For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
This particular Name of the Messiah is couched in a prophetic passage from God through the prophet, Isaiah. And not only is He our Wonderful Counselor, but our Mighty God, our Everlasting Father, and our Prince of Peace. He comforts and guides us with His Spirit. He demonstrates His might when He emerges from the tomb, victorious over death. He was, and is, and is to come; He leads His people with an Everlasting love as a father leads his children. His counsel, might, and care bring peace to our hearts…and not the peace people like to talk about during this season. The Peace that He brings is the kind that will remain and even grow in difficult times; it saturates the heart with the assurance of His love in spite of the darkness of the world and our own sinful nature. It changes and covers and blesses.
Devotion contributed by Heidi Goehman & Sarah Baughman.
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1
The same Word spoken at Creation, the same Word spoken through prophets of old, this Word has come to dwell among us. He is God’s Word of love and mercy to a broken world. And not merely to the world, as we might send a text, email, or even letter, but the Word of love in our world. His name, whispered into our hearts broken by sin, brings grace and healing. When we speak His name aloud, we invite more grace into our day. Praise the Word of Life! Where can you speak of Him today?
Devotion contributed by Heidi Goehman & Sarah Baughman.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6
In John 14:6, Jesus responds to the question of a man named Thomas, but really we all have been in that place, asking the same question – “How can we know the way?” How often in life do you wonder which way to turn, which way to walk, or even where to ask the questions? Every time we ask, Jesus willingly answers our questions in His Word. “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” He is the Way means He is the Answer to every question, every road we need to walk, and every fork in that road. Jesus, today we ask You to Show us the Way. Show us Yourself, dear Savior.
Devotion contributed by Heidi Goehman & Sarah Baughman.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.
Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.
John 11:25
Death stands in strong opposition to the Life that God created in the beginning. When sin came, death was not far behind as the consequence. However, Jesus is stronger than Death. He swallows it up and brings Life – life as new as a tiny Baby and eternal as God Himself – to a world held captive to sin and death. And at the end of time, we will witness with the whole world, the resurrection of all the dead at His second coming. We praise Him who is our Resurrection and Life!
Devotion contributed by Heidi Goehman & Sarah Baughman.
And all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 1 Corinthians 10:1-4
The people of Israel complained a lot, and when I say a lot, I mean A LOT. You can read the backstory of today’s passage from 1st Corinthians in Exodus 17:1-7. The beautiful part, though, is that God answers even complaints. That is part of Jesus Christ’s title, “The Rock.” He doesn’t change, whether we’re full of praise or full of grouching. He is solid, faithful, always giving free, Living Water to thirsty souls in need of love, compassion, and grace.
Devotion contributed by Heidi Goehman and Sarah Baughman.
Christmas is one of those unique and special times of year that remind us that there is hope. Even when life throws us a curve ball and things just don’t go quite as planned, there’s hope. This Christmas chances are there will be something happen out of the normal. Chances are someone will do or say something to you that makes you question everything. How will you react? How will you find your way through it all? Continue reading
For those of you that know me well, one thing you would certainly not say is that I’m a traditional kind of guy. I don’t sit still long enough to establish traditions. I love to try new things with the intent of meeting and connecting with new people. I’m one of those blaze your own trail kind of guys. Or to quote another phrase grass doesn’t grow under my feet. Continue reading
Today marks the beginning of a new time in the church called advent. But what in the world do all of these names mean anyway? It can be a little overwhelming, especially if you’ve never really been involved in the church. And to be 100% honest, I would venture to guess that many of you who do attend church on a regular basis might have a couple of questions.
Advent is that time leading up to Christmas. It’s not Christmas. It’s advent. It starts the Sunday after Thanksgiving and lasts until Christmas Eve. Things in the church change a little bit when advent starts. If you’re in a church with colorful fabric coverings on an altar, then these will likely change to blue. You’ll typically see an advent wreath pop up somewhere in the church. And it’s very likely that you’ll have a manger scene somewhere in your worship facility.
Advent is a time of waiting. It’s a time for followers of Jesus to wait for the coming of Christmas. Just like the people of Israel throughout the Old Testament had to wait for the one they called Messiah, so also we must wait.
All too often though we don’t give advent much thought. We try to rush past advent because Christmas is the exciting time. We want to get past all of those candles and jump right into the presents. Each of the candles on the advent wreath are reminders of gifts already given. The candles of hope, love, peace, and joy all point us forward to the day when we’ll see it exactly as it’s supposed to be seen.
So this advent don’t rush. Take your time. Enjoy each day. Live in each moment. Slow down. Breathe. Feel the calm of waiting. For some of us type-A people waiting is pretty rough stuff. Before advent even arrived I was off and planning Easter stuff. The challenge is real but the struggle is worth it. Advent is such a rich time in the life of the church.
This advent season we’re trying to bring back the richness of these days of waiting and preparation. The church I serve, Living Word, is having a little fun this advent by taking pictures of various things throughout the season. Things that remind us of what advent really means. Feel free to head on over to join us for the fun. Or make up your own way to celebrate the season. But whatever you do, slow down through this time and just enjoy every moment because you’ll never get them back.
Be with the ones you love. Love the ones you’re with. Serve the ones you can. Pray for those you can’t serve. But in all things know that this advent the King is coming.
I love the season of Christmas! It’s wonderful and gives a strange sense of warmth that just isn’t there the rest of the year. But this year’s been somewhat different. There have been a lot of things going on this year and I just feel busier than normal. I’ve not really felt that whole Christmas spirit thing that I normally have by early October. Continue reading
This is one of my favorite songs of the Christmas season. It’s not an easy one to sing, especially for someone who isn’t all that great at singing. But it’s an uplifting song. Listen to the words. If you have a hard time keeping up, check out the lyrics here. Continue reading