The second week of Advent has come to a close; I pray that
you have a renewed sense of His peace; not the peace the world gives.
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as
the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor
let it be fearful {Jn. 14:27 NASB}.
During this season, though busyness and craziness can
certainly send us into a tailspin, many are deeply hurting, and feel lost and
lonely. Christ encourages us not to be troubled or fearful. Let’s purpose to
spread His Gospel
of Peace to those around us, and those we may meet.
Below is bread from the Word as we come to end of week 2 of
Advent—preparing for the coming of the King.
Oh, give ear, Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph
like a flock; You who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine
forth! Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Your power And
come to save us! O God, restore us And cause Your face to shine upon
us, and we will be saved. O Lord God of hosts, How
long will You be angry with the prayer of Your people? You have fed them
with the bread of tears, and You have made them to drink tears in large
measure. You make us an object of contention to our neighbors, and
our enemies laugh among themselves. O God of hosts, restore us and
cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved {Psalm
80:1-7}.
Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “Sacrifice
and offering You have not desired, But a body You have prepared for Me; In
whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have taken no
pleasure.” “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come {In the scroll of the
book it is written of Me} to do Your will, O God.’” After saying above, “Sacrifices
and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them” (which are
offered according to the Law), then He said, “Behold, I have
come to do Your will.” He takes away the first in order to establish the
second. By this will we have been sanctified through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all {Hebrews
10:5-10 NASB}.
Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the
hill country, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of
Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the
baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And
she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among
women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has
it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? For
behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my
womb for joy. And blessed is she who believed that
there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord”
{Luke 1:39-45 NASB}.
The Magnificat
And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord, And my
spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has had regard for the
humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all
generations will count me blessed. For the Mighty One has done great
things for me; And holy is His name. And His mercy is upon generation
after generation Toward those who fear Him.He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who
were proud in the thoughts of their heart. He has brought down rulers
from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. He
has filled the hungry with good things; and sent away the rich empty-handed. He
has given help to Israel His servant, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke
to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever {Luke 1:46-55 NASB}.
Some worship inspiration:
To read the entire Advent Journal click here:
Dabbling in Ink...
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