It’s hard to believe it, but the holiday season is quickly approaching. This year, Advent begins on Sunday, November 27. I’ve been busy updating my Advent devotional, More Than A Baby. Each day’s devotion features the following:

1. A daily scripture to read and meditate upon.
2. A picture to reflect upon.
3. An Advent song to listen to.
4. A focus thought for the day.
5. An application for you to incorporate into your life.
6. A prayer.

You can click here to see a sample page of the 2011 More Than A Baby devotional.

If you’d like to make the Christmas season more meaningful, my devotional will help you prepare your heart for this joyous season.

The updated version will be available for sale on our Web site on November 15. Here is the link to take you to the page. More Than a Baby. (If you click before November 15, you’ll be taken to the sales page for last year’s version).

Let’s approach this Christmas with a heart that’s ready to receive the our Savior by taking a few minutes each morning to study and worship the Lord!

Pray on!

“Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:20

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year. I’ve always loved the story of the Pilgrims traveling by the Mayflower to America. I especially like how the Native Americans helped the Pilgrims to survive that first devastating winter—it was a time of peaceful coexistence before trouble started between these two groups.

To celebrate Thanksgiving of 2011, Mary and I are having a Thanksgiving contest. We’re giving away a prize to one adult and one student who leave a comment on this blog. All you have to do is share with us in the comment section about something you are thankful for this Thanksgiving. Even if this has been a difficult year for your family, think of one thing you’re thankful for and tell us about it.  By focusing on the blessings God has given us, we can change our attitudes about our circumstances. We’ll randomly choose one adult winner and one student winner from the responses we receive. Be sure to leave your name. We’ll announce the winner on the blog, and then the winner will need to e-mail us your mailing address.

What are you thankful for this year?

Happy Thanksgiving and pray on!

(The painting is called “The First Thanksgiving” by Jean Louis Gerome Ferris, courtesy of commonswikimedia.org.)

“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!” Luke 24:5,6

He is risen! Happy Easter!

I pray this Easter morning finds you rejoicing in the knowledge that our Savior is alive.  We do not serve a powerless God. No! We serve a Savior who conquered death and all the powers of hell to rise triumphant. Because of that we have the certainty of eternal life when we accept Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins on the cross. It is a free gift with no strings attached. And He offers this gift to every person. Have you accepted it?

Jesus isn’t a go-with-the–flow kind of person. No, He came to the earth to shake things up. And He did. He healed the sick. He cast out demons. He talked to a Samaritan woman and companioned with tax collectors. He took a whip and cleared out the moneychangers from the temple.  And He opened the truth to the Gentiles, Jews, Greek, slave, and free—in short anyone who would believe in Him.

And Jesus still does all those things today. He wants to be our everyday lives. He changes us, encourages us, heals us, admonishes us and loves us. He brings hope to even the darkest of situations and times.

Wherever this Easter day finds you, I hope it finds you rejoicing in our Savior. Happy Easter!

Pray on!

Read Luke 23: 50-56

The day of Preparation was the day before the Sabbath. Jesus had just been crucified and had died the night before. Pilate had granted Joseph of Arimathea permission to take Jesus’ body, and Joseph had wrapped Jesus in linen and laid Him in a tomb. The desolation of Jesus’ friends and followers was complete. But the love and loyalty of the women in verse 55 is obvious.

They went to the tomb and the scripture says they “observed the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.”

On this Holy Saturday, the day before Easter, we think of the women and what they were doing the day after Jesus died. It had to have been the darkest of days, yet they went to the tomb and decided to do what they could. They were going to prepare spices and oils to properly anoint Jesus’ body. One commentary I read stated that Jesus had had a hasty anointing and burial, so the women wanted to properly anoint their beloved Savior.

I like it that they didn’t let the little problem of a huge stone in the way of the tomb stop them.  They went forward with their plans, and they spent that sad day lovingly preparing the spices and oils for what they thought was their last act of service for Jesus.

Oh, but it was just the beginning.

Isn’t it amazing that God had these women preparing the spices and ointments to anoint Jesus for burial while God was preparing the biggest celebration of life ever? If only we could see the juxtaposition of the behind-the-scenes-action of heaven and of earth at the same time!

You see, these women, and the world, were in waiting. They just didn’t realize what they were waiting for. The women were waiting to anoint a dead loved one, but God was waiting to invite them to a party.

It’s not quite time for the celebration yet, though. We need to sit with these women in their darkness for a bit. We have much to learn from them.

In their darkest time, they did what they could and they waited. They made a plan to go to the tomb, and they trusted that God would provide a way for them to anoint Jesus.

When we are in our darkest moments—when someone is sick, when we are going through a divorce, when a loved one has died, we need to do what God gives us to do and then we need to trust and wait.  Sometimes all we can do is pray. But, because of the cross, there is hope in our tragedy.  Though we may be suffering, God promises to use all things for our good–happy things sad things, devastating things like divorce, sickness and death. Like the women at the tomb, One day we will hear Him say, “Why are you weeping?” He shall wipe away every tear from your eyes and there shall be no more death, no more sorrow, no more pain for the former things have passed away. It is finished. (Revelation 21:4) Hold on dear one…Sunday is coming!

“Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the lamb.”

Pray on!

“My soul waits silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.” Psalm 62:5.

As we prepare for Easter, we thought we’d start another contest. The rules are simple:

In a few words, tell us what God is doing in your life right now. It’s always encouraging to hear what God is doing in each others’ lives. It may be small, it may be big. How is He at work? Anyone who answers this by commenting below will be entered into a drawing to receive a prize. We’ll post the winner on the home page at the end of the month. So, check back because if you’re the winner, we’ll need to get your address to send you your prize.

Happy Easter and pray on!

Depending upon which denomination you grew up in, Lent may or may not have been an important time in your spiritual life. The season of Lent originated in the 4th century A.D., and it spans 40 weekdays beginning on Ash Wednesday. The final week of Lent is called Holy Week and includes Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and concludes on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. Colors in the church are coordinated with the church calendar. During Lent, the colors you typically see in a sanctuary are purple, red violet or dark violet. These particular colors are chosen because they symbolize both the pain and suffering leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, as well as the suffering of sinful humanity. But, purple is also a royal color, and that very much represents our king Jesus. Black is often used on Good Friday and Holy Saturday to symbolize the darkness that sin brought to the world. Those of the Catholic faith are familiar with Lent because it’s still very much a part of the church today. Not so much for those in the Protestant faith.

Before Martin Luther nailed the Ninety-Five Theses on the church door at the University of Wittenburg (Germany) in 1517, there was only one Christian church and everyone observed holy days, church feasts and the daily office in the same way. With the start of the Reformation, much of these observances were thrown out–because they were associated with “high church.” High church uses liturgical, ceremonial, traditional and Catholic elements in worship.

Today, however, some Protestant churches are finding that maybe they have thrown out “the baby with the bath water,” and are recovering some of these aspects of historical Christian tradition as a way to enrich their spiritual lives–especially in a culture that is becoming increasingly secular.

With that in mind, some Protestant Christians are putting a greater emphasis on Lent by praying and preparing themselves for Easter. Today, we can use this time for introspection, self-examination and repentance. At Only By Prayer, we are going to begin a series on the spiritual disciplines to help equip you to prepare for Easter. If you feel led to do so, you can incorporate some of these practices into your days throughout this season of Lent. We are looking forward to this journey and pray God will bless your through it.

We’ll start tomorrow with the first spiritual discipline. Join us, won’t you?

Pray on!

Some of this information is taken from “The Season of Lent” by Dennis Bratcher.