Category: Advent

Posted in Advent, Advent, Bible study, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, Know These Truths, LGG Study, Quiet Time, The Promised Messiah

God’s Grand Plan of Redemption

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based on the LGG Study of Advent, The Promised Messiah / w4d2

Scripture: Luke 1:1-25 / SOAP verse 25

“How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.”

Luke 1:25

I love when the goodness of God is so visible on the pages of Scripture. I see it here in the words of Luke and I here it in the words of Elizabeth’s response to the great surprise of her pregnancy. Luke’s account of the ‘grand redemptive plan’ through Christ starts with the announcement of another prophecy to be fulfilled. It was a prophecy of Isaiah who told of a messenger, who would declare, “Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight”. In Luke’s account of the Christmas story, there would be a child who would be born to a priest and his wife, who, as Luke describes, were childless because the woman was barren and they were “both very old.” The child would be named John and grow to me the messenger that Isaiah spoke of – a messenger that would prepare the hearts of the people to receive Jesus and the message He came to bring. The center of the Christmas story will always be the redemptive work of God through the gift of His Son, born of a virgin, to take away the sins of the world; but as we see in today’s story the redemptive plan isn’t just a collective salvation of all who believe but a personal plan that works through individuals like Zechariah and Elizabeth to deliver the messenger who would prepare the way for Christ. Likewise, the plan involves those God would call to prepare the way throughout the centuries – catalyst of the Gospel like John and the disciples who would join Jesus in spreading the Gospel during and after His time on earth.

I find great encouragement in seeing and knowing that redemption wasn’t just collective but personal and deeply meaningful, as Elizabeth and her words of praise testified. God not only used her to bear the forerunner of Christ but, in using her, He freed her from the shame and disgrace and burden of childlessness in that day.

Like those who came before us, God’s “grand redemptive plan” continues to reach down through the ages as He sets all who believe in Jesus – free from slavery to sin and the shame it places on us. He also assigns us to carry the love of Christ, (John 13:34) and His Gospel Message to the world, (Matt 5:13-16). May we, like Elizabeth, realize what the Lord has done for us and give Him praise – not just with our lips but with our obedience to His call upon our lives.

Going Further

How did John the Baptist fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy?

Posted in Advent, Advent, Bible study, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, Know These Truths, LGG Study, Quiet Time, The Promised Messiah

Waiting Without Doubting

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Based on The Promised Messiah, a Love God Greatly Advent Study

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:20

For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.

2 Corinthians 1:20

If someone made you a promise, how long would you have to wait before you began to doubt their promise? One day, three days, or forty … a year, two, ten… how long before you gave up hoping and believing that what they had promised would ever be realized? We live in a cultural of quick and easy gratification. It’s often referred to as a “fast-food mentality” – referring to the quick and easy method of placing an order for your food and driving off with it in five minutes or less. There is no question that the convenience is nice but it has fostered impatience and often a demanding time-table for everything in life. However, when it comes to God’s timeline we must be careful with our expectations. We must learn from those who have gone before us – from the garden to John’s last words of the revelation God’s promises are not always realized quickly. While He created the world in seven days He was not always so quick in His actions. There were often decades of waiting for children that had been promised or for a shepherd boy to become a king, there were centuries of waiting for the promised Messiah’s birth and we are still waiting for His promised return. The good news is – not only has He demonstrated that we can trust Him, but His Word declares that all of His promises are “Yes!”. We can trust that each and every promise will one day come true and that God’s timing is always perfect and for a good reason, whether we understand it or not. Borrowing from a line in the LGG devotional for today that I found most encouraging, I pass on to you these words, “We may be waiting longer than we’d like for some things, but we can be confident that all His promises are “Yes,” and we can say “Amen” and give glory to God when we see them fulfilled.” To this, my heart responds with the Psalmist, “wait patiently for the Lord.”

Wait patiently for the Lord.
    Be brave and courageous.
    Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

Psalm 27:14
Response To The Word

Father, thank You that all of Your promises are yes and amen in Christ Jesus! Thank You for the reminder from Your Word that we can trust You without question or doubt and please help us to wait patiently, knowing that Your timing and reasons in all things are perfect – to Your glory and honor amen and amen.

Reflection for the Journey

Are there promises you are waiting to see God fulfill? What are they and how does this passage help you to wait patiently?

Going Further

Check out today’s LGG Blog Post for more insight

Posted in Advent, Advent, Bible study, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, Know These Truths, LGG Study, Quiet Time, The Promised Messiah

Sustaining HOPE

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Scripture: Hebrews 9:27-28; Matthew 24:30-31 / SOAP: John 14:1-3

“Do not let your hearts be distressed. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 There are many dwelling places in my Father’s house. Otherwise, I would have told you, because I am going away to make ready a place for you. 3 And if I go and make ready a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that where I am you may be too.

John 14:1-3

Oh, how I love the promises of God. The best part of His promises is that they are all, yes and amen in JESUS! Which, I’m sure, is why this old hymn kept playing through my mind as I was reading today’s Scripture.

Standing on the promises of Christ, my King,
Through eternal ages let his praises ring;
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.

Refrain:
Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God, my Savior;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail.
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing On the Promises / Author: Russell Kelso Carter (1886)

Promise after promise is fulfilled throughout Scripture but perhaps none sweeter and certainly none more endearing to our hearts than the one we celebrate during this Advent season. The birth of the baby in Bethlehem, the city of David, to a virgin – brought great hope to the watching world as it does to us today. Some thirty-three years later another great, albeit tragic, promise was fulfilled in the death, burial, and resurrection of that same child. Those who know Him cannot help but weep at His death and yet rejoice at the freedom we know because of it – and the hope we know in the empty tomb and His ascension into Heaven.

The fulfillment of these promises and all those that came before them or those we have seen evidence of in our own lives, even to this day, are what give us the beautiful hope in the promise of Jesus in John 14:1-3. You see, Jesus had made known His upcoming departure and here, in the fourteenth chapter of John, He gives His disciples and, by extension, all – who by faith have chosen to follow Him, the ultimate promise of hope. It is a promise meant to sustain us as believers . For to press on in His work during His absence it is vital that we keep believing in Him – in who He is, in what He is doing, and in the promise that He will return for us and take us with Him – so that where He is we may be also.

Jesus is making a place for us
Jesus will come again
Jesus will take us to be with Him

The HOPE of John 14:3

There is one catch about His promise to return and take us with Him – it is only for those who have placed their faith in Him. So, as we wait on His promised return may we be faithfully active in making Him known. May we live out His love, share His message of peace and hope, and continually pray for the salvation of the lost.

Marvelous message we bring, Glorious carol we sing, Wonderful word of the King, Jesus is coming again! -Chorus: Coming again, Coming again, May be morning, may be noon, May be evening and may be soon! Coming again, Coming again; O what a wonderful day it will be -Jesus is coming again!

Coming Again, by John W Peterson https://lyricstranslate.com

Reflection for the Journey

How does this promise impact your life?

Posted in Advent, Advent, Bible study, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, Know These Truths, LGG Study, Quiet Time, The Promised Messiah

Mission Accomplished

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Scriptures: Psalm 68:18-20; Luke 24:50-53; Ephesians 4:8-10 / SOAP: Eph 4:10

He, the very one who descended, is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things.

Eph 4:10

If you know me well, you know that I am rarely at a loss for words, lol. Today however, is one of those days. However, my friends at lovegodgreatly.com did a wonderful job , as always, with their commentary on our soap passage today and I am delighted to share it with you here in the hope that it will bring clarity and an enjoyable addition to your study of God’s Word today. You will also want to check out their blog for today for even more insight into the passage. – love and blessings from – mefromthensideout

Today’s post is taken from the Journal for the Love God Greatly Advent Study, The Promised Messiah. You will find this study and all of the others at lovegodgreatly.com – It is a remarkable site of teaching and opportunity to grow in faith and understanding of God’s Word, with an emphasis and passion to spread the Word of God to every tribe and tongue. Please take a minute to check it out and be sure to like and follow them – and me, if you don’t mind 🙂

Posted in Advent, Advent, Bible study, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, Know These Truths, LGG Study, Quiet Time, The Promised Messiah

The Blessing of our Faith

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Scripture: Genesis 12:3 and 22:18; Psalm 72:17; Gal 3:6-16 / SOAP: Gal 3:8-9

8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the gospel to Abraham ahead of time, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.” 9 So then those who believe are blessed along with Abraham the believer.

Genesis 3:8-9

Have you ever heard or sung the song “Father Abraham”? It’s an interactive song that teaches children, and in my case adults, that as believers we are part of the family of Abraham. Which, as Paul points out in Galatians chapter three is a vital part of our heritage in the family of God. Knowing this part of our heritage does not change who we are in Christ but it does give us a broader understanding of who and how we are in Christ, much like the popular ancestry studies of today help us understand our physical heritage.

Father Abrham had many sons, many sons had father Abrham
I am one of them and so are you – so let’s just praise the Lord…

I was saved when I was a very young girl, five or six years of age, but it wasn’t until my late twenties that I began to understand the depth of the grace of God. Until then it was a word relegated to a verse that proclaimed the means of my salvation, “For it is by grace you are saved through faith, it is a gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast.”

My heritage by blood is gentile but by the grace of God I have been covered by the blood of Jesus Christ! By faith I am now numbered among the sons and daughters of Abraham.

MefromtheINsideout!

What does it mean to you to be part of the family of God? Do you remember a time when you weren’t part of the family?

Posted in Advent, Advent, Bible study, Enduring Hope, From the Insideout, God is good, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Quiet Time, The Promised Messiah

O’ Come Let Us Adore Him!

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Based on the LGG Advent Study, The Promised Messiah – w3d2

Scripture: Isaiah 9:7; Zechariah 9:9; Matt 2:1-2 and 27:37; John 12:12-13 / SOAP: Luke 1:32-33

Ah! This descriptive picture of Jesus is far more pleasing than the one of His suffering that we looked at last week. These promises of who He would be, His title, His throne, His reign, His forever kingdom are all a far cry from the stable we picture with cattle and hay at His birth or the scene of the suffering Savior weighed down with sins not His own. Yet all are descriptions of promises fulfilled or yet to come, and all of them leading us – pleading for us even – to worship Him – the infant, the crucified, the risen and ruling King!

My mind cannot fully grasp the truths of this announcement but my heart rejoices with Mary at the message Gabriel brought her. It was a message of a Messiah promised long ago, a message of hope that would change the world. Born a child and yet a King, born to die but yet to live – and to reign forever. Son of the Most High God yet born to man. Born in a lowly stable but given the throne of his father David. May every heart receive Him and every tongue confess the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.

I do not own the rights to this music

How are you worshipping Christ during this Advent season?

Posted in Advent, Bible study, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Quiet Time, The Promised Messiah

Knowing The Shepherd

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Scripture: Psalm 23; Luke 15:3-7 / John 10:11

Throughout Scripture we find examples and lessons about or from the Shepherd. One of my favorites and I would dare say – one of the most familiar ‘shepherd reference’ is Psalm 23, in the Old Testament. The Psalm is written by David, a shepherd himself, who writes a beautiful and inviting description of God as His Shepherd. He describes Him as one who protected, led, and cared for him, and who encouraged, renewed, and comforted him. David’s words make it clear that God was the one in whom David placed his hope and confidence.

Like David, we too have a Shepherd, in whom we can place our hope and confidence, knowing that He will not only leave the majority of His sheep to look for even one that is lost, but that He laid down His life for the sheep. He is tender and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. He is a protector and comforter and intercedes on behalf of His sheep to the Father. He leads us by example and is one day coming back for all who belong to Him. You can trust Him and turn to Him when you feel lost or when you you need forgiveness. Remember He is your redeemer, your comforter, encourager, and friend. He is Your intercessor between God and a true love of your soul.

An Invitation –

Is Jesus your Shepherd? – Check out these TRUTHS and choose Jesus today

https://atomic-temporary-62140760.wpcomstaging.com/2023/03/14/know-these-truths/
Posted in Advent, Advent, Bible study, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, The Promised Messiah, Uncategorized

So Great A Love

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read: Matthew 8:14-17; John 9:1-7; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 / SOAP – Isaiah 53:3-6

He was despised and rejected—
    a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
    He was despised, and we did not care.

4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
    it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
    a punishment for his own sins!
5 But he was pierced for our rebellion,
    crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
    He was whipped so we could be healed.
6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
    We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
    the sins of us all.

Isaiah 53:3-6

There are several passages to read to day but none very long and all of them examples of Christ taking the infirmities, griefs, weaknesses… sorrows, pains, and sufferings from others. It was an action born out of yielding to the Father’s will and of love for those He came to save, including us.

I would encourage you to read the verses out loud and slowly. Then read them again and replace the pronouns “we” and “our” with ‘I” and “my.” Let it soak in until you can taste and see the love and goodness of our God and Savior. This passage is a perfect demonstration of God’s love and faithfulness to us! It is the vividness of the depth and riches of His love as He poured out on Christ the wrath and punishment that so clearly belonged to us! Oh the grace and mercy we see played out in His Word when we pay attention, when we read, not just with our eyes, but with our mind and heart engaged in the unfolding love story. It is then we see that He didn’t suffer at His own doing but because all of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have chosen our own paths over God’s. We have turned our backs on Him and looked the other way. We’ve seen Him despised, and we have not cared. Yet, even still He willingly carried our weaknesses and was weighed down by our sorrows. His troubles were not a punishment from God or for His own sins but rather it was our sin and rebellion that caused Him to be wounded. As Isaiah wrote, “The Lord laid on Him the sins of us all.”

Oh the sweet deep love of Jesus who willing took our place and what great and faithful love our God continues to lavious on us without fail. I don’t think I will ever completely understand it, but oh what it does for my mind and soul to read these truths and others like them and to know the trustworthy and committed characters of our God and Savior. When we see them for who they are and what they’ve done our natural application of the Scriptures will be to respond in praise, worship, and prayer. – To the eternal glory of our God and King!

Going Further

The Suffering Servant: Is the “The Suffering Servant” prophecy in Isaiah 53 about Jesus?

Man-of-sorrows: https://www.gotquestions.org/man-of-sorrows.html

Despised and Rejected: https://www.gotquestions.org/despised-and-rejected.html

Bore our Griefs: https://www.gotquestions.org/surely-borne-griefs-carried-sorrows.html

Posted in Advent, Advent, Bible study, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Quiet Time, The Promised Messiah

Jesus, The Perfect Sacrifice

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Read: Leviticus16; Hebrews 10:1-12 / SOAP; Hebrews 10:1-12

By his will we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest stands day after day serving and offering the same sacrifices again and again—sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, he sat down at the right hand of God,

Hebrews 10:10-12

Leviticus 16 is a tough but interesting and enlightening read, worthy of your time. However, realizing some will forego the chapter and zero in on the SOAP passage, I am sharing some commentary from gotquestions.org that I found helpful in seeing and understanding the provision of “the first” sacrifice and the beauty of “the second.” However, to see the true beauty we must read the full passage from Hebrews 10 –

For the law possesses a shadow of the good things to come but not the reality itself, and is therefore completely unable, by the same sacrifices offered continually, year after year, to perfect those who come to worship. 2 For otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers would have been purified once for all and so have no further consciousness of sin? 3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 So when he came into the world, he said,

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me.
6 “Whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you took no delight in.
7 “Then I said, ‘Here I am: I have come—it is written of me in the scroll of the book—to do your will, O God.’”

8 When he says above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you did not desire nor did you take delight in them” (which are offered according to the law), 9 then he says, “Here I am: I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first to establish the second. 10 By his will we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest stands day after day serving and offering the same sacrifices again and again—sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, he sat down at the right hand of God, Hebrews 10:1-12

Stop and Reflect: How does reading this make you feel? share your answers in the comments

I personally love that Jesus emphasizes that He came to do the will of God. By doing the will of God, Christ was doing away with the yearly sacrifices that were to be reminders of the people’s sins but never a true and lasting payment. Only Jesus, the true and perfect sacrifice can take away our sins “once and for all.” But don’t miss the icing on the cake, so-to-speak – because Jesus carried out the Father’s will with His body and His blood we, who have believed, are made Holy through Him – no longer separated from God.

Going Further: Be sure and check out today’s LoveGodGreatly blog post

Posted in Advent, Advent, Bible study, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, The Promised Messiah

Jesus Suffered For Us

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Isaiah 52:13-53:12 / SOAP: Isaiah 53:5

He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; he endured punishment that made us well; because of his wounds we have been healed.

Isaiah 53:5

I don’t know that there is any verse in the Bible that can make clear to us what Christ did for us. This is the verse that makes it personal, that reminds us it wasn’t just something Jesus did to satisfy God. I challenge you to think about all the wicked, evil, ungodly things you’ve ever said or done or thought. Now reread the verse but read it like this … He was wounded because of ‘my’ rebellious deeds, crushed because of ‘my’ sins he endured punishment that made ‘me’ well because of his wounds ‘I’ have been healed. Let that sit in your soul and mind for a minute. Be still and know what your God and your Savior have done for you. Ask yourself what it means to you? What should your response be?

Words of Worship

 O the deep, deep love of Jesus,
vast, unmeasured, boundless, free,
rolling as a mighty ocean
in its fullness over me.
Underneath me, all around me,
is the current of Thy love;
leading onward, leading homeward
to Thy glorious rest above.

2 O the deep, deep love of Jesus,
spread His praise from shore to shore!
How He loveth, ever loveth,
changeth never, nevermore!
How He watcheth o’er His loved ones,
died to call them all His own;
how for them He intercedeth,
watcheth o’er them from the throne.

3 O the deep, deep love of Jesus,
love of every love the best;
’tis an ocean vast of blessing,
’tis a haven sweet of rest.
O the deep, deep love of Jesus,
’tis heav’n of heav’ns to me;
and it lifts me up to glory,
for it lifts me up to Thee.

Source: Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #321

Going Further

Be sure and check out today’s LGG Blog Post