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.” (Romans 15:13)

Hope

As we count down to Christmas, every Advent Sunday we’re revealing a prayer about that week’s advent theme. This week’s theme is hope: the act of trusting and expecting God to fulfill His promises.

The only source of hope is GOD and His Word. God won’t open the doors of wisdom if your Bible is closed. We can stand firm on His promises. We, Christians of the 21st century, have a privilege and advantage of seeing the promises of God which have become real in Jesus Christ. Christianity is a religion of Hope.

Reflect on God’s promises and take a moment to fix your heart on Jesus with this prayer on hope:

God, as we head into December, we pause and remember all that You’ve done in our lives, our families, and our communities. We praise You because You are the God who saves. You are Immanuel, God with us.

We thank You that our hope is in You, not in circumstances or people.

Because we hope in You, we are confident that You will fulfill Your promises to us.

Remind us today of what truly matters. Fix our hearts on You. Help us to see how You are working in the middle of our waiting.

Draw us closer to you this Christmas season, and prepare our hearts for the fulfillment of Your promises.

Amen.

 

 

 

 

PEACE

“And suddenly there appeared with the angel a great multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests!” (Luke 2:13,14)

Peace

In this Bible verse about peace, we see the Good News brought to simple shepherds out in the fields. They weren’t important in the eyes of the world, yet God saw them. The peace of the Christmas season is available to all “on whom his favor rests.” That’s us! It doesn’t matter your job, your background, or your past–let there be peace to all this Christmas.

Jesus said to His disciples and, throughout the centuries, to us: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

There will be many who try to disrupt our peace. The world will try to scare us, trouble us, or weigh us down. But this Bible verse about peace tells us that the peace we encounter in Jesus is different. It is lasting and can withstand any circumstance. This Christmas, thank Jesus for his unique peace and embrace it in your heart.

Your prayer today:

Heavenly Father, thank You for sending us Your Son Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

Thank You for you caring for us, and thank You for promising to give us your peace.

Please guard our hearts and minds with Your peace.

You know the things that have been weighing us down with worry, anxiety, or fear.

Lord, please help us fix our minds on you instead, and on your Spirit. Thank You for promising to bring us life and peace.

We can lie down and sleep, Lord, because You make us safe.

Amen

 

 

 

 

JOY

”But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord!” (Luke 2:10,11)

Joy

Why did the angel describe the news about the Savior as “great joy”?

  - The news about the Savior brings great joy because it is good news for sinners. Jesus came to save us from our sins. Don’t let your sins steal the joy of salvation!

  - The news about the Savior brings great joy because it is true news. The things that the shepherds heard and saw—a common couple and their baby in a stable—were not the sort of things one would fabricate. If people were going to make up a story about the birth of a Savior, it would have sounded more like a fairy tale, with a palace in Jerusalem, not a stable in Bethlehem.

  - The news about the Savior brings great joy because it is news of Christ the Lord. He is a unique Person! Consider the uniqueness of this Savior born in Bethlehem.

  - The news about the Savior brings great joy because it is for all people.

Put your name in verse 11: “there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

This week’s Advent theme is joy: the praise-filled assurance that God is in control and working everything out for our good and His glory.

Take a moment to reflect on God’s goodness and fix your heart on Jesus with this prayer:

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for the joy that entered the world when Jesus was born.

Thank you for becoming God with us.

Lord, sometimes it’s difficult to live joyfully, especially in difficult or busy seasons.

Please purify our hearts this week and remind us that You’re in control.

Help us to consider it joy when we experience trials of any kind because we know You’re creating something beautiful and eternal.

As we fix our eyes and hearts on You, fill our souls with renewed strength, courage, and hope.

Lord, you are always worthy of being praised – and we want to worship You!

Amen

 

 

 

 

LOVE

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Love

Through the incarnation of Christ, God's omnipotence entered into human beings. The love of God beat in the human heart. Wisdom of God is pronounced now by human lips. God's mercy is carried out by human hands. God has always been the God of love. However, when Christ came to earth, love took on human flesh. Christ is the visible Word of God.

“By grace, we are no longer slaves to the love of self, free to experience the soul-satisfying love of God. Yet the love of self remains, so we must be aware that the battle of love rages in our hearts. Every situation, location, and relationship in our everyday life is a warzone, where the love of God and love of self fight for control of our heart. Are you aware of this raging battle? One day, because that baby came, every cell of our heart will be captivated by the love of God, and we’ll live joyfully inside his boundaries forever and ever. Now that’s a reason to celebrate Christmas this year!”(Paul Tripp)

Let us thank God for His great love in our today’s prayer:

Lord, thank You for loving us so much that You gave Your Son for us, even before we loved You.

Thank You for inviting us into Your family.

For all of us who are brothers and sisters in faith, please help us to love one another in perfect harmony.

Father, please help us to see every person the same way that You see them.

Help us to love them the way that you love them — even when they don’t love us back.

Please show us how to walk continually in Your love, that perfect love which casts out fear.

We love you, Lord.

Amen.