No stone will be left upon another: Advent Daybook 7
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: The Destruction of the Temple, Samuel Colman - Source
Listen*: O Come, O Come Emmanuel, Sister Sinjin - Lyrics | Spotify | YouTube
Read**: Psalm 20-21, 110, 116-117; Isaiah 4:2-6; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Luke 21:5-19
Excerpts:
"May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion! May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah
May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans! May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!"
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"For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.
Your hand will find out all your enemies; your right hand will find out those who hate you. You will make them as a blazing oven when you appear. The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them."
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"The Lord says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.'
The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.' "
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"O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds. I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!"
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"In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy. There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain."
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"And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, 'As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.'
Then he said to them, 'Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. ...
You will be hated by all for my name's sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives."
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"For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words."
- Psalm 20:1-5 * Psalm 21:7-9 * Psalm 110:1-4 * Psalm 116:16-Psalm 117 * Isaiah 4:2-6 * Luke 21:5-6, 10-12, 17-19 * 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 (ESV)
Pray: The Jesus Prayer
"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me the sinner."
Do: Today, take some time to be silent, without any noise or distraction, to pause and calmly think about the first week of Advent.
The Hebrew word selah (see-lah) is repeated throughout the Psalms. The definition of this word is probably a musical reference, calling for a break in the singing of the Psalm. The Amplified Bible (AMP) adds the explanatory phrase "pause, and calmly think of that!" each time the word Selah shows up in the Psalms.
Today, take some time to be silent, without any noise or distraction, to pause and calmly think about the first week of Advent. There’s no need to strive for a profound insight during this time. Just be still.
If you begin to sense thoughts or feelings bubbling up in the quiet, notice them without trying to analyze. You might breathe out one phrase each time you're tempted to become distracted. Try something like the “Jesus Prayer”. When you feel distracted or anxious breathe in “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God” and exhale “have mercy on me the sinner”. Another option is to echo the psalmist: "Selah, pause and calmly think of that".
Trust God as your Heavenly Father to be present with you through Christ and by his Spirit. End your time with a simple prayer or chorus. Go about your day and into the weekend with peace.
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).