Category: Advent Series

We are almost through Advent. Do you have a favorite “I WILL” promise from God? I’ve been looking forward to today because, of all God’s promises to me, this is my favorite.

My son John’s youngest girl, Lydia, will be experiencing her first Christmas this year. Her dark hair and brown eyes glow as she looks at the ornaments on the tree. Lydia cannot yet walk, so John or his wife Kelly carry her everywhere in their arms. Watching them, I think of the message of Isaiah 46:3,4:

“Listen to me, descendants of Jacob,
all you who remain in Israel.
I have cared for you since you were born.
Yes, I carried you before you were born.

I will be your God throughout your lifetime—
until your hair is white with age.
I made you, and I will care for you.
I will carry you along and save you.”

Reading the previous chapters, you’d find that the craftsmen of the land have been carving idols out of wood. When people needed the idol in a different place, however, the priests had to carry the figure in their arms or haul it in a wagon because the god could not walk on its own strength. The wooden idol had no power to meet its own needs, let alone the needs of those who worshiped it. How different our God is: He has made us and he carries us!

Over a decade ago, I remember our son John tenderly carrying his frail grandfather up our front stairs so that Opa could join the family at the table for a holiday meal. What a picture of our God’s gentle care for us when our hair turns gray!

Where has the Lord carried you this day? Pause to give him thanks.

In a few days, people all over the country will be traveling home for Christmas. I am glad that wherever you settle for the holidays, you can still read about God’s “I WILL” promises here.

As I mentioned once before, 2017 marked our first Christmas in our new apartment. We lived in our previous home for over 40 years, and we experienced lots of laughter and blessings there. In all that time, however, I never felt a strong emotional attachment to the house. If God had asked me to pack up and move at any time in those years, I could have said goodbye to that physical structure without regrets.

I feel very different about our new apartment. I love every square foot of it (with the possible exception of the piles of papers that clutter my desk). What never happened in my previous home, occurred here the first night: This is home. This is where I can relax and kick off my shoes. This is where I hope to settle in and dwell for years to come.

In John 14:23, Jesus said to his disciples, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.” We know God is preparing a place for us to live with him in Heaven, but in the meantime, He promises to make his home within us!

Does the Lord feel at home in your heart? Is he merely a visitor sitting primly in the living room of your heart, or does he dwell there? Why not invite him to settle in, relax, and kick off his shoes?

God’s “I WILL” promises keep coming. Here’s another for you to ponder during this Advent season.

Every year we receive Christmas letters from friends with news of how God has blessed them in the past twelve months. Recently, we had a face-to-face reunion with old friends over lunch. We hadn’t seen Roger and Bobbie for about thirty years. Back then, we babysat for each other’s kids as they toddled about the house. Today, those kids have grown up and have children of their own!

What gave us great encouragement was seeing how, despite the decades apart, God had been faithful to each of our families during the intervening years. Roger shared amazing ways God had protected their children. My husband and I talked about how God had blessed us with a new home and renewed health.

Isaiah 41 is a wonderful chapter about encouragement. It begins with people inspiring each other, saying, “Be strong!” or “It is good!” The message seems to be a positive one until you discover that the craftsmen were in the process of making wooden idols! Verse 8, however, begins with the word “but.” Suddenly the passage shifts its focus. God speaks and says that if the people want real encouragement they shouldn’t look to each other but to him. In verse 10, he says, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t look anxiously about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”

Look around you today. Do you see anyone who is feeling low and needs a word of hope? Can you point them to the only true source of encouragement?

Thanks for hanging out with me during Advent. Here’s another of God’s “I WILL” promises!

During Christmas, families gather, and for many families, that means sky-rocketing stress. Voices get louder, harsher. Old wounds reopen. But for my family, I am grateful that times together are marked by explosions of laughter and love. My daughter has an uncanny ability to find gifts that exactly fit the recipient. Her gift may fill a need or produce chuckles, but each one is an expression of her love.

All my life I have felt inadequate in the area of loving others. I feel I can never begin to measure up to all I receive from others, let alone from the Lord. For a long time I felt guilty not being able to fulfill the most basic of Jesus’ commands, “Love one another.” But then I read Rom. 13:8, “One debt you can never finish paying is the debt of love that you owe each other.”

In contrast, God owes us no debt, but he offers his love exuberantly. In Zeph. 3:17, we read, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”

I don’t know if you need to enjoy the quiet blanket of God’s love today or whether you are ready to dance with him in loud singing, but I am confident that God rejoices over each one of his children, including you!

Glad you are back! This series of Advent devotionals on God’s “I WILL” promises is my own Christmas gift to you!

As a child, were you ever tempted to get a sneak preview of what was hiding under the Christmas tree? Did you shake a gift to see if it contained a new Lego set? Or did the wrapping paper somehow tear a wee bit, just enough to reveal the contents of the package? Those colorful packages with their bright bows made it hard to resist temptation!

When God inspired Paul to write a letter to Corinth, he may have had you in mind! In 1 Cor. 10:13, we read: “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” Again, in Revelation 3:10, God wrote to his people saying, “I will keep you from the hour of testing.”

The Lord promises a way to escape temptation. The problem is that all too often we ignore the way of escape. Or we make up arguments that justify our giving in to temptation. Worse, sometimes we don’t even bother with an excuse. We simply give in, like me eating Christmas cookies. That is why, as Jesus prayed in the Garden before his arrest, he reminded the disciples, “Pray that you will not be overcome by temptation.” (Luke 22:40,46)

This Christmas, we may no longer be shaking gifts to guess at their contents, but we all still face temptations. Take a moment today to reflect on the Lord’s Prayer, especially the part where it says, “Don’t let us yield to temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

Here we are on Day 15 and we still have not exhausted the supply of “I WILL” promises from God!

Every year in December, familiar jokes appear about the dad trying to assemble his daughter’s dollhouse or mom struggling to put together her son’s bicycle on the night before Christmas. No one ever looks at the instructions until long after some key steps have been ignored.

God has promised us something far better than a printed set of directions for assembling our future. In Psalm 32:8 he promises, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” He himself will instruct us the whole way, guiding us step by step from point A to point Z.

Jesus added in John 16:13: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.” Only our God can know all the past (‘what he has heard’) but also prepare us for what is to come (‘about the future’).

No wonder we read in James 1:5: “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.”

Do you need wisdom for the new year? The Holy Spirit is like our private tutor, teaching us about the Father and the Son. Sit quietly and listen for his voice today, and then pay careful attention to the lessons your tutor has for you. Don’t omit any steps!

Are gifts accumulating under your tree? Are you eager to open them? Don’t hurry through these last days of Advent without remembering the rest of God’s “I WILL” promises.

What was your favorite Christmas gift when you were a child? A bike? A dollhouse? A video game? I bet that a heavy stack of math textbooks wasn’t top on your wish list, but, when he was in high school, that is what my husband Gene asked for each year from his father. Every November, Gene would give his dad a list of titles of math and chemistry texts that he wanted for Christmas, and every year his father would select the books that he could afford. Often, Dad bought his son the entire list, a gift purchased at great financial sacrifice given his limited income.

Yesterday we saw how God loves to give good gifts to his children too. In Isaiah 44:3, the Lord says: “I will pour out water to quench your thirst and to irrigate your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children.”

Our Father gives from the depth of his heart, and he offers his very self, his own Holy Spirit, to dwell within us. That gift did not come without severe sacrifice. It required the death of his own Son. In John 15:26, Jesus explained that he would have to die in order for the Spirit to come: “But I will send you the Advocate—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me.”

Jesus sacrificed that you and I might have the Spirit of truth dwell within us. What are you willing to sacrifice this season so that others might know about Jesus?

We are over halfway through Advent already! Thanks for returning to read about God’s “I WILL” promises!

Every year my husband and I shop on line and in stores, searching for the perfect Christmas gift for each person on our list. The process can be mentally and physically exhausting. Even trying to find a single gift for a grandchild can be frustrating if we aren’t sure what the recipient really needs or wants.

In Malachi 3:10, we read: “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!”

Our Heavenly Father is waiting to pour out gifts upon us. The process of choosing gifts for his children is not exhausting. He already knows exactly what we need, with the right size and color and style! And he selects not a single present but an abundance of gifts for each child!

Jesus said in Mt. 7:9-11: “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.”

Every year I ask God for a special Christmas gift, and he always surprises me with a unique blessing. One year it was a publishing contract for my book. Last December it was a successful spinal surgery. Have you asked God for your Christmas gift this year?

Welcome to newcomers to our Advent series on God’s “I WILL” promises. I hope you return again and again!

As we open Christmas cards these days, inevitably one card will quote the angels announcement to the shepherds of Bethlehem: “Peace on earth and good will towards men!” But as we look around our world it is often hard to imagine a day when God’s peace will truly reign in our world. Refugees flood into camps, looking for relief from warring factions. Politicians throw accusations at each other and demand government inquiries. Rogue shooters kill innocent victims attending concerts or young students inside schools.

Life in Jesus’ time was no different. Jewish authorities dragged early Christians from their homes and killed innocent men and women. The believers fled and scattered across the known world. All this was predicted by Old Testament prophets, but in Isaiah 26:3, the great prophet also wrote, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! “

Jesus made a similar promise: “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” Following his lead, Paul wrote in Philippians 4:6,7, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

God’s peace is not a treaty between warring factions. It does not establish international boundary lines. No, it settles down deep inside each individual that trusts in God.

As you open the greeting cards that arrive in today’s mail, pause to pray for those who sent the cards. Ask God to let his peace descend on each friend or family member who took time to mail a greeting to you.

Thanks for pausing from your Christmas activities to spend a moment here. Here’s another of God’s “I WILL” promises to take with you today.

Given all the running around as we shop for gifts and attend Christmas parties, it is easy to catch a cold and end up in bed. I remember one horrible holiday when my husband and I both came down with the stomach flu. Unfortunately, the turkey was already defrosted and had to be cooked. The odor of the roasting bird permeated the house, and instead of being a sweet fragrance of good things to come, the scent nauseated my already queasy stomach. Gene and I could barely face a cup of broth, let alone sitting down to turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes.

There is never a good time to be sick. Feeling lousy interrupts our plans, keeps us from work, and slows us down. Many of the people Jesus met faced chronic health issues. One man was born blind. Another had been crippled for almost forty years. Others were tormented by evil spirits for many years. They had no hope for a cure.

In Jeremiah 30:12,13, the Lord told his people that their wound was chronic and incurable! There was no one to plead their cause. There was no healing to hope for, no recovery in sight, because nothing on earth could remove their sin. But all that changes in verse 17 when the Lord promises: “I will give you back your health and I will heal your wounds.” In the next five verses, he offers six more “I will” promises of restoration and health. Count them for yourself!

Why not take time today to thank the Lord for healing your soul and restoring your spirit? And then take another moment to call someone who is feeling sick or who is stuck in bed, and sing a Christmas carol to them over the phone!