Take heart: Advent Daybook 6
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 savor your loving presence today. Please guide my thoughts and impressions by your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Look: Listening for Hope, Robert Macmillan - Source
Listen*: Take Heart, Resound Worship - Spotify | YouTube w/lyrics
Read**: Psalm 16-17, 22; Isaiah 3:8-15; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12; Luke 20:41-21:4
Excerpts:
"I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
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"I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words. Wondrously show your steadfast love, O Savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand.
Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings, from the wicked who do me violence, my deadly enemies who surround me."
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"All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.
All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it."
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"Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.
The Lord has taken his place to contend; he stands to judge peoples. The Lord will enter into judgment with the elders and princes of his people: 'It is you who have devoured the vineyard, the spoil of the poor is in your houses. What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor?' declares the Lord God of hosts."
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"And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, 'Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.'
Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, 'Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.' ”
- Psalm 16:8-11 * Psalm 17:6-9 * Psalm 22:27-31 * Isaiah 2:10-11, 13-15 * Luke 20:45-21:4 (ESV)
Pray: from 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 (MSG)
One final word, friends. We ask you—urge is more like it—that you keep on doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance. You know the guidelines we laid out for you from the Master Jesus. God wants you to live a pure life.
Keep yourselves from sexual promiscuity.
Learn to appreciate and give dignity to your body, not abusing it, as is so common among those who know nothing of God.
Don’t run roughshod over the concerns of your brothers and sisters. Their concerns are God’s concerns, and he will take care of them. We’ve warned you about this before. God hasn’t invited us into a disorderly, unkempt life but into something holy and beautiful—as beautiful on the inside as the outside.
If you disregard this advice, you’re not offending your neighbors; you’re rejecting God, who is making you a gift of his Holy Spirit.
Regarding life together and getting along with each other, you don’t need me to tell you what to do. You’re God-taught in these matters. Just love one another! You’re already good at it; your friends all over the province of Macedonia are the evidence. Keep it up; get better and better at it.
Stay calm; mind your own business; do your own job. You’ve heard all this from us before, but a reminder never hurts. We want you living in a way that will command the respect of outsiders, not lying around sponging off your friends.
Listen in silence for God's invitation to you through this passage. Write down a word or phrase that feel especially highlighted and carry the word or phrase as prayer for this day. Trust God to be present through the Word.
Do: Attend a (virtual) live performance or listen to a quality recording of Handel's Messiah (especially Part 1).
As you listen, pray for all of those suffering loss and seeking justice in our world right now. Include yourself. Take heart that Christ has come, Christ is coming, and Christ will come again!
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).