving, friends.

Thy Word

Confession: Last night I got sucked up in the black hole of Facebook and wasted more time than I want to admit, just numbly scrolling. I started out looking at my memories, which I love, especially when they are full of Joy. Of course, they are a little bittersweet because she’s grown up so much.
As I scrolled through, I noticed some of my comments that seemed out of place, like they hung in the air, disconnected from anything else. As I kept reading, I realised that those were conversations with friends who had since deleted their FB profile. The comments made no sense because they were no longer connected to the original response.
That reminds me of Paul’s words to the church in Corinth, “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot not understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit” (1 Cor 2:14). Most often, if the Bible doesn’t make any sense, it is because the reader does not have the Holy Spirit within them. The Word of God cannot be discerned without the Spirit of God. Paul also said, “The mind governed by the flesh [that is the mind of an unbeliever] is hostile to God; it does not submit to God, nor can it do so” (Rom 8:7). This all boils down to one truth: “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ” (v. 9). It’s one of those books that require interpretation by the original Author.
I’m researching a question that I’ve heard – and asked – many times, “How do I know that I am saved?” One way is that the Bible becomes a lifeline for you, a vital connection between you and Christ. You don’t just read it for five minutes to check the daily box; you read it because you want to hear from God, to know Him more deeply, and understand His ways so that you can walk with Him. David prayed, “Show me Your ways, Lord, teach me Your paths” (Ps 25:5). That is the heart of the believer when they approach the Word of God.
One other point that needs to be said (get your boots on): sometimes believers can miss what God is saying in His Word because they have stifled the Spirit with unrepentant sin and disobedience. If God’s Word has become stale and lifeless to you, perhaps it’s time to look at your life and come before Him in repentance.
God’s Word is Light and Life for the believer. Believer, is it so for you?

Listen!

I cherish my early mornings with the Lord. My house is quiet. All is still, and I love it. This world is a noisy place. Finding quiet spaces is becoming a challenge. But the Bible puts great value on silence.
The Old Testament prophet Habakkuk wrote, “The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him” (Hab 2:20). It’s counsel we should all consider, but not just for an end to the noise, noise, noise, noise, but for a far more important reason. Remember the story of Elijah?
The prophet was running for his life from the evil queen Jezebel; in his fear and exhaustion, he sought refuge in a cave. God came to talk with Elijah, but he couldn’t hear Him in the raucous wind, or the tumultuous earthquake, or the roaring fire. It was only in the “gentle whisper” that he finally heard the voice of the Lord. So many times, the noise and cacophony surrounding my life drowns out the voice of God. Even more so, the noise inside my own head causes me to miss what the Lord was saying.
Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” This calls for us to quiet the internal noise – the constant clatter of “What-ifs” and “If-onlies.” The rattle of anxiety, doubt, and those thoughts of self-condemnation. The enemy adds fuel to those thoughts because they keep the volume turned up high. “Be still” literally means “to relax, to be quiet,” and get this one: “to let go.”
I had a dear coworker who often told me to “Let go and let God,” and while that’s great advice, I didn’t know how. I was holding so tightly to people and situations and fears and doubts that I couldn’t break my grip on them to save my life. God had to pray my white knuckles away, finger by finger. Only then, with my obsessions in His hands, could I hear what He wanted to tell me.
There’s one more place in Scripture that I want to consider. When Jesus took Peter, John, and James onto the mountaintop to reveal Himself in power and glory, Peter prattled on and on about what they should do until a voice from heaven thundered from a cloud: “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to Him” (Luke 9:35). I believe there is an unspoken, but clear, “Be still, Peter!” in there.
God wants to speak with you, but He will not shout over the noise in and around you. You must find a place of quiet and silence the racket in your mind. Be still, Beloved, and listen.

He is a God of His Word

I don’t know if Whitney Houston was familiar with Abraham’s story in Genesis, but she sang a song that echoed the patriarch’s passionate plea to God. “How will I know…?” I’ve asked the same question more than a few times, and I’ll bet you have too.
When God called Abram, He promised him descendants and land. “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you” (Gen 12:2). When Abram settled in the land of Canaan, the Lord said, “Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. Go walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you” (Gen 13:14-17). Later, the Lord spoke to him in a vision and reassured him of the promise. He told him that his offspring would be impossible to count – like the stars in the sky. And “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:6).
Later, God told him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it” (Gen 15: 5, 7). And what was Abram’s response? “Oh Sovereign Lord, how can I know . . . ?” (Gen 15:8). From faith to doubt. Sound familiar? It does for me. I will believe God in the morning and be anxious by the afternoon. I can watch God work wonders on my behalf and wonder if He will come through for me in the next crisis. I have read His promises, even written them down, and forgotten them in the fiery moment.
But let’s answer Abram’s question, “How can I know . . . ?” First, he was standing on the very land God had promised to give him – “this land” (v. 7). It was the same promise he had made at the beginning of Abram’s journey, “To your offspring I will give this land” (Gen 12:7-italics added). The land on which your sandals are resting, Abram. The land I had you walk through, Abram.
Secondly, because of who made the promise. The Lord, God Most High. The Creator of heaven and earth (Gen 14:22). The Sovereign Lord (Gen 15:2, 8). The One who had called him. The one he had followed all over Arabia. Abram knew because God had been faithful to him from the first day.
He’s the same God that you can trust to keep His promises to you, too. You have one advantage that Abram didn’t have. You have the cross of Jesus Christ. Because God’s ultimate promise of salvation was fulfilled there. And if He was faithful with that promise, you can be sure He will be faithful with all the rest. God keeps His promises, Beloved. Every. Single. One.

The High Price of Grace

You may think I’m odd when I say that I love the book of Leviticus. Yes, Leviticus – the book where New Year’s resolutions die. Why would I want to slog through a bunch of antiquated laws that don’t apply to me as a New Testament Christian? Because Jesus is found in Leviticus more than any other Old Testament book. He is the fulfillment of every law therein. He said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished” (Matt 5:17–18).
Three verses into the first chapter and there He is: “If [the petitioner’s] offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to bring an unblemished male” (Lev. 1:3). That’s Jesus. Unblemished. Perfect. Sinless. Innocent. Pure. The only sacrifice that could atone for your sin and mine – making us acceptable to a holy God.
I look to the next verse and I see, not only Jesus this time but also me. “He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him” (Lev. 1:4) In the ancient sacrificial system, the person placed his hand on the animal’s head symbolically transferring his sins onto it. This innocent animal now bore the guilt for the sinful person; the animal – not the man – died for those sins.
I am the one with my hand on the head of Jesus. Those sins are mine. The guilt is mine. I am shaken by Charles Spurgeon’s comment on this verse: “If the worshipper was a right-minded person and not a mere formalist, he stood with tears in his eyes and felt in his heart, ‘That death is mine.’” Oh, God let me never look at the cross and forget – “That death is mine.”
Beloved, that is your hand on the head of Jesus too. That death is yours. Those sins are yours. The guilt belongs to you. But so does the atonement. The sinless, innocent Son of God graciously received your transgressions and bore your punishment so that you would be accepted by His Father. Peter said, “It was not with … silver or gold that you were redeemed … but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Pet 1:18-19). May you and I never forget the price that Jesus paid to set us free.

Sacred Words

“Watch your mouth!” I said to someone who was spewing profanities. “You claim to be a Christian, but your mouth says something very different.” If looks could kill, I would have been dead on the spot. Words matter. Certain words matter more than others.
The name of God was so sacred to the ancient Jewish scribes that they used a special pen to write the Name as they reproduced the Scriptures. Each time they came to the name of God, they would set down the regular pen, often wash themselves, then pick up a holy pen that was used only for writing God’s name. After saying a prayer, they would write The Name with the designated pen and then resume their work with the “regular” pen. This ensured that no profane word would ever be written with the pen that had once scribed the name of God. Some scribes would even break the special pen as a further safeguard.
Now consider Romans 10:9-10: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”
Jesus said our words matter because they reveal the condition of our heart (Mat 15:10-20) – in this case, whether you are saved or condemned. Now hear me out – the words we utter do not enact salvation to us, only faith alone by grace alone through Christ alone can do that – but the words of our mouth are the verbal confirmation of our salvation.
Which brings me to a point I had never considered before. The mouth of a believer who has professed, “Jesus is Lord,” should never be used to speak profane words. That mouth is now sacred because it has spoken the Most Holy Name. James wrote, “Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be” (Jas 3:10). Take it a step farther: Jesus even said that you and I will be held accountable for every empty word we have spoken (Mat 12:36). The word “empty” in the Greek means “careless, useless, lazy.” Anybody else’s toes throbbing right now? He said, “By your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned” (v. 37).
When God called me into this teaching and writing ministry, He sent me to Jeremiah 15:19: “If you utter worthy, not worthless words, you will be my spokesman.” Beloved, your words really do matter. Now and eternally. Let them speak loudly and often of the worth of Jesus.

You Were Created to Shine

What is the point of faith? What is the goal of the Christian life? Do you believe it’s to make you happy all the time? (Boy, have I got news for you.) Do you suppose it is to make you a mighty man or woman of God? I think there’s more to it than that. Many believe that the aim of faith is to make us feel good about ourselves. Trust me, that is not it at all. For a long time, I thought the aim of my faith was to be wise, smart, and respected, so I attended seminary. Yes, I have a little more knowledge now, but that really didn’t change who I am.
You’ve probably read my posts about Romans 8:28-29, that “all things working together for good” is so that we might be conformed to the image of God’s Son. And that is the truth straight out of the Word of God. God’s desire for us is that we would look like, talk like, act like, think like, and love like Jesus. I will teach that until I draw my final breath. But I found something this morning that broadens this theme of God’s ultimate purpose.
Peter wrote, “These [trials and sufferings] have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Pe 1:7). The goal of our faith, the point of the Christian life is to exalt Jesus. To lift Him high, higher even than the cross, so that all may see His glory and praise Him.
What a privilege! What a blessing to carry the Name and likeness of the Savior of our souls into a dark and desperate world. What Joy is ours as we live our lives with Him and for Him. But look closer at this verse – Peter said that the “genuineness of our faith” will be authenticated when Jesus is revealed in all His glory. Our sufferings and sorrows and trials and troubles are the refining fire of our faith. They remove all the dross and waste and impurities from our testimony. They make our faith glow.
Faith that shines bright shines on Jesus and reveals His beauty and majesty when the world is at its darkest. Beloved, the point of your faith and mine is to illuminate the Son of God, so that the world will see and believe that He is everything He claimed to be. That’s the goal you’re striving for. That’s the purpose of your life. You are a light that shines on Jesus.