What do you live for? Is there something that you often say you can’t live without? For many of us it’s coffee!  In the Bible, Anna lived for something much more significant than coffee. As a matter of fact, she spent her whole life waiting for one beautiful moment. To do the study One Anna, One Purpose just click on the link!

Image: Sura Nualpradid / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

“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!

The time sandwiched between Thanksgiving and Christmas in modern times seems to have been taken over by the retail world. It starts off with a bang on Black Friday (the big shopping event the day after Thanksgiving) and is then measured by how many shopping days are left until Christmas. Newspapers often have the countdown on the front page of the paper—just to make sure you buy all your gifts in time.

I think it’s about time we redeem this time and use it as God intended us to. In the Christian calendar, this time is called Advent. Did you know that it is actually the start of the new calendar year for the Christian calendar? While I’m sure that many of us are familiar with Advent, I know in my life it has often been overshadowed by the busyness of December.

How can we recapture some of the purposes of Advent that God intended for this time?

First, let’s look at what Advent means. The word Advent comes from the Latin word adventus and it means “coming” or “arrival.” In Advent, we are to focus on the coming of Jesus as Messiah. Traditionally, the music, scripture readings and prayers of Advent have focused not only on Jesus’ coming to earth as a baby, but also includes a focus on Jesus’ eventual second coming.  That is why an Advent devotional includes scriptures from both the Old Testament about the birth of the Messiah and New Testament scriptures about Jesus’ second coming.

God designed this time of Advent for us to prepare our own hearts for our Savior. We can celebrate His birth, and we can look forward to His return to Earth. So, practically in the busyness of the season, how can we go about preparing our hearts?

• Introspection. Advent is a good time for introspection. Prayerfully ask God what needs to go—in your heart, in your life—so that you have room for the Savior. We don’t want to be like all the innkeepers in Bethlehem who had no room for the Savior. What do we need to weed out so that we have the time to spend with Jesus this Advent? Can you make room in your schedule so that each morning or evening you take some time to pray, read and prepare your heart for Jesus?
• Advent wreath. Can you do add some Advent activities to do with your family? One suggestion would be to have an Advent wreath on your kitchen table and light a candle on each of the Sundays of Advent and on Christmas Eve. Have a family member read a verse of scripture as the candle is being lit and then share a prayer together.
• Jesse tree. How about making a Jesse tree with your children? Click on this link for information on how to do this: Jesse Tree ideas on Pinterest
• Advent calendar. You could also purchase an Advent calendar in a Christian bookstore with scripture for each day. Children (and adults I admit!) love opening a door every day.
• Music. Play some of the beautiful music of Advent. I discovered this year that Advent music is different than Christmas music.

So this year, let’s have our focus be not on the number of shopping days left until Christmas, but on the moments we are able to spend with our Savior. It’s my prayer that this Advent season will be a blessed time of preparation for our hearts. Pray on!

“That I may proclaim with the voice of Thanksgiving,

And tell of Your wondrous works.

Lord, I have loved the habitation of Your house,

And the place where your glory dwells.” Psalm 26:7-8

Finish Your Pie!

by

Jane VanOsdol

When my daughter was little, she and I loved to turn on the Christian radio station and sing away as we were in the kitchen getting lunch or cleaning around the house. One day Amber was singing the words to a song with such gusto that I just had to stop and listen to her. Her little face was beaming as she belted out the words to our current favorite song. The chorus went like this:

“Come, Lord Jesus, come and get your bride.”

However, what came out of Amber’s lips was something entirely different:

“Come, Lord Jesus, come and finish your pie!”

I could barely contain my laughter over her 3-year-old version of the lyrics. And you know, I think I could see Jesus laughing and nodding, and I bet He would have loved a piece of that pie too!

What my daughter taught me that day was that we just need to utterly, unashamedly worship God. The joy and thankfulness oozed out of her as she sang her heart out to God. She didn’t care if the words were right or wrong, she just knew she was singing with her mommy to Jesus.

I had to stop and thank God for the blessing of my daughter and the blessing of being able to sing praise songs with her. Though our house was little and certainly nothing in it matched nor was very fashionable, it was a holy house because the Lord’s glory was dwelling there in her song. That moment taught me to look for God’s blessings wherever we are, to be thankful for moments shared with loved ones and our Savior.

As we enter this month of Thanksgiving, I’d like us to go on a blessings hunt. Let’s open our eyes to all the things big and small that we have to be thankful for. Let’s dwell on those things, (add them to our list on our Thanksgiving Blog entry if you have time) and like Amber did, let’s proclaim God’s wondrous works with a voice of Thanksgiving. He’s listening.

Prayer: Lord, we just lift our voices to join the chorus around the world singing Your praises. Thank You for our innumerable blessings. Thank You for your love. May we never stop thanking You. Amen.