December 24

Revelation 22:20

 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

I smile.  A promise and I believe.  All the characteristics of Christmas are wrapped up in the anticipation of this promise.  Love, Joy, Hope, Peace.  

God loved me so much that He sent His only Son to earth - to die - for me.  

I am filled with joy because God chose me to walk with Him.  He chose me to follow Him.  He chose me to help change the world, to be a light in the darkness.

Only because of Jesus do I have hope.  Hope in the every day things but even greater, a hope of His return.  A hope of restoration to all things new.

This hope fills me with peace.  True peace can only come from God.  It must start in each individual’s heart before it can make a difference in the world. 

December 23

Revelation 4:6b-11

In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures,

and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back.

The first living feature was like a lion, 

the second was like an ox,

the third had a face like a man,

the fourth was like a flying eagle.

Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, 

even under its wings.

Day and night they never stop saying:

“Holy, holy, holy

is the Lord God Almighty,

who was, and is, and is to come.”

Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever,

the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever.

They lay their crown before the throne and say:

“You are worthy, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things,

and by your will they were created and have their being.”

In John’s vision of Heaven, God gave a glimpse of what Heaven will be like one day.  This passage has always stuck in my mind because I am in awe of the worship of God.  The throne is the focal point and the center with God seated on it.  He is worshiped day and night, continually - “Holy, holy, holy”.  It is great and powerful.  There is thunder and lightning.  There are great beasts worshiping God and the elders laying their crowns before Him.  Why?  Because He is the only one who is worthy.  He was, from before our beginning at creation.  He is - here with me now.  And He is to come, in the future he will return.  He alone is worthy of worship.  Just as the shepherds came to worship Jesus in the barn and the wiremen diligently followed a start to find this great king, my only response to God’s great gift is to fall on my  knees and live a life of worship.

December 22

1 Corinthians 15:50-57

I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 

in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 

For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

“Where, O death, is your victory?
    Where, O death, is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

In a moment, in a flash, everything will change.  There won’t be any time for second chances.  I won’t be able to change my mind or make a different decision in life.  I won’t be able to push the rewind or pause button because I’ll have already had the chance.  Jesus is coming.  A trumpet will sound and I will change!  And in that moment Satan will be conquered, the victory is in Jesus.  So I must decide today which path I am going to go down.  Am I going to follow myself and the world?  Or am I going to choose Jesus?  

December 21

Mark 13:33-37

Be on guard! Be alert! 

You do not know when that time will come. 

It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 

If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 

What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”

There is a feeling of anticipation and expectancy in these verses.  In the same way that we are looking forward to Christmas Day, Jesus tells us to be alert for His second coming.  

I remember when my kids were little and could barely contain their excitement for opening the gifts under the tree.  They would beg to open one “just a little bit early”!  On their hands and knees they would reach far under the tree to make sure no gifts were forgotten.  They would stack, organize and re-stack the gifts, bursting with anticipation.  Isn’t that how Jesus is asking me to be?  “On guard”, “alert”, “watch” -  these are words that anticipate something, they are ready now.  Am I ready now?  Am I watching and excited for Him to return?

December 20

Psalm 27:1-4

The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
    of whom shall I be afraid?

When the wicked advance against me
    to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
    who will stumble and fall.

Though an army besiege me,
    my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
    even then I will be confident.

One thing I ask from the Lord,
    this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
    and to seek him in his temple.

When Jesus becomes my everything, He wraps me in a blanket of protection.  When my eyes are focused on God alone, He takes care of my enemies.  We tend to think of enemies as very two dimensional, what we can see.  God talks about enemies in a much broader sense.  Fear is my enemy because when I am afraid I become paralyzed to life around me.  If another person attacks me with their words, I crumble.  If I am judged for what I believe, I wither.  If I don’t get something I had been hoping for I become devastated.  There are so many ways fear affects moving forward in life.  But when the Lord is running my life, He gives me strength to stand strong when everything around me falls apart.  Through all the attacks and stumbling I long more and more for that day when I will dwell with God in His house.

December 19

John 12:35-36

Then Jesus told them,

“You are going to have the light just a little while longer.

Walk while you have the light,

before darkness overtakes.

Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going.

Believe in the light while you have the light,

so that you may become children of light.”

When he had finished speaking, 

Jesus left and hid himself from them.

We waited so long for the promised Messiah and now He says He will only be here a little while longer.  How can that be?  We are once again in that time of waiting only this time the Messiah has come.  After returning to life He spent 40 days walking and talking with his disciples and those he loved.  Then He miraculously went up into the clouds right before his disciples very eyes.  He’s waiting in Heaven to return, to come to earth and set up His kingdom, but in the meantime we wait.  The amazing thing is that we don’t wait alone.  Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit, the Comforter to live in us during this time of waiting.  The light is in us.

December 18

Romans 13:11-14

 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 

The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 

Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 

Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

Some days it just feels like life is getting worse and worse and worse.  War rages, natural disasters devastate countries, terrorism has become a cancer invading innocent places like schools and Christians are debating what sin is.  We are surprised.  Shock fills our conversations, but should we be?  The Bible says this is what is going to happen as we approach the return of Christ.  We need to move out of the “shock” phase and into a proactive life.  Christ is returning soon!  We need to be a light to those around us.  We need to live differently than the world.  Jesus needs to be the center of my being.  The more I immerse myself in His Word, the more I will live a life of light.  As I look around me to all that is happening in the world, I realized that it is difficult to live differently.  It’s easy to be swept into the tide of complacency.  Take this season to think about who Jesus is - this baby who came to earth then conquered death and is returning.  Allow the words of scripture to change who you are.  

December 17

1 John 1:4-7

We write this to make our joy complete.

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you:  

God is light;

in him there is no darkness at all.

If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness,

we lie and do not live out the truth.

But if we walk in the light,

as he is in the light,

we have fellowship with one another,

and the blood of Jesus, his Son,

purifies us from all sin.

“Joy to the World, the Lord has come”!  Complete joy, it can be mine.  This light that has been there from the beginning, the light that shines in the darkness, this light is Jesus the promised Messiah that Israel had been waiting for.  This light can bring me joy.  

Jesus carried my sin to the cross with Him.  He died.  He was buried in the ground where hope felt lost.  But then three days later He rose from the dead and walked out of the tomb conquering death forever.  That gives Jesus the ability to take my sin away because he conquered death and rose victoriously.  

If the light is in the distance, it does me no good.  I must choose to walk in the light, hand in hand with my Lord and Savior.  Walking in the light brings joy.

December 16

2 Corinthians 4:3-6

And even if our gospel is veiled, 

it is veiled to those who are perishing.

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,

so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ,

who is the image of God.

For what we preach is not ourselves, 

but Jesus Christ as Lord,

and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.

For God, who said,

“Let light shine out of darkness,”

made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory

displayed in the face of Christ.

The concept that God made the promise of life with Jesus available for all people but not everyone believes, is tough.  Not everyone gets it.  They don’t understand the gift being offered to them by God.  It takes faith.  It takes abandonment of old ideas.  It takes letting go.  It takes humility to admit our sin and need for a Savior.  

There is a battle going on with Satan - the god of this age - that we cannot see. We have been given a beautiful gift of light.  It’s deep inside us in the very depth of our soul and God does not want it to stay there.  It is to shine out guiding those in the dark to the light of God.  

December 15

Luke 2:1-20

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 

(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 

And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 

He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 

and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, 

keeping watch over their flocks at night. 

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, 

and they were terrified. 

But the angel said to them, 

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 

This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, 

praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 

“Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, 

they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 

and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

A child.  We have waited so long.  We have yearned for the day when God’s promised Messiah would come to earth.  It didn’t happen like the Jews expected.  Jesus was not born in a palace and into a life of ease.  Rather his parents had to travel and all the hotels were full.  They had to find a place because their child would be coming into the world soon.  A barn was offered to them and she had her baby there, cushioned by straw, surrounded by animals.  With gentleness and love, she cleaned her baby, wrapped him in cloths and laid him in the trough where she could gaze at him in wonder and awe as he slept.  

Nearby some shepherds were taking care of their sheep that night.  They were talking and trying to stay warm in the night chill.  As the sheep milled around the shepherds kept one ear tuned into any nearby danger.  And suddenly the sky became bright and an angel was there.  They were scared - not just scared but terrified.  And the angel said “Do not be afraid.”  The angel told them “It is happening now, the promise is being fulfilled, the Messiah is here, and God wants you to be a part of it.”  Just like humble shepherds were chosen to be a part of God’s story of redemption on this earth, God wants you to be a part of that story too.  

Then the sky was filled with a host of angels praising God.  When a choir breaks out in the Hallelujah chorus we stand to our feet acknowledging the joy and glory of the our Savior’s reign.  There is nothing else we can say.  I think an awe greater than any song we know confronted the shepherds.  A sky filled with angels praising God.  I would imagine they were overcome with emotion and many fell to their knees in worship of God.

In their simpleness they are just like we are today.  They wanted to see first hand this baby that had caused angels from Heaven to fill the sky.  I’m sure they wanted to touch Him, coo over Him  and worship Him- and they did, they saw the baby, Jesus, the Messiah.  They were not disappointed.  God who would save them from all came just like they were, poor, humble, human.  

Mary watched as these men filed in to see her baby.  She knew she cradled the Messiah in her arms, but now God was spreading the word.  I would imagine that she had her doubts from time to time, but God supplied the encouragement.  And she tucked away these signs from God for a later date when she would be discouraged to remind her that God keeps his promises.

December 14

Matthew 1:18-25

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: 

His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 

Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 

But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

God takes care of all the little details.  An angel had already appeared to Mary and told her she was miraculously going to birth the Messiah.  She wondered, she trusted and she believed.  Even when God gives us a message and points us in a direction, there are still obstacles to overcome.  There are other people to deal with, logistics to work out, personal emotions and a slew of other things that come crashing around.  But God didn’t leave Mary alone with the promise to deal with the reality of life, He sent an angle to Joseph as well.  God affirmed his plan with the most important person in Mary’s life so together they could move forward to care for this gift from God who would save the world.  I’m sure it took a bit of time to work it all out in his heart, but Joseph accepted God’s change to his plans.  He listened to God and obeyed.   

December 13

Luke 1:68-79

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
    because he has come to his people and redeemed them.

He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David

(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),

salvation from our enemies

and from the hand of all who  hate us-

to show mercy to our fathers

and to remember his holy covenant,

the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,

and to enable us to serve him without fear

in holiness and righteousness

before him all our days.

And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;

for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,

to give his people the knowledge of salvation

through the forgiveness of their sins,

because of the tender mercy of our God,

by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven

to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

From questioning to praising.  Zechariah had questioned the angel who brought the news that he would be a father after so many years of desiring and trying.  He was old, it was not possible, but an angel said it was going to happen.  He asked “How can I be sure?” and his punishment was that he would not speak until his son was born.  A son with a special job to prepare the way for the promised Messiah.  Zechariah had many long months of waiting in silence.  He could only listen when Mary came to visit his wife Elizabeth and to share their miraculous pregnancies.  I’m sure the women smiled and laughed and cried.  They were hormonal after all!  And Zechariah could not contribute.  But I bet he learned some great lessons during that time.  I would imagine that he learned how to express the joy of the world in one smile and the sympathy of grief in an embrace.  When God opened his mouth again his heart bubbled over in praise to God.  

Zechariah was a priest.  He knew the Old Testament inside and out.  He knew the prophesies of Isaiah.  Throughout Jesus’ ministry we see the priests and church leaders are the ones who do not believe He is the promised Messiah.  It took God turning Zechariah's life upside down not only through having a baby in old age but months of silence.  And Zechariah got it.  He understood the purpose of the coming Messiah, to forgive sins.  For some acceptance of Jesus comes easy.   We were taught as children and believed from a young age.  For others it takes time.  It takes God turning your life upside down to understand your need for Him.  If you are like Zechariah, you have questioned and struggled to believe, choose this day to accept God’s gift of Jesus and then praise God for the salvation of His Son.  

December 12

Psalm 43:3-5

Send me your light and your faithful care,
    let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
    to the place where you dwell.

Then I will go to the altar of God,
    to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
    O God, my God.

Why, my soul, are you downcast?
    Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
    for I will yet praise him,
    my Savior and my God.

A craving for light.  Not just any light but a cry to God for light to fill my soul.  You see, there is a need deep inside every one of us.  We can feel the darkness crushing in around us and we know only God can give the light that will deliver from this darkness.  

Anticipation.  Sometimes the longing for deliverance from a time in life is so overwhelming all we can do is anticipate the rescue by someone much stronger.  God is that rescuer.  The Psalmist is anticipating the rescue and the praise.  Being filled with joy he takes up his harp and praises God.  He has to remind himself over and over to put his hope in God and deliverance will come.

December 11

John 1:6-9;15-16;19-23

There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 

He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.

 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) 

Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.

Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 

He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”

They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”

400 years have passed since God last spoke through a prophet.  The people have been looking forward to a Messiah, but God has been silent.  Silence.  I can relate.  How often in our lives we petition God and only silence responds.  But God is there waiting for the perfect time to reveal his will and now is the time for Israel.   

Just as Isaiah prophesied, a voice had come.  John came out of the wilderness proclaiming the true light was coming.   The people had waited, would they believe?  Could it really be that the promised Messiah was almost here?  

December 10

John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word, 

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

He was with God in the beginning.

Through him all things were made;

without him nothing was made that has been made.

In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

The light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness has not overcome it. 

From God came life.  So simple, so true, yet so contested.  Many do not want to credit a creator with life.  They want to come up with every explanation possible to avoid giving any credit to a higher being.  As soon as I believe in creation by God I must face my relationship with God.  Is there a relationship?  Do I believe that He loves me?  Do I believe that His light will shine in the darkest places of my life?  

As soon as I believe there is a creator, God, I can have life because His life goes beyond just the physical atmosphere and conditions I need to exist.  His life is light!  Just like the lights on my Christmas tree sparkle in a dark room, God’s love shines in the darkest corners.  Shines in my life. 

December 9

Isaiah 11:1-10

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
    from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—

and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;

but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
    with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
    with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

Righteousness will be his belt
    and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

The wolf will live with the lamb,
    the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
    and a little child will lead them.

The cow will feed with the bear,
    their young will lie down together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
    and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.

They will neither harm nor destroy
    on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. 

Life will come forth from death.  The kingdom of Judah was cut down and only a dead stump at the time of Christ’s birth.  Yet a thread of life lay in the ashes of David's lineage and from that stump Jesus was born.  He lived His life filled with the Holy Spirit giving him wisdom, understanding and knowledge.  Then Later in the New Testament we see more life from death as Jesus had to die and conquer death so that we could have eternal life. 

Then one day Jesus will return. He will rule with Wisdom, understanding and knowledge.  It will be a new earth, one where a wolf will live with a lamb. Can you imagine?  No fighting for survival.  No hatred.  No fear.  No war.  No death.  Only because Jesus gives me life from death. 

December 8

Romans 15:4-13

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 

so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 

For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed 

and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written:

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;
    I will sing the praises of your name.”

Again, it says,

“Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.”

And again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
    let all the peoples extol him.”

And again, Isaiah says,

“The Root of Jesse will spring up,
    one who will arise to rule over the nations;
    in him the Gentiles will hope.”

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Hope.  This is a main thread during the Christmas season.  For Israel it was hope for the Messiah.  For Christians throughout the world we share hope for the return of Christ.  But there is hope in the middle as well and at Christmas we seem to think about these small hopes that we have in life.  Hope for health, hope for relationships, hope for things we need and even things we want.  Hope for love, joy, peace and happiness.  And deep inside all this hope is the realization that hope can only be fulfilled through God, because He is the God of hope. 

December 7

Isaiah 9:2-6

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

You have enlarged the nation
    and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
    as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
    when dividing the plunder.

For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
    you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
    the bar across their shoulders,
    the rod of their oppressor.

Every warrior’s boot used in battle
    and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
    will be fuel for the fire.

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.

I close my eyes and I hear a choir loud and clear singing from The Messiah.  I am filled with wonder and hope.  I know this promised child, but for the people of Isaiah’s day they were looking to the future.  They needed the promised child who would bear the burden of the government.  

Before this passage begins, distress, gloom and darkness fill the verses.  There is a feeling of no hope and separation from God.  Then chapter 9 opens putting the gloom behind and looking to the future.  Suddenly there is a vision of a great light!  This light brings joy to those in deep darkness.  Isaiah reminds them of when Gideon defeated Midian, delivering Israel from oppression.  The people remember this as a time to rejoice.  Jesus is the child that was promised, the great light to deliver us.

And so the promises ring out every Christmas in song.  A child is born!  And he will be called, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

December 6

Jeremiah 31:31-34

“The days are coming,” declares the LORD,
    “when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
    and with the people of Judah.

It will not be like the covenant
    I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
    to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
    though I was a husband to them,”
declares the LORD.

“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
    after that time,” declares the LORD.
“I will put my law in their minds
    and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.

No longer will they teach their neighbor,
    or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD,’
because they will all know me,
    from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the LORD.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
    and will remember their sins no more.”

At a time when Israel is in exile, far from home and feeling little hope, Jeremiah delivers the words of God.  A “new covenant” is promised.  The people know the history of the old covenant,  when they were in slavery in Egypt, unable to save themselves.  God took their hand and led them out.  Moses went up the mountain and returned with stone tablets that God had written the law on creating a covenant with them.  They angered God, left Him.  Yet God remained faithful.  They find themselves in that place again and God is still faithful.  The new covenant will not be written on something that could be lost or broken, it will be written on our hearts and minds - engraved forever on something that cannot be broken.  

God longs for that covenant with me.  A promise to be burned on my heart.  He wants to be my God.  He wants to take my hand and lead me out of the Egypt I am in.  Out of bondage and into His new covenant.  And I have hope and joy because God promises to forgive and remember my sin no more.

December 5

Psalm 130

Out of the depths I cry to you, LORD;

    Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
    to my cry for mercy.

If you, LORD, kept a record of sins,
    Lord, who could stand?

But with you there is forgiveness,
    so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits,
    and in his word I put my hope.

I wait for the Lord
    more than watchmen wait for the morning,
    more than watchmen wait for the morning.

Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
    for with the LORD is unfailing love
    and with him is full redemption.

He himself will redeem Israel
    from all their sins.

There is a beautiful dance in the petition of the psalmist to LORD, the Great I Am, the Holiest God, the One with whom Israel has a covenant promise and Lord who is his master.  I feel the depth of his emotion in his cry to the LORD as he petitions God concerning his sin.  With earnestness he prays for forgiveness.  Then he waits.  I can see him with his face lifted to the sky, eyes fixed on the heavens with tears running down his cheeks.  He is repentant and every fiber of his being waits for God.  He has hope.  He believes the LORD, the one who has promised redemption, will forgive.