Welcome to Advent 2017

Hello, dear people!

I'm so excited to begin this Advent season with you, fellow disciples of Christ. With every year seeming to fly by faster than the last, it grows more important to me every year to pause and consider the Christ whose coming we celebrate in the coming weeks. And it encourages me to know that you value Him, too.

Our goal for the next 25 days

Starting tomorrow, you will be receiving one short devotional in your inbox each day. Each devotional centers on one name or title of the Christ that is used in the Bible, and includes several Bible passages and a few brief reflective paragraphs on what the significance of that name is to us, His followers.

Our goal - and my desire - for this Advent study is just to set aside a few minutes each day to look upon Jesus, so that as Christmas approaches with all its hustle and stress, our hearts might remain restful in who He is.

How we're going to get there

This may not be an easy goal to achieve. Every day there will be distractions and discouragements - that is the nature of following Jesus, for His enemy is hungry and ruthless. But here are a few tips that might help you get more out of this:

1. Remember God's grace.

God has showered you with favor that you don't deserve - that is exactly what we're celebrating for the next 25 days. So please, please don't miss the point by turning this into a source of guilt. If you do every devotional religiously and still don't feel restful or joyful in this hectic life, give yourself permission to receive God's grace. If you sometimes do your readings just to check them off, or if you miss a day entirely, give yourself permission to receive God's grace. Jesus came to set us free, not to bind us up in a new system of legalism!

2. Remember that it doesn't have to look the same for everyone.

Each day starts with Scripture readings and ends with a bite-size reflection. Each day covers, in a very brief way, one name of Christ. (The list won't be exhaustive - we only have 25 days and there are many, many names used to refer to Jesus in Scripture.) Use this structure as a loose framework and then make it fit your personal relationship with God. You can add prayer and meditation, you can look deeper into the daily passages, you can write your own reflections - do it in the way that will bring you best into His presence.

3. Remember what's inspired and what's not.

The Bible references you will be reading each day? Those are the inspired Word of God - living and active, breathed by the Holy Spirit.

The devotional that I've written? That isn't. While I have taken great care to handle the Scriptures well, and while I hope my words help you reflect on the truth each day, they must always bow to the absolute authority of the Bible itself.

So when you're prioritizing what to read on a day when you don't have a lot of time, remember what's inspired and what's not - and choose accordingly!

Thanks for joining us!

I can't wait to dive in tomorrow with our first little study. If you have thoughts along the way, feel free to leave comments on each day's post. I would love to hear from you!