December 11: 2 Peter 1: 2—7

We are 50 years past the tumultuous year of 1968, a year in America that we saw unrest, demonstrations, assassinations, an escalating war, political turbulence, and a generation pitted against the older establishment.  I remember adults at the time expressing a lot of desire for “peace,” although in my estimation they did little to try to achieve it even in small ways. 

Here, in the year 2018, we think we should be further along the path towards peace.  But, like Peter’s acknowledgment in 2nd Peter Chapter 2, we cannot “escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust.” (Verse 4)   His words ring true today.  Our perpetual and selfish human desires – our lusts – outweigh our desire for peace, regardless of the outcome.  We find ourselves mired in the continual nightmare of greed, lust, and a search for power.  Each time we turn on the news we are reminded that 2018 is no better than 1968, and in fact is no better than when Peter wrote his letter to believers. 

The Advent season is a strong reminder that, even though it is beyond our grasp, we should always search for peace.  We should mend strained relations; we should advocate for a better life for all, and we should treat all persons with respect.  But most importantly, we should “make every effort to support our faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love.”  (Verses 5-7)  

It is easy to blame others for not keeping the peace.  As Christians, we should not assign blame, but work to heal the wounds of war, evil, indifference, and hate.  Let the Christ Child, who grew to exemplify Peter’s comprehensive list of the Christian life, enter your heart this season and change the way you think about peace.  It is worth striving for.  It is what Christ would want us to do with our lives.

Jim Vernon

December 10: Isaiah 40:1-5

I’m wired for preparation and planning.  At home there are insurance policies, savings accounts, and long-term plans.  At work, I use buzzwords like risk mitigation, scope creep, and impact to schedule.  These all used to be attempts to try and fool myself into believing I was in control.  I think for me this provided an artificial sense of peace that there was order, security, and a plan.

However, there was a problem.  I was not in control.  Because I came to Christ later in life and had been reliant on myself for so long, this pride in my abilities or reliance on self has been one of the single greatest things to give to Christ.  So for many years before Christ, as the prophet says in Isaiah 40 verse 2, I was unknowingly serving my term, paying my penalty, and receiving double for my sins.  Miraculously though it didn’t end there.  In verses 3 and 4, the prophet states that there was a path and a way that was created.  While I was there, still in sin, God gave me Jesus.  God has had this marvelous plan to redeem humanity through Jesus all along.  Having received this beautiful gift, it is now my job to live out verse 5 and glorify God in all that I do.  I still have my plans and budgets and concerns that vendors can’t deliver on schedule, but now I realize there is someone above and greater than all those things. Oddly, it is with that realization that I have found true peace.  When I give everything over to God, I no longer have to worry about making sure I’ve thought of everything.  It is such a simple plan, but God has created this way.  We were suffering for our sins, and God interceded on our behalf.  He made a path and sent his son Jesus to die for us.  When we receive that gift and let him be the Lord of our lives, we glorify Him, and it is there that we find peace.

Jason Knight

December 9: Luke 1:76-79

Around the Holidays we tend to get stressed over presents, food, and family celebrations. Sometimes, we don't know how to find peace in all this chaos. Luke 1:76-79 gives us great examples of how to find peace. In Luke 1:78-79, it says, "By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace"(NRSV). These two verses are basically saying God will give us the ability to spread his light to those who don't know it and he will guide us to peace. So, you may be getting really stressed about the big holiday and may even want it to just to be over. This verse tells us that light will come upon us and God wants us to spread the light. In return he will give us peace. In verses 76-77 the Bible tells us, "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the most high; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins." These verses tell us that we are very loved by God and he calls us to go and tell of his salvation to people who don't know it. It is kind of like a chain reaction; by letting ourselves get immersed in God's light, we are shown the road to peace. Then we share that little light, and tell someone else. Then that someone gets the map to peace and the chain continues. So, in this passage we can have peace by listening to God and being willing to share His light. Merry Christmas!

Clara Timmons

December 8: Isaiah 12:1-6:

Armistice Day, VJ Day, and VE Day.  We have all seen the black and white photograph of the sailor kissing the nurse on VJ Day in Times Square.  These events were all celebrations of the advent of peace, the end of brutal and deadly conflict.  Because the world had been anxiously hoping for peace and waiting for its coming, the celebration was grand, and the people were ecstatic.

Isaiah speaks of a coming peace that is much more than the absence of conflict.  It is a peace that comes from being in a right relationship with God.  A relationship initiated by God through His grace.  Through faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus we have access to the ultimate peace.

In Isaiah chapter 12 the prophet describes that peace to the nation of Israel and to us.  Isaiah gives thanks to God who though he was angry with his people turned his anger away from the nation and instead provided comfort.  Isaiah describes God as his salvation, his strength, and his might.  Isaiah is describing a peace in which not only is he not in conflict with God, but he is experiencing the joy that comes from drinking of the water drawn from the well of salvation.

The celebration that follows from God’s provision of this peace is beyond anything we can imagine.  Isaiah describes a celebration that goes way beyond fireworks, a ticker-tape parade, and giant newspaper headlines.  In Isaiah 12:5-6 the prophet says

5 Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
let this be known in all the earth.
6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

As we approach this advent and celebrate the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ, celebrate the peace that comes through God’s grace.

Craig Walker

December 7: Micah 5:2-5a

When the magi from the East come to Jerusalem expecting to find the king of the Jews, King Herod’s scribes quote this passage from Micah 5:2 as evidence that the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem:

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathat, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

Micah prophesied during the reigns of the kings Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, who reigned during the late eighth and early seventh centuries (759-687 BCE). At this time Israel and Judah experience great turmoil as the Assyrians invaded the region. Corruption and hypocrisy were rampant. Micah prophesied that God would punish Israel and Judah for their sins. God’s promise enters this perilous world in a surprising way. Micah vows that God’s ancient covenant with Israel is secure and reliable. The covenant will be fulfilled with a new leader in the line of David.

Micah calls us to see God’s faithfulness in surprising ways, to look where we might not expect. Micah reminds us that the promise of God’s covenant is certain. Yet the expression of its fulfillment is not always predictable. While there is much that separates us from eighth-century Israel and Judah, the dynamics are not unlike the world in which we live.

We too know terror and fragility on national, international and personal levels. We too seek hope that the world will be different. We too yearn for security and peace. The promise of Micah is that God will be faithful and will appear in surprising ways. Micah invites us to look for God’s presence where we least expect and to be attuned to  the voices of the small, the powerless and the vulnerable.

Frank Davis

December 6: Malachi 3:6-12

December 6:  Malachi 3:6-12

In Alexander Pope’s “Essay on Man,” he gives a glimpse of our current situations, whatever they may be, when he said:

                        Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
                        Man never is, but always to be blest.
                        The soul, uneasy, and confined from home,
                        Rests and expatiates in a life to come. 

The poet realizes that we are always looking to the future with an expectation of fulfillment, and yet we are jittery and uneasy that our hopes won’t be fulfilled the way we expected; that things will go awry, and that we may wind up in worse situations than those we presently occupy.  Therefore, we often are not really content with the blessings we already have, whether they be national, financial, or egotistical!

            As Christians we know that God’s love and message are for and to everyone, regardless of race, creed, or nationality, and that love binds us in one great fellowship.  Yet we struggle with how to treat our fellow humans who are different from us, how to maintain our favored positions without excluding those less fortunate, and how much we are willing to give to ease the suffering of God’s people here at home, in California in the wake of the devastating fires, in Puerto Rico where people still don’t have the necessities of life, on our southern border where thousands are beseeching us for help, or in war-torn lands in Yemen, Syria, and around the world.

            Giving is not an easy decision.  Do we give of our abundance or give sacrificially?  Don’t we need to take care of ourselves first?  What if we fall on hard times ourselves?  Our prosperity, no matter how great, somehow seems tentative, and we fear recession and want, even when we know God will take care of us no matter what befalls us.   Malachi 3: 6-12 reminds us that these fears need not plague our contentment, that we can rest assured that our hopes for the future are in God’s hands, and that, no matter what comes, God tells us “I am the Lord—I do not change” (v.6).  The following verses assure us that even when we fail to live up to our side of the bargain, God forgives us, and as long as we serve him, live as his people, and fulfill his commands and instructions to us, he promises to pour out his blessings on us far greater than our wildest expectations and hopes.

            In addition to the promised prosperity, God promises that we can rejoice in our self-esteem as Christians.  Other nations will recognize that we are a blessed and favored people because of the God we serve, the service we are willing to render, the wealth we are willing to share, and the acceptance of all people who enter God’s fold.

            Therefore, we Christians need not be uneasy about the future, although it is human nature to be so, as Pope says.  We do look with hope to the future for our final rewards, yet we can rest assured now as we live our lives that whatever hardships come, we will not face them alone, and our places in his Heavenly plan, both on earth and in Heaven, are secure.

Ozelle Scrutchins

December 5: Psalm 90

Moses affirms in this psalm that God is an everlasting reality, existing before He created the earth. But having established God's eternal nature, Moses cries out that this same God quickly turns us humans back to dust. Though we might live eighty years, we are insignificant to God who sees a thousand years as though they were yesterday, fading like a sigh. Moreover, during our moment of life, we live consumed and overwhelmed by toil and trouble and by God's anger because of our iniquities.

Moses asks how this wrathful eternal being can provide comfort to us humans whose life passes "like a watch in the night," then "we fly away"? Perhaps, Moses thinks, if God will teach us to pay close attention to the passing of our days "we may gain a wise heart."

But as though suddenly realizing that wisdom is not enough, he cries out for God to change, to transform his anger into compassion! Driven by pain, Moses prays for God to become a compassionate God instead of a judgmental God of wrath.

Moses asks God to satisfy us humans with "steadfast love," enabling us to "rejoice and be glad all our days." Then, maybe realizing that he has asked too much, Moses envisions a life when we are made glad "at least as many days as you have afflicted us."

In this new vision, humans can hope that God's favor will be revealed more than His wrath. A compassionate God might enable the "work of our hands" in this brief life to prosper, to give some meaning to this life which God sweeps away like a dream, which fades and withers before flying away.

This is an Advent poem, a song that God might one day use His "glorious power" to provide some glad days and meaningful work for our hands. For Christians, the psalm suggests that Moses' longing for a compassionate God would be satisfied in what we now call the Christmas story.

Joe Hall

December 4: Philippians 1:20-21

Even in prison, Paul found reason for Hope: "...everything he wants to do in and through me will be done.... Everything happening to me in this jail only serves to make Christ more accurately known, regardless whether I live or die. They didn't shut me up; they gave me a pulpit." (The Message)

While Paul had life on this earth, he exalted Christ, the Son of God, by preaching the Gospel to all who would listen. Paul's Hope was placed in Christ, and he knew that Christ could be the Hope of ail mankind. Paul seemed to prefer death to life at this point, but if his life were to continue, he was going to make the most of the opportunities he had to share the Good News of Christ. Weighing life against death, Paul said, "Alive, I'm Christ's messenger; dead, I'm his bounty. Life versus even more life! I can't lose."
(The Message)

At this time of year when we gather with our children and grandchildren to celebrate the birth of Christ, we affirm that "living is Christ." Our lives are focused on worship and filled with love for family, friends, and others. We more clearly recognize how Christ has changed, redirected, and blessed our lives. Like Paul we are inspired to exalt Christ through the way we live.

However, we may find it difficult to embrace Paul's statement that "dying is gain." We struggle with the thought of the end of life and separation from our loved ones. How could death be a positive? Scripture tells us that we have victory over death through Christ. We have Hope because the grace of God offered through Christ will allow us to be sons of God and dwell with Him in His Holy City where there will be no death, no mourning, no weeping, no pain. Because of this Hope, we can't lose.

John Parrish

December 3: Romans 15:11-13

"Praise the Lord. all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise Him"; And again Isaiah says, "The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in Him the Gentiles shall hope." May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Lost Hope ... will change everything. Just watch a team's momentum swing.

Less interest in what once brought joy. Dreams held high now just annoy.

You once believed, but doubt takes hold. What had inspired is tired and old.

You settle for good instead of great. You even accept what you used to hate.

Now lust. greed, and vain ambition Have replaced our peaceful condition.

God, restore us by your power. Don't let us waste another hour.

Remind us of your saving grace. Help us pursue your loving face.

Restore the precious gift of HOPE. Remove discouragement and mope.

Enlarge our vision, dreams and plans. Holy Spirit, help us understand

How beautiful and satisfying When we are on God relying.

Breathe new life to old routines. Conquer us and change our scenes.

Then let us give the gift this year Of HOPE to those depressed by fear.

He came to overcome our strife. Came from above to give us life.

May all of us in HOPE abound. To change our future all around.

Help us show this fullness free. Let them see this Joy in me.

Ford Mastin

December 2: Psalm 25:1-6

If we are to discover hope this Advent season, we must learn to look both without and within. In and of ourselves, we are hopeless. We must find a power greater than ourselves, the One Who is Beyond. Yet, if our search for hope is to have integrity, we must also look within. Humbly and honestly we must name those things we find within so that with God's help and in God's hands they may become the very source of our hope.

Three times in the first three verses our psalmist speaks of shame. "Do not let me be put to shame." (v. 2) "Moreover, do not let any who wait for you, be put to shame." (v. 3) Rather, "let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous." (v. 3) Rather than denying that he is at risk of being shamed, our psalmist accepts his vulnerability and calls on the honor of the One who is his hope to turn his shame in victory over his enemies (v. 2).

Of course to claim such victory, the psalmist must acknowledge the reality of enemies. Would we risk the same for the sake of hope? Might we discover within the resentments we harbor that mask the destructive presence of enemies in our lives that we scarcely acknowledge? To learn to pray for our enemies we must learn to acknowledge them; the resentments and bitter regrets we carry within are harbingers of their presence in our lives.

The paths to such freedom and hope are discovered as we pray that God would make his ways known to us (v. 4). The teachable spirit that would allow us to walk in God's ways—the only genuine hope we have—begins with the offering of our very selves to the One who is forever and always worthy of our trust and adoration (w. 1 & 6).

Kevin Hall