The Day After Advent (Benediction)

Thursday, December 26, 2019

The Wonder of What God Has Done Through His Son:

An Advent Devotional Guide

Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior be glory and honor and majesty, now and forever. Amen

Jude 24-25

This wonderful benediction from the little book of Jude is just thrilling! Let’s take a careful look at ourselves when nobody can know what we are thinking but God.

Let’s think about what we’ve done and thought that we would not want to reveal on Sunday morning in church.

Let’s think about the good intentions we have had that never reached reality.

Let’s think about the many times we have neglected to seek God’s guidance and followed our own self-centered ways.

Let’s be honest as we remember all the times we have ignored his Word of direction.

Then let’s contemplate those same deeds and thoughts washed absolutely clean by God’s miracle of grace.

That’s what the above verse says. In spite of all we’ve done or not done, Jesus accepts our repentance, “keeps us from falling,” and will present us “faultless to his Father, “with exceeding joy.” Not our joy! His joy! He knows great joy in bringing us to God! We don’t fully understand that, but it’s true!

Father, As we have considered your gifts of faith, hope peace, and joy, given us through Jesus, we thank you. Please keep us mindful of the treasure that is ours – not just at Christmas but always. As he brought honor to you, help us to do the same. Amen

The Wonder of What God Has Done Through His Son:

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for First United Methodist Church of Homosassa, Florida
Winter 2009
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

Christmas Day

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

The Wonder of What God Has Done Through His Son:

An Advent Devotional Guide

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from thy presence, and do not take thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of thy salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners will be converted to thee.

Psalm 51:10-13

Pastor Mark preached a sermon recently in which he reminded us that we have to know what we have to offer before we go to someone to make that offer. Remember how the clowns tried to blow up a balloon when they didn’t know how? Then when they learned how, they could teach others (and blow up a whole bunch of balloons).

This Scripture could easily have been used to illustrate that sermon. One of the reasons I love this Scripture is that I know that David had really messed up, big time! He had lusted for the wife of another man, had committed adultery with her, and had had her husband killed. There is not one of those things that is not on God’s list of abominations! Yet, with great contrition, David has the nerve to ask some pretty powerful things from God, things that we know must have pleased God, for he later says of him that David was a man after his own – God’s own – heart!

God wants us to come to him with contrite hearts, genuinely repentant for being self-seeking and self-willed. First God has to change our hearts, make us steadfast, assure us of our restored position with him, restore our joy of salvation, and make us willing to go out. Then and only then will we be effective in sharing the good news with another! Others need to hear. God wants us to go to them with joy of salvation.

Enjoy the real reason for Christmas – the joyous arrival of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And take that joy to the world!

Father, Create in us clean hearts; restore the joy of our salvation so that we may share that joy with others and bring honor to you this Christmas and all year. Amen

The Wonder of What God Has Done Through His Son:

An Advent Devotional Guide

prepared for First United Methodist Church of Homosassa, Florida

Winter 2009 

by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

Christmas Eve

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

The Wonder of What God Has Done Through His Son:

An Advent Devotional Guide

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

John 15:11

As we come to the eve of this most holy of holidays, it seems good to consider this lovely passage from John’s gospel, in which he talks so intimately with his disciples about their relationship with him and their position with the Father because they love the Son. He is just hours away from allowing cruel and evil men to take his life for the sake of a broken world, yet he speaks so gently and lovingly to the twelve about his love for them and his desire that they “abide” in him, a message not only for them but for us who will come after them believing the message they will take.

We know the story, but it bears reading over and over!

• “Abide in me and bear fruit.” 
• “Abide in me lest you be thrown away, withered.” 
• “Abide in me that my words may abide in you.” 
• “Abide in me that you may keep my commandments.” 
• “Abide in me that you can know the Father’s love” 
• “Abide in me that you may know my joy.”

Here we are on the eve of Jesus’ birthday. We’ll soon sing “Joy to the World,” light our candles, go quietly out into the night, remembering that a beautiful baby was born who changed our lives forever. Even in a world of pain and troubles, we are comforted by the warm joy that fills our hearts. No man can resist the joy of Christmas, but do we abide in it?

At least tonight we can be still and allow the wonder of this infant who changed the world to touch us.

At least tonight we know the miracle of faith, hope, peace, and joy that this baby came to bring.

Father, Thank you for Jesus. Awaken in us the reality of what you have done! Amen

The Wonder of What God Has Done Through His Son:

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for First United Methodist Church of Homosassa, Florida
Winter 2009
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

The Twenty-third Day of Advent

Monday, December 23, 2019

The Wonder of What God Has Done Through His Son:

An Advent Devotional Guide

I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Luke 15:7

Usually when we think about joy, we are considering the things that bring joy into our own lives, the lives of those in our family, or to our church. In the passage above, the speaker is Jesus. The Pharisees are muttering and grumbling that he seems to pay more attention to “sinners” than to them, and he responds with the statement above.

The joy the Lord speaks of here is not ours but his! When one person realizes his need for a Savior, Jesus says that there is great joy in heaven! If we read this passage carefully, we realize that there is an absolute celebration in heaven when one person comes to Christ!

Shouldn’t that prompt us to ask, “What are we doing to bring joy to God, to Christ, to heaven?” How long has it been since we have introduced someone to the Lord? How long has it been since we have verbally shared the gospel – the good news – with another? Just before Jesus left this earth to go home, he told the disciples to go into the whole world with his gospel, the good news that he had come, lived, died, and been resurrected for the restoration of mankind’s relationship with our heavenly Father.

Wouldn’t it be a great Christmas present to give to Jesus this year, to share that lovely message with someone who doesn’t know that God loves them and has a plan for their lives? Maybe we need to spend more time thinking about bringing joy to Jesus than asking him to bring it to us!

Father, Help us speak the good news clearly so that others may come to you and bring joy to you! Amen

The Wonder of What God Has Done Through His Son:

An Advent Devotional Guide

prepared for First United Methodist Church of Homosassa, Florida

Winter 2009 

by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

The Fourth Sunday of Advent: JOY

Sunday, December 22, 2019

The Wonder of What God Has Done Through His Son:

An Advent Devotional Guide

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all. . . .

Philippians 1:3-4

I have been sitting here looking at this verse, thinking about what to write, and it has become very personal. Instead of focusing on the joy — because that is the focus of the week— my mind has been playing with the “you all” (maybe because I am Southern). And that has taken me to times with many of you. 

I went to visit someone today whom I knew had not been feeling well. I went out of concern for her, but I came away with real joy in my heart that she is my friend, and the remembrance of our visit brings joy to me as I write. 

A man came to my office recently, sat down and told me a secret. He said he wanted to do something special for our Haiti work, and he wanted me to help him but not to tell anyone. Remembering him as I write brings tears of joy to me now. 

A lady in our church came to help me with a project one day, and as we worked she told me some things that she was struggling with. As she left, she came around my desk and gave me a “thank you” hug — a thank you for listening. The hug gave me joy and remembering it renews that joy. I’m grateful she trusted me with her concern. 

A couple in the church asked me to dinner. They didn’t know that I was really lonely, maybe even depressed. Eating a beautifully prepared meal with them brought me joy at that moment, and, even though that was many months ago, remembering them and their caring brings joy now. 

Joy comes in the morning, the Scripture says. 

Father, Remind us to do the things for others that will cause them to know joy in remembering. Amen

The Wonder of What God Has Done Through His Son:

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for First United Methodist Church of Homosassa, Florida
Winter 2009 
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

The Twenty-First Day of Advent

Saturday, December 21, 2019

The Wonder of What God Has Done Through His Son:

An Advent Devotional Guide

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

If you are thinking that you have heard this verse just a few days ago, you’re right. But don’t stop reading. I also told you that it is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. Keep reading, please.

When we thought about it before, we were considering hope. Now we are focusing on peace and according to this Scripture that is one of the things with which our hope-filled God wants to fill us – peace. (Next week, we are going to think about joy, and I promise not to bring this verse back to you again, but I do hope you will remember that joy is a perfect companion for peace!) So how does this happen?

All of us know at least a little about physical laws. If we drop a pencil, we never look to the ceiling to see if it has landed there. No, the law of gravity takes our eyes to the floor. But we know less about spiritual laws, and this is, I believe, one of them. When we learn to believe God, this verse says we’re filled with peace – we need not look for confusion. The inevitable result of believing God is peace. Just as the pencil falls to the floor, peace enters the believing heart through faith. Natural and physical law.

Peace is a very important word in the Bible. It occurs about 200 times in the Old Testament and 50 times in the New Testament. Probably we can draw the conclusion that God really wants us to know peace – His peace.

Father, Help us to take the peace you want to give us and to allow that peace to prevail by not trying to take back control of our lives! Amen

The Wonder of What God Has Done Through His Son:

An Advent Devotional Guide
prepared for First United Methodist Church of Homosassa, Florida
Winter 2009
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

The Twentieth Day of Advent

Friday, December 20, 2019

The Wonder of What God Has Done Through His Son:

An Advent Devotional Guide

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Colossians 3:15

Sometimes we can expect blessings to happen miraculously, but other times. God intends us to have a part in bringing them to pass. Perhaps the above verse teaches that fact.

Notice that this is not like Jesus’ statement of blessing where he tells the disciples, “Peace I give unto you.” There we have nothing to do with the peace. He supernaturally imparts it to us.

In the verse from Colossians, however, we have to make a conscious decision to allow our hearts to be at peace. As an act of our will, we have to allow peace to prevail – in fact not just to be there but to rule! That’s a pretty strong challenge! When we are concerned about something, the tendency is to stew over it, try to figure a way out of whatever the dilemma is. In those cases we are not letting peace rule. We are the ones doing the ruling! So how do we overcome that?

That’s when we have to go back to the very first verse we had on peace (Isaiah 9:6), and ask the Prince of Peace do his princely work. We have to keep going back to the Lord, asking him again and again to be the Lord and to be in charge. It would be good to do that once and for all, but we’re pretty slow learners! God has to teach some lessons over and over, and this is none of them. We are prone to think, “What if. . . .” until we remember that circumstances do not impact his authority. Either he is in charge of our lives or he is not. The decision is ours. “Let the peace of Christ rule.”

Father, We’re trying to let peace rule. Please help us. Amen

The Wonder of What God Has Done Through His Son:

An Advent Devotional Guide

prepared for First United Methodist Church of Homosassa, Florida

Winter 2009 

by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator