December 20 – Isaiah 52:1-12  Peace. What a beautiful passage prophesying what is to come and Who was to come and came in the person of Jesus Christ. All the yearnings we’ve talked about for Advent are present, here. The Israelites are enslaved, but they will, someday, be free. I love the prediction of the good news that happened when Jesus lived in verse 7: “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!” The Lord came to set us free and He will come again to set the earth free from the bondage of sin! Our God reigns! My verse: Isaiah 52:12 “You […] Read more »

December 19 – Numbers 6:22-27 Peace. This beautiful blessing has lost nothing with age, has it? Isn’t it still what we want for our dear ones? About five years ago, I was re-introduced to the concept of “giving a blessing” to someone through Christian Grandparenting Network. My husband and I started praying a blessing over each of our precious grandchildren when we saw them and we continue that through today. Our grands don’t live near us, but when we do see them, on the last night of a visit, one by one we sit with them and pray blessing over them. We use our own words and we also use these words from this beautiful priestly blessing. What a gift to give! I’m so thankful […] Read more »

WEEK FOUR – PEACE “The fourth candle represents peace and is called the “Angel’s Candle.” The angels announced that Jesus came to bring peace – He came to bring people close to God and to each other again.” (Crosswalk.com) December 18 – Psalm 4 Peace. What pictures appear in your head when you think of peace? Do you see soldiers laying their guns down and hugging? Do you see a still lake with mountains rimming it on all sides? One of my favorite images of peace is based on a painting I heard described, years ago. It’s a picture of a stormy day, dark clouds roiling, rain pouring down, over a cascading waterfall in the mountains. Everything is absolutely not peaceful when you first look. […] Read more »

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December 17 – Revelation 7:9-17 Joy. We were privileged to get a peek at Heaven, today. We saw how God treats those who went through the great tribulation. He sees suffering. He knows. He cares. And those who will suffer most greatly during the end times are give special graces in Heaven. I love that. I also love that every tribe and nation is represented in the worship of Heaven. When Ray and I lived in Germany, we attended an international church. There were flags hung for every country represented in the congregation. Translators worked to translate the English-speaking service into multiple languages as people wore headphones. Sometimes our worship songs were in English and often they weren’t. We all sang together, shoulder to shoulder, […] Read more »

December 16 – John 10:1-18 Joy. We’ve read God’s declaration that He is our Shepherd in the Old Testament. Now, God in flesh reminds us of this in the New Testament. God does not change. He shepherded His people back in the days of the prophets and He shepherds His people today. Jesus refers to those of us who are Gentiles in verse 16. We are now part of that sheepfold, too! Although even in the Old Testament, as we have seen, God loved the foreigners who turned to Him like Ruth did. I love all the reassurances in this passage that our Shepherd is good and His desires for us are good. He wants us to live abundantly. He wants us to trust Him […] Read more »

December 15 – Luke 2: 8-20 Joy. And now here we are. We are with those special shepherds chosen by God to witness Heaven’s Joy at the birth of Jesus. I can’t even imagine the sound of angels singing. No wonder the shepherds trembled. Nothing in this world had prepared them to see the spiritual world filled with incredible joy. Yet they witnessed it and responded as God knew they would. They rushed off to see the baby. They weren’t “too busy” to do so. They were eager to run to that manger. They were not dissuaded by seeing the poverty of Mary and Joseph. They did not question how Messiah could be born in such humble circumstances. They’d seen angels sing and they just […] Read more »

December 14 – Ezekiel 34:11-24 Joy. I remember the first time I discovered this passage. I was unaware that God spoke directly of being a Shepherd in the Old Testament. I mean, I knew about Psalm 23, David’s description, but here is a prophecy from Ezekiel where God speaks and declares His intent toward us and toward those who abuse His lambs. It just stunned me. I had to read it several times and drink it in. Doesn’t this whole passage make you feel loved? He is fiercely protective of His own. Over and over we see the phrase, “I myself will …” God Himself cares for us and will be with us. If you have committed yourself to Him, then He will never let […] Read more »

Join Sharon for a Tuesday Talk on the Christian attribute of JOY. Read more »