On That Day

Devotion by: Anonymous

Malachi 3:1-4; 4:5-6

³See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. ²But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?

For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; ³he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness.^{* 4}Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

⁵ Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. ⁶He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse.

While the name “Malachi” means “my message”, it is not known if it was the name of a real prophet; however, it is an appropriately named Book of the Bible . . . for it contains very important messages from God. John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus. Prophets foretold this. It appears in Malachi 3:1 that the messenger could be John the Baptist or the Lord himself. My Bible notes that if this messenger is the Living God, it is the only place in the Bible where God speaks of Himself this way. God is confronting His people in person. May God prepare your heart today.

As we prepare for Christmas, the religious holiday known and celebrated around the modern world as a day of gift giving, let us, as Christians, celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Son of God, our Savior, who gave us the greatest gift, His love, eternal and everlasting and let us prepare our hearts with love for God and our world. De-stress by putting the focus on righteousness, which is right-relatedness. Put your gift-buying efforts into building the right relationships: with God, your loved ones, your co-workers, your fellow human beings, as we are all children of God.

That last-minute gift may best be purchased and given with your love, not your money and a sense of obligation. A hug or words of love and appreciation are everlasting when compared to the hurt caused by a stressed out, bad-behaving loved one, especially toward a family member or sensitive stranger. Drop the ‘go out and buy plan’ because every day we should be thinking of Our Judgment Day, when we come face to face with God. Other suggestions of gifts: bring someone to church and give them one of our free gift Bibles. Two years ago, Jane Cooper gave me “Simplify Your Christmas” by Elaine St. James, which is a great read. And remember the gift of . . . a pure heart. What gifts of righteousness will we have to bring on That Day?

Prayer: Dear God, help me to give a simple gift of love to all whom I meet today. Direct me from sin and open my heart to your will. Keep me focused on your greatest gift to us, your Son Jesus, born in humble circumstances, who taught us to pray: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Magnify

Devotion by: Bill Carbaugh

Luke 1:46-56

⁴⁶And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
⁴⁸for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
⁴⁹for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
⁵⁰His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
⁵¹He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
⁵²He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
⁵³he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
⁵⁶And Mary remained with her for about three months and then returned to her home.
I’m pregnant! What excitement – what anticipation – what the heck is going on with my body? Mary and Elizabeth are sharing the excitement of both expecting at the same time. As Mary so delicately puts it, “My soul doth magnify the Lord.”

The Lord does not enter this world on a chariot with legions of soldiers and trumpets a blazing. He comes in the form of child . . . born to an ordinary woman . . . in a stable. Anyone who has witnessed the birth of a child knows of the amazing and overwhelming joy as the baby takes it first breath of life and lets out its first cry. Even though the baby is covered in goop, it is a beautiful sight and with a few wipes with cotton towels, the beautiful child is placed in the mother’s arms, whose tears of exhaustion and joy stream down upon the new arrival.

The Lord’s mercy was shown to Mary, who “feared” or “respected” the Lord. As with Mary, the Lord exalts those of low degree and fills the hungry with good things. This is a message of hope — for we all hunger for many things and should look to the Lord (rather than the Malls) to fill this hunger.

But what of those who don’t fear the Lord? He will put down the mighty from their thrones, he will send the rich away empty. All this from a little baby? Yes, a little baby who in fact is the Son of God, part of the triune God who fulfills his promises … the promises that he made to Abraham and his descendants and the promises he still makes to us today. And that indeed is Good News to all who believe in him.

Prayer: We thank you for the gift of baby Jesus . . . for sending us big things in small packages. We also thank you for your servant Mary and for her tender care of the Lord Jesus and for her example of faith during a time in which she must have also been fearful of many things. Please help us to put our faith in you and to fear you and to check our pride at the door and always be your humble servant as Mary was many years ago. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Wait

Devotion by: Bill Wagner

Psalm 33:2-12, 20-21

²Praise the Lord with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.
³Sing to him a new song;
play skilfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
⁴For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in faithfulness.
⁵He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord
⁶By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and all their host by the breath of his mouth.
⁷He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;
he put the deeps in storehouses.
⁸Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
⁹For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
¹⁰The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
¹¹The counsel of the Lord stands for ever,
the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
¹²Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.
²⁰Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and shield.
²¹Our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.

The first section of this psalm is focused on praising God with music and song for all he has done. Then it mentions how His plans can overtake the plans of people and nations. Finally, the last two verses state that “our soul waits for the Lord……our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in His holy name”. As humans, we all have a problem with waiting, whether in traffic, in the line at the checkout counter, for the results of medical tests, for the long-awaited TV special, or for Christmas and the birth of the Baby Jesus. We should make use of the time of Advent to embrace the spiritual discipline of waiting. During Advent we can experience the spiritual gifts of waiting – patience, loss of control, living in the present, compassion, gratitude, humility and, most of all, trust in God. In our present society, everything seems to be geared to “instant gratification”. E-mail has to be answered at once, and if this is not fast enough, then people do “instant messaging”. Cell phones allow us to be in instant communication at all times. For many of us, we sometimes long for the past when people wrote letters and had time to think about what they were writing and then waiting for the answer to your letter, perhaps in 2-3 weeks or more. Advent is a time for us to sit back, and experience the wonderful sense of anticipation as we await the coming of Jesus in the stable in Bethlehem.

Prayer: Lord, help us to use this time of waiting to be grateful for the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ. Help us to be patient and know that we are not in charge of all things. Give us the gifts of humility and compassion as we put our trust in God during this wonderful season of Advent. Amen.

Signs

Devotion by: LaVonne Gysan

Isaiah 7:10-14

¹⁰ Again the spoke to Ahaz, saying, ¹¹Ask a sign of the your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. ¹²But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. ¹³Then Isaiah said: ‘Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? ¹⁴Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.

How many of us have asked God for a sign to validate something we want to do or to seek a truth? Once my husband was joking with me when we were contemplating a life-changing move. He knew I liked to eat at the Dutch Pantry (they were popular 30 years ago). As we were hunting for a place to have dinner he said, “If we find a Dutch Pantry restaurant, that will be the sign for us to move.” The first restaurant we saw was a Dutch Pantry, and we did move to Pittsburgh soon afterwards. (However, much prayer was given for divine guidance too!)

Ahaz, a king of Judah was given a chance to ask for a sign from God when enemies were threatening Judah. He refused to ask because in his heart he wanted to side with foreign powers instead of relying on God’s protection.

Isaiah tells Ahaz the sign from the Lord. “Look, the young woman (or Virgin) is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel (that is, “God is with us.”)” This message was passed down from generation to generation. Over 700 years later, the sign became a reality – Jesus was born. God has given us all the signs we need to believe in Him. Let us give thanks for Jesus, the sign of Love!

Prayer: Thank you for coming, Immanuel. In your name. Amen.

In Silent Witness

Devotion by: Emma Miller-Cvilikas

Luke 1:5-25

⁵ In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth<. ⁶Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. ⁷But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years. ⁸ Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty, ⁹he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. ¹⁰Now at the time of the incense-offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. ¹¹Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. ¹²When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. ¹³But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. ¹⁴You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’ ¹⁸Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.’ ¹⁹The angel replied, ‘I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.’ ²¹ Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah, and wondered at his delay in the sanctuary. ²²When he did come out, he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak. ²³When his time of service was ended, he went to his home. ²⁴After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, ²⁵‘This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favourably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.’

I can be very inpatient; the whole “your prayers will be answered in time” doesn’t go down well in my book. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in God, I am just not good at waiting for his answers. In this reading I am reminded of myself. Zechariah goes into the sanctuary to give his offering of incense when he receives a visit. The visitor goes by the name Gabriel (sound familiar?). Zechariah is delivered AMAZING news that his wife will give birth to a son and Zechariah will name him John. Instead of receiving this information and moving on he begins to question Gabriel. Gabriel becomes angry and starts to say things like, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.” If only Zechariah had known that his wife Elizabeth would give birth to John the Baptist? What if he knew that Elizabeth’s Cousin Mary would give birth to our savior? But Zechariah let his logic get in the way and kept questioning Gabriel, (it happens to the best of us),and then Gabriel silenced him by turning him into a mute. If only we could know our plan, our future, our destiny? We do not want to be mute, but by not trusting that’s what we become. I have never felt comfortable putting my life in someone else’s hands but I also know I’ve never had my life in my hands. I don’t think I will ever stop wondering and I am happy that God is guiding me. God is watching over me and that’s all that really matters.

Prayer: Dear God, Please help us to remain calm in our daily lives so we can hear your voice and our future can be more enjoyable. Amen.

Be Not Afraid

Devotion by: Andrea Sweet

Matthew 1:18-25

¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. ²⁰But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ ²²All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:²³‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’, which means, ‘God is with us.’ ²⁴When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, ²⁵but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

My sister is very afraid of being alone at night. She says she is afraid of bad guys under her bed. So she calls out in the middle of the night to our mom or dad and sometimes to me to sleep with her. This has been going on for years. She still does it occasionally but hopefully she is getting over it. I think God was giving her a test and was seeing if she would know God is with her. We know that God is bigger than us and can save and help us but it is God's will to do what he wants. If that happens we need to believe in Him and come to Him in times of fear and know that he is with us.

Prayer: Dear God, please help us not to be afraid, for we know you are with us, in Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Lighting of Third Candle: The Joyful Message

Devotion by: Greta Rymal

Isaiah 12:2-6

²Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid,
for the Lord is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.
³ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
⁴And you will say on that day:
Give thanks to the Lord,
call on his name;
make known his deeds among the nations;
proclaim that his name is exalted.
⁵Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
let this be known in all the earth.
⁶Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

These passages are familiar to me, especially verse 2 “Surely God is my salvation” and verses 4-5 “Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among nations what he has done . . . let this be known to all the world.”

These were themes in the recent funeral service for my Mother, especially as we sang “I Love to Tell the Story”. My Mom made sure that my sister and I knew the story of Jesus and his gift of salvation, even as we moved from place to place during my Dad’s military career. I don’t remember the earliest time she told me the story, but it may well have been the Joyful Message of the birth of Jesus.

As you tell the story to your children or grandchildren, or as you recall the story for yourself, praise God also for the person who shared the story with you.

Prayer: Dear God, please help us not to be afraid, for we know you are with us, in Jesus name we pray. Amen.