Category: Faithful Faith

Isaiah 35:10 (NLT)
Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return.
They will enter Jerusalem singing,
crowned with everlasting joy.
Sorrow and mourning will disappear,
and they will be filled with joy and gladness.

“’Serve the LORD with gladness!’ (Ps. 100:2 RSV), urges the Scripture. For this, our life has been given to us, and for this, it has been sustained for us to this present hour…How are we supposed to be able to help those who are without joy and courage, if we ourselves are not borne by courage and joy? What is meant here is not something made or forced, but something given and free. With God there is joy, and from him it comes down and seizes spirit, soul, and body. And where this joy has seized a person, it reaches out around itself, it pulls others along, it bursts through closed doors. There is a kind of joy that knows nothing at all of the pain, distress, and anxiety of the heart. But it cannot last; it can only numb for a time. The joy of God has gone through the poverty of the manger and the distress of the cross; therefore it is invincible and irrefutable.” [Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God Is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas]

Prayer: Father, through the trials and the pains of this life, I know you are with me. Holy Spirit, fill me once again. May the joy of the Lord be my strength in this life! In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “The Joy/ The Joy To The World” by The Belonging Co. (click here)

-DP

Isaiah 9:6 NIV
⁶For 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.

“In Isaiah, this Savior God promised was to be called (and this is a more literal translation by John Goldingay) ‘An-extraordinary-counselor-is-the-warrior-God, the-everlasting-Father-is-an-officer-for-well-being.’ You can see why modern translations simplified it to: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. God is the mighty, warrior God who fights for us, but not just by sheer strength—God is an extraordinary counselor or planner. It means in Jesus, we learn that God loves to plan wonders; he loves to carry out plans that will leave us astonished. In Jesus, God reveals a plan of salvation that no human mind could have possibly conceived. His ways are not our ways, and that’s a wonderful thing!” [P. Jason Park]

Today, let’s choose to trust in God whose ways are not our ways. Let’s give ourselves to following God who loves to plan wonders and leave us astonished.

Prayer: Father, I don’t want to live my life apart from you. I trust that as I follow your ways, my life will be made whole in every way. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “Follow” by Passion (click here)

-DP

Malachi 4:2 (NLT)
² But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.

“Charles Wesley, the seventeenth of nineteen children born to Samuel and Susanna Wesley, wrote about sixty-five hundred hymns. Most of them are now forgotten—but not ‘Hark! the Herald Angels Sing.’ He began writing hymns shortly after he committed his heart to Christ in 1738… Sometimes he is overshadowed by his brother John, the founder of the Methodist movement. But Charles was quite an evangelist himself, preaching despite violent opposition and threats of violence. He did his best preaching, though, through his hymns, packing them with rich scriptural teaching. In the third stanza of ‘Hark! the Herald Angels Sing,’ for instance, Charles writes of Jesus as the Sun of Righteousness, ‘risen with healing in his wings.’ So Jesus is not only the Son but also the Sun. The Sun of Righteousness brings not only light but life. Today, as we celebrate his birth, bask in the rays of the Sun of Righteousness.” [Petersen, William; Petersen, Randy, The One Year Book of Psalms]

Let’s pray for those who need God’s healing. Until we see Jesus face to face, let’s continue to seek healing and wholeness in Jesus.

Prayer: Father, we pray for those who are suffering in various ways. May they bask in the ray of your light and life and receive your healing. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “Endless Praise” by Charity Gayle (click here)

-DP

Isaiah 9:1, 2 (NIV)
Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—

² The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.

“God came to his people first where they had suffered the most, and from that place he launched salvation for the world. Isaiah uses the metaphors of darkness and light for oppression and liberation. Whenever foreign armies marched over the Fertile Crescent to invade Israel, the first area to come under attack was ‘Galilee of the nations’ in the north. The Galileans knew slavery and despair. But God turned invasion into mission by making the people of Galilee the first ones to see the light of Jesus (Matthew 4:12–17). That is how God ushered in the new era of triumphant grace. We made no contribution to it. The ones walking in darkness suddenly found themselves blinking under a new light they had never seen before. They deserved what had happened to them. But God was not satisfied with that. His zeal brought a Savior.” [Ray Ortlund Jr., Isaiah: God Saves Sinners]

Prayer: Father, thank you for sending Jesus to rescue us from darkness into your glorious light! We rejoice in you! Fill our hearts with your joy today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “His Name Shall Be” by Matt Redman (click here).

-DP

Let’s behold Jesus again as we read the passages and pray.

Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)
6 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.

Matthew 2:10-11 (NIV)
¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and as we are sorely hindered by our sins from running the race that is set before us, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen. [The Fourth Sunday in Advent, The Book of Common Prayer]

Let’s ask for God to intervene in our lives and to show his might. May he strengthen us to run the race well through all the ups and downs of life’s challenges as we wait for the second advent.

Prayer: Father, I want to run this race well. Stir up your power and intervene in my life today. Help me to persevere in following you with anticipation of the day I will see you face to face. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “One and Only Jesus” by Vertical Worship (click here).

-DP