2020 Daily Devotion - Day 268

-
Father Alfred Delp was a prisoner of the Nazis during World War II. He was charged with treason for true Christian preaching. From his jail cell, he wrote about the meaning of Advent, the coming of Christ:

"Advent is a time for rousing. Human beings are shaken to the very depths, so that they may wake up to the truth of themselves. The primary condition for a fruitful and rewarding Advent is renunciation, surrender ... a shattering awakening; that is the necessary preliminary. Life begins only when the whole framework is shaken." (From Russell Brownworth's Sermon "When You Walk in a Dream")

Too often, the only things that shake us to the core are the bad news of a health condition, a death of a loved one or some other tremendous setback. Wouldn’t it be better to be shaken to the foundation of our beings by the tools of God? Then we would be better equipped to face the challenges of this life. Too often, we only have a casual relationship with God. When the tough times begin, we are never really ready and the tragedy or the traumas of life end up defining us. It’s better to be honest with Him about our broken condition, and in desperation, fall on His grace and mercy in Jesus Christ.

Romans 13:11 ESV
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.

Pray with me:
Heavenly Father, forgive us for trying to always be self-reliant and self-sufficient when the truth is, we are none of these things. It seems like only when life’s sadness shatters us, we can be honest about this. During this Advent season, help us to be honest with You about our true condition. Only from our true condition can we experience the true joy of Christmas. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Yours because of Him,
Pastor John R. Steward
Senior Pastor
Mount of Olives Church
Tags:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2021 Daily Devotion - Day 340

-
Many years ago, we decided we needed a dog in the house. After all, we had a cat our son named “Sweat Pea”. We heard about a breeder who had a recently returned dog, because the new owner couldn’t keep the dog where she lived. We also learned the dog would be free. So, we went to visit the breeder and the little Dachshund. Her name was Fraulein von Munchkin. The breeder said she was one of the original munchkins. So, we took her home and had some fun times with “Munchie”. Some people at church were even able to meet her a few times. One of the things I will always remember is how worked up the dog got if anyone came to our front door. She would almost loose her mind with barking and the like. You could always count on Munchie to become hyper-excited when someone came knocking. There were times when I knew someone, like the plumber, would be coming over to the house at 2:00pm, and Munchie would be lying in her bed in my home office. I would look at her sleeping; knowing in a short time
More »

2021 Daily Devotion - Day 458

-
When Ken retired, I planned a trip around the U.S. which would take us through 30 states in a two month period. One of the things we were determined to do was to find a worship service each Sunday. We were interested in finding fellowship with other believers in different parts of the country. We weren’t interested in sticking to one denomination, and so we witnessed a variety of worship experiences. We found churches where Christ was exalted, and the people were warm and welcoming. We also found churches which felt more like a social gathering, and we were “crashing the party”. A church in Sandusky, Ohio, exalted its auspicious history and architecture as only a handful of congregants gathered in this great cathedral. Our most memorable experience came in a small Texas town where the Gospel was preached, and the people embraced us as part of their family. During the pandemic of 2020, it has been difficult to be in isolation on Sundays. While we are grateful for the streaming worship
More »