Aaron Hufty

Blessings Overflowing

Ninth Day of Advent

Psalm 40:1-5 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

God Sustains His Servant.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear
And will trust in the Lord.
4 How blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust,
And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.
5 Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done,
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They would be too numerous to count.

It is not a Christmas hymn, but it is appropriate to sing anytime…Count Your Many Blessings. It can be a tricky trail through life as we await the coming return of our Savior. When we trust in God rather that the falsehoods of the world, we are blessed beyond measure. Others are blessed when they see His blessings in our lives. By counting our blessings, we are proclaiming God’s goodness to the world. At the time of year that we celebrate the birth of the Savior, the hearts of the lost are tuned most to Him. By demonstrating the wonders of God through our joy and gratefulness, many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord. Jesus is coming again…will He find us faithfully waiting and proclaiming His blessings? Will He find us singing Joy to the world, the Savior is come?

Larry Soape

Re: Verse reading – John 3:1-21

Is God Ever Late?

Eighth Day of Advent

2 Peter 3:8-16 (The Message)

The Day the Sky Will Collapse
8-9 Don’t overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change.
10 But when the Day of God’s Judgment does come, it will be unannounced, like a thief. The sky will collapse with a thunderous bang, everything disintegrating in a huge conflagration, earth and all its works exposed to the scrutiny of Judgment.
11-13 Since everything here today might well be gone tomorrow, do you see how essential it is to live a holy life? Daily expect the Day of God, eager for its arrival. The galaxies will burn up and the elements melt down that day—but we’ll hardly notice. We’ll be looking the other way, ready for the promised new heavens and the promised new earth, all landscaped with righteousness.
14-16 So, my dear friends, since this is what you have to look forward to, do your very best to be found living at your best, in purity and peace. Interpret our Master’s patient restraint for what it is: salvation. Our good brother Paul, who was given much wisdom in these matters, refers to this in all his letters, and has written you essentially the same thing. Some things Paul writes are difficult to understand. Irresponsible people who don’t know what they are talking about twist them every which way. They do it to the rest of the Scriptures, too, destroying themselves as they do it.

Is God Ever Late?
We celebrate Advent as the first coming of Christ, with Christmas ballads and tinsel. Peter
describes a very different Coming of Christ—this time to bring final judgment.
Our time unravels in minutes, days, months, years. We have limitations of time and space.
How different with God. I can’t imagine Him looking at the clock. He thinks of a day as a
thousand years. Yet God’s timing is perfect.
Mary and Martha (John 11:25) were frantic—trying to reach Jesus to come and heal their
sick brother, Lazarus. Jesus eventually arrived. However, for the sisters, Jesus was late—too late.
Lazarus was dead.
Mary and Martha wept to Jesus—“If only you would have been here.”
You know the story. Jesus went to the tomb and shouted to Lazarus—who came from the
gravesite, still wrapped in burial shrouds.
The sisters learned something about Jesus. Lazarus had died, but Jesus miraculously gave
him back his life. Jesus wasn’t late at all!
God is beyond time and space. We often wonder—does He sometimes come too late? We
wring our hands, wishing and crying for God to do something—now!
Is God ever late?
Is He ever too late? Never!

Joe Musser

Re: Verse reading – John 1:1-18

Waiting

Seventh Day of Advent

Isaiah 40:1-5 English Standard Version (ESV)
Comfort for God’s People
40
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.
3 A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

After 39 chapters of warning and woe, Isaiah received a message of redemption and restoration that would offer encouragement to the Jews in exile as they waited.
Centuries later John the Baptist called people back to the Lord using the same message to a people still waiting.
Today, this call to action challenges us to get ready for the coming Messiah. While they were waiting for the Promised One, preparation was necessary. As we wait especially during this Advent Season, there are things we can do to get ready, not only to celebrate His first coming as a baby, but also to anticipate His ultimate coming as Conquering King.

Straighten the road of our hearts and lives in preparation for spiritual renewal.

Knock down the mountains by repenting of sins, busyness, and distractions.

Smooth and level the soil of our hearts so that nothing will hinder God’s work in and through us.

Isaiah foresaw the day when God would say, “your sin is paid for, I’ve accepted your sacrifice, it’s time to go home.” This is the good news of the Gospel; our just God is full of mercy and grace for those who wait on Him.

Jane Witcher

Re: Verse reading – John 1:1-18

Remember

Sixth Day of Advent

Isaiah 46:9-11, New American Standard Version

9 “Remember the former things long past,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is no one like Me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things which have not been done,
Saying, ‘My purpose will be established,
And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;
11 Calling a bird of prey from the east,
The man of My purpose from a far country.
Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.
I have planned it, surely I will do it.”

When my children were small, Christmas Eve at my parents’ home was all-out. Two glowing trees, mistletoe, candles, music, and a formal turkey dinner, followed by flaming plum pudding, shiny crackers popped and paper crowns worn. Then into the living room to read Luke 2 and exchange our gifts. Later, we told stories by firelight.

The Advent season often triggers memories of former things long past…childhood homes, deceased loved ones, traditions no longer observed, our own former wide-eyed wonder. Nostalgia makes us mourn for what seems forever lost.

Do you think of your relationship to God that way, too? Do you only vaguely recall a time when He seemed very near, when you had a strong sense of His direction and comfort?

Unlike our shifting experiences and perspectives, God’s character remains unchanged. He is sovereign and has a plan, ordaining world leaders and future events. God stands outside time, observing and orchestrating the past, present, and future simultaneously. Mind-boggling, scary—and at the same time, reassuring. The God you know and love can be trusted with your future. And what a future: Advent remembers awaiting the Messiah’s birth and anticipates His return. God will surely bring it to pass!

Susan Spoon

Re: Verse reading – John 1:1-18

He Never Fails

Fifth Day of Advent

Isaiah 40:27-31 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
27 Jacob, why do you say,
and Israel, why do you assert:
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my claim is ignored by my God”?
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Yahweh is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the whole earth.
He never grows faint or weary;
there is no limit to His understanding.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and strengthens the powerless.
30 Youths may faint and grow weary,
and young men stumble and fall,
31 but those who trust in the Lord
will renew their strength;
they will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary;
they will walk and not faint.

We are prone to spiritual weakness. We are prone to stumble in our faith. Isaiah 40:29-31 gives us a picture of our weakness and the strength and endurance that we lack as human beings. There are times that we all come upon that challenge in our faith. There are times that we find out just how weak we are. We face an unrelenting enemy that seeks to devour us at every turn.

This text uses the analogy of a “youth”; i.e. someone in the prime of his or her life. This is usually a time when someone is at his or her greatest prowess. Yet, there is a certainty of stumbling and falling in the text. It is the same for us spiritually. At our strongest point, we are weak. The idea is that even the strongest of us will surely fall. We are prone to weakness. Even the greatest theologian in the world is going to fail in faith.

There is a promise within this text, though. Verses 28 and 29 give us a base of understanding for verse 31. God will never fail. He will never leave us nor forsake us. Though our faith fails sometimes, God does not. He never faints. He never gets weary. We need strength, and God gives that to us. There are times that we will grow weary. There are times that we will faint and we will be weak. But the Lord renews us. He gives us the strength that we need to rise back up and begin running again.

Our prayer for you today is that you would rely on the Lord for your strength. May you hope in the Lord and in the strength, renewal, and redemption that He brings as we think of the reason we celebrate Christmas.

Jimmy Gunn

Re: Verse reading – John 1:1-18

Stop

Fourth Day of Advent

Isaiah 30:15-18 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
15 For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said,
“In repentance and rest you will be saved,
In quietness and trust is your strength.”
But you were not willing,
16 And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses,”
Therefore you shall flee!
“And we will ride on swift horses,”
Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift.
17 One thousand will flee at the threat of one man;
You will flee at the threat of five,
Until you are left as a flag on a mountain top
And as a signal on a hill.
God Is Gracious and Just
18 Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you,
And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
How blessed are all those who long for Him.

“In repentance and rest is your salvation.” We don’t believe it—not yet, anyway. As Isaiah says, “You would have none of it.” Someone has said that the fourth commandment (“Remember the Sabbath”) is the only one we brag about breaking: “I’m blowing and going; I’m crazy busy; I’m on autopilot.” We are convinced that if we stop what we’re doing—if we stop attempting to maintain a certain image in the eyes of others; if we stop guiding conversations toward things that we’re comfortable talking about; if we stop comparing ourselves to others; if we stop seeking security in our accomplishments—then we will find ourselves lonely and rejected and unloved. We think we’re running away from such an outcome, but we’re actually running towards it, because we’re thinking like we’ve always thought, which always leads us to a future we dread. We become exactly what we fear. What to do? Stop everything you think you shouldn’t stop. That’s called rest. It isn’t cozy. But you can do it. When you stop (and only when), you will listen, and when you listen—after a time—you will hear God.

Bryan Richardson

Re: Verse reading – John 1:1-18

Anticipation

Third Day of Advent

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.
Lamentations 3:24-26 (ESV)

I can still remember the emotions that flooded my heart when I heard for the first time that we were pregnant. I was thrilled! And scared to death. And a little panicked. I knew nothing about parenting. There was so much that needed to be done before either of us were ready for that job! And, in retrospect, nine months was just about exactly the right amount of time for us to work through most of those chaotic feelings. There were times during that nine months when time seemed to fly by (e.g., “Honey, we’re only four weeks out…is the nursery ready yet?”) and there were times when the days just seemed to inch along at a snail’s pace. Waiting, as it turned out in those circumstances, was an extraordinary experience!

Merriam-Webster defines “advent” as a coming into being. It describes something that is in the process of becoming….something getting ready to occur. Just like with a pregnancy, it is a word which implies anticipation and excitement over something transformational just around the corner. It can busy and chaotic, and it can seem impossible at times. And, oh, the patience it requires! But what could be more worth waiting for than the birth of a child?

Especially if that child brings with Him the salvation of the world?

Happy waiting everyone.

Blake Coffee

Re: Verse reading – John 1:1-18

Watch Expectantly

Second Day of Advent

Micah 7:7 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
God Is the Source of Salvation and Light

But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord;
I will wait for the God of my salvation.
My God will hear me.

Have you ever looked forward to seeing someone? You wait. You watch. As the anticipation of their arrival grows you begin to pace, stopping occasionally to look out the window. You listen for the sound of a car coming down the street. Finally you see them and you can no longer contain your joy as you rush out to greet them.
The prophet Micah wrote “But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.” The people of Israel were in a season of anticipation and longing for the arrival of the Messiah who would save them from their sins.
For us The Messiah has come!
Advent is a time to focus on that coming. Like waiting for someone to arrive it provides us a time clothed in waiting, anticipation and hope.
Advent leads us to remember the hope of God’s people in the Old Testament as they longed and cried out to God for the Messiah, the one who would be their salvation.
Advent leads us to realign our lives with our own desperate need for a Savior to save us from our sins. It reminds us of the cost the Savior paid for our salvation.
Advent leads us to recognize the need to watch and wait with longing like the Israelites as we anticipate His second coming.
Advent leads us to prepare our hearts to invite Christ into our Christmas celebrations. For without the Advent of the Christ, there is no need for a celebration.

Donna Bowman

Re: Verse reading – John 1:1-18

Let’s Start

Welcome to TheEverydayPrayer blog (Advent Edition). For the next 26 days (November 30-December 25) we will welcome new bloggers to this space. Staff members and lay leaders, gifted writers all, helping us prepare for the celebration of Christmas. This is a journey that we will take together. Ready? Let’s start!

First Day of Advent

Genesis 3:8-15 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
Cursed are you more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you will go,
And dust you will eat
All the days of your life;
15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

Q—Why do we need a Savior?
A—Because we hide from God (see today’s reading “And the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God.”—v 8—compare your own experience)
Q—Why do we hide from God?
A—Because we feel shame (an intuitive signal of a spiritual reality).
Q—What is shame?
A—Inner condemnation for past failure, a deep sense of unworthiness or inadequacy.
Q—How does shame manifest?
A—Many ways, avoidance of God, reluctance to accept/embrace a high calling, self-hatred—often unconscious.
Q—Why did Jesus come?
A—TO RELEASE US FROM SHAME! To restore us to God!
“You will call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.”—Matthew 1:21
“There is therefore now no condemnation (internal or external, legal or spiritual) for those who are in Christ Jesus.”—Romans 8:1
Thought for today–Until we are released from shame, until we come out of hiding and fear of inadequacy, Christmas has not come.

Pastor Don

Re: Verse reading – John 1:1-18

Validate This!

Re: Verse reading–2 Timothy 4:1-8; 16-18 (day two)
“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” vs. 3

I’m not sure Paul had Facebook in mind when he was writing to Timothy, but I’m fairly certain this scripture manifests itself daily on my newsfeed. Angry, confused, and frightened people all seeking some sort of validation for how they feel or what they believe. Without fail I see posts from satirical or even bogus news sites. People glom onto these reports with venom. They find a kernel that justifies their position and they never stop to consider if what they are reading and, worse, disseminating, is true.

When our source of validation is anywhere but the Word of God we will be like these people. Stay strong.