Light: Advent Daybook 5
An Advent daybook for these weeks of prayerful expectation.
Pray: Heavenly Father, make me more like Jesus and more like the true self you've created as I sit in your loving presence today. Please guide my thoughts and impressions by your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Look: Minneapolis June 02, 2020 - The photo above is of a bookstore in the same block as the police station where the officer worked and where the protests started. The windows/doors are covered with plywood and graffiti saying “love and peace.” Asher Imtiaz - Source
Listen*: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, Richard Smallwood w/ Vision - Spotify | YouTube
Read**: Psalm 18; Isaiah 2:12-22; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-13; Luke 20:27-40
Excerpts:
"With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; with the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down. For it is you who light my lamp; the Lord my God lightens my darkness. For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God?"
*
"For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low; against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up; and against all the oaks of Bashan; against all the lofty mountains, and against all the uplifted hills; against every high tower, and against every fortified wall; against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful craft. And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day."
*
"There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, and they asked him a question... And Jesus said to them ... 'Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.' Then some of the scribes answered, 'Teacher, you have spoken well.' For they no longer dared to ask him any question."
- Psalm 18:25-31 * Isaiah 2:12-17 * Luke 20:27a, 34a, 38-40 (ESV)
Pray: from today's reading in 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 (ESV)
May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. Amen.
Do: Give a simple gift to someone today.
Choose one simple gift to give to one person. You might even select something of your own that's brought you joy that you want to pass along for someone else's joy. You might pay for the person behind you in the drive-through, pick up an extra bag of groceries, or drop a bouquet of flowers on someone's doorstep. Keep it simple and give thanks.
These daily devotional posts are available to those who subscribe at the Daybook ($5 a month) level.
For an introduction read this post: Advent Daybook Explained. You can see previous Advent daybook 2019 posts here.
* Listen to my entire playlist on Spotify: Advent 2020: Gracious Invitation. Add it to your account by clicking right clicking on the three dots and selecting "Save to Library".
** Sunday Scripture readings are taken from Year B of the Book of Common Prayer 2019 (Anglican Church of North America). Daily Scripture readings are taken from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and include both Morning and Evening Psalms (Year 1).