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An Advent Devotional on Romans 8:18-25 One of my professors in Bible College disliked the hymn "This Is My Father's World". He said: "If this is my Father's world, then He did not do a good job". The hymn writer thought about God's creation. My professor thought about God's new creation. And yes, in that sense this is most definitely not God's world. The Bible is blunt a...
Keep ReadingAdvent Devotonial on Hebrews 7:23-28 After Jesus' death and resurrection, He ascended into heaven. There the Father exalted His Son by seating Him at His right hand (Eph. 1:20). This very moment, Jesus is interceding on our behalf before the Father. As our high priest He is able to save us completely (v.25). Not that we are partially saved. Our redemption is secured by t...
Keep ReadingAn Advent Devotional on Revelation 5:1-14 Many believers are intimidated by the book of Revelation. I get it. It reads quite different then let's say 1 Kings or Matthew. But Revelation is part of inspired Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16). Ignoring it means missing out on what God wants us to know. One key to Revelation is to remember that it is "the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1...
Keep ReadingAdvent Devotional on Ephesians 2:1-10 Make-over TV programs always show a before and after picture. In one snapshot the living room looks like a bomb exploded. In the next photo you see how the experts turned it into a crisp and organized space. We see what it was and what it became. Paul does the same thing in our passage. He paints a before and after picture of believe...
Keep ReadingAn Advent Devotional on Colossians 1:15-20 The brain is an astonishing piece of machinery. At roughly the size of a fist, weighing only 3 pounds, it is a superhighway of information exchange. Signals zip from one neuron to another at lightning speed. Our brain sets us apart from every other creature God made. But our brain cells fall woefully short when we try to fully g...
Keep ReadingAn Advent Devotional on Matthew 2:1-18 The world has had its share of crazy politicians. King Herod was definitely one of them! He was famous for his fits of rage, the killing his favorite wife and three sons, and drowning a high priest. Toward the end of his tumultuous rule Herod became paranoid. On his death bed he arranged the execution of hundreds of Jewish leaders. ...
Keep ReadingAn Advent Devotional on Matthew 2:1-12 Did you ever watch a Christmas play without the wise men in their turbans and long gowns? Probably not. I hate to burst your bubble, but the wise men probably arrived weeks or even months later. They left their homeland after Jesus was born (v.1), which implies a time gap. When they do arrive, Jesus is not a baby, but a child and the...
Keep ReadingAn Advent Devotional on Luke 2:22-38 Today we find the young couple with their son Jesus in the temple fulfilling the stipulations of the law (vs.22-24). Jesus goes unnoticed, except by two individuals, Simeon and Anna. That both Simeon and Anna encountered Jesus is yet another example of God's impeccable timing (vs.27,38). The temple was a huge building, surrounded by a...
Keep ReadingAn Advent Devotional on Luke 2:8-21 Jesus' birth announcement does not begin with: "In the same region scribes read the law and debated in the temple". Nope. The angel of the Lord comes to shepherds watching over their flock (v. 8). To say that these men were unlikely recipients is an understatement. First century Jewish shepherds were considered ignorant and untrustwo...
Keep ReadingAn Advent Devotional on Luke 2:1-7 The simplicity and brevity of Jesus' birth narrative is striking. We like to fill in the blanks with our nativity plays and story books. In them Mary rides a donkey and Joseph always runs frantically from door to door trying to find lodging. This, and many more popular traditions, fall into the "it may have happened this way" category bu...
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