Advent Devotions

Isaiah 55:1-9 The context of these words as originally written by the prophet Isaiah concerned the Israelite exiles held captive in Babylon. Many of them had grown so accustomed to Babylonian ways that they had forsaken the practice of their faith. Ridiculing these...

Isaiah 53: 1-9 This chapter begins with a challenge to our faith. It then offers us a story that, when read from a point in time after Easter, pulls us through an explanation of the gospel that leaves us refreshed in our faith and filled with gratitude for God’s...

Isaiah 42:1-9 From internal historical references, this section of Isaiah has been dated to approximately 545-539 B.C.E. The author would thus have been addressing the Israelites toward the end of the Babylonian exile. In these specific verses, a servant is presented...

Psalm 27:1-14 Like the 23rd Psalm, Psalm 27 eloquently expresses a central theme of the biblical faith: trust in the Lord. Also like the 23rd Psalm, Psalm 27 looks realistically at a fear-filled world that surrounds us and threatens to overcome us, yet the Psalmist...

Isaiah 40:1-11, 21-31 Today is my son, Nathan's birthday. Twenty years ago, we were waiting and waiting and waiting for him to be born. I was induced the day before and still labored for almost 24 hours. I grew weary, but he eventually emerged and was so worth the...

Isaiah 1:11-17 While Dr. Cecil Sherman was the pastor of First Baptist Church in Asheville, North Carolina, he told the following story about himself: One day he was approached by a group of ladies in the church who wanted to start a clothing closet for the needy in...

Jeremiah 18:1-11 I have always wanted to control my own destiny, to know what was lying around the next corner. So In my first semester of college, I spent several days studying the course book. I carefully planned each course that I would take for every semester. So...

Psalm 51:1-17 David, mighty warrior and King of Israel during its Golden Age, was “a man after God’s own heart” and yet David sinned. He seduced Bathsheba and sent her husband, Uriah, to the front lines of battle where he was killed. David then made Bathsheba his...

Psalm 46:1-11 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1 NRSV). As we make our way through Lent, let us take refuge in God’s promises. Our hope is secure in the strength of the Lord. Let us take refuge in God’s love. He will never...

Psalm 42:1-11 While on a winter walk in our suburban neighborhood, my wife and I halted when a deer leapt across our path and disappeared into the woods. Four more deer, in quick succession, followed after the first. These graceful creatures are resigned to a...

Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 The Psalmist writes as one who by faith chooses God for his protection and who will find all in Him that he needs and desires. Those who have found the comfort of making the Lord their refuge, cannot but desire that others may also do so. The...

Psalm 32:1-11 All of us hope for happiness. I certainly do. The Psalmist says, “Happy are those whose sins are forgiven, whose wrongs are pardoned.” It is amazing, though, how we sometimes hang on to the very thing that keeps us from being happy! Pride and...

Psalm 22:1-31 “My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?” (Psalm 22:1)  Jesus cries on the cross because life at that moment hurts. Was Jesus being faithless when he cried out? We cry also when we experience pain, desolation, and loneliness. When we cry like Jesus are...

Matthew 3:1-12 John the Baptist is in the Judean wilderness preaching to the crowd and baptizing them. John was, in modern lingo, the “opening act” for Jesus. My mental image of John, from reading the scripture, is that he was a bit of a hippie; very organic, before...

Luke 4:1-15 The first day of Lent shoves us into the solitary wilderness of temptations. Who else but Jesus could report on these struggles, since he was in this desolate place by himself? One main function of the season is its call to self-reflection, where our...

Lent is one of the most ancient observances of the Christian church. It occurs during the time between Ash Wednesday and Easter, and spans some 40 weekdays in addition to the 6 Sundays of Lent. The name is derived from the German and old English words for “length,”...