Monday, December 4, 2017: Advent, Week 1: HOPE! Day 2

Monday, December 4, 2017

Good morning! I’ll be shifting and studying Advent on my own. The Sacred Space reading is still lovely, but I want to focus in on the themes of advent and search the scriptures myself 😊

Week One! HOPE!

Day 2

Scripture:

Romans 15:13

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Devotional:

Yesterday marked the “advent” (beginning) of the season of Advent—the time of each year when the Church worldwide prayerfully and joyfully ponders the beauty of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to this world. Each year, week by week, the Church walks together through the four weekly themes: Hope, Love, Joy and Peace. It is a joy to dig in to the Word and what the Lord has to say about these pillars of our faith! In our family, we take part in the weekly services at our local church, participate in daily readings in our family devotions making use of a children’s Advent calendar with ornaments, and this year we will be participating in creating our own Advent candle wreath so that we can have the daily reminder of this beautiful season. Today, the scripture that resonates with me for this week’s theme is Romans 15:13. As a believer, no matter how diligently we choose to spend time with the Lord and daily walk with Him, it can be so easy to lose sight of the precious hope that we have in the coming of our wonderful Savior. Thank God that He is the One Who fills us with this hope! We can press in and receive a filling today of joy, peace and BELIEVING that we may be renewed and refreshed and fully saturated with the hope that sustains us through life! Jesus Christ, the Savior of the Earth, has come.

Prayer:

Thanksgiving:

Precious Heavenly Father, this first week of Advent is a time to celebrate! I open my hands and heart to You this morning and give You praise for the matchless, amazing plan You set forth in causing hope to spring forth as You created the child Jesus to address our desperate need for a Savior. Thank You, Lord. Thank You and bless You. I worship You, O God of Hope. You are worthy, Lord!

Confession:

I confess my heart before You this and every day. Thank You for the mercy seat where my sins are washed clean by the blood of the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. I am in the world, and I have need of my Savior to wash me clean. I receive this cleansing and recognize I am unable to be cleansed and purified without Your blood, Lord Jesus. (Confess your heart before the Lord, and allow Him to wash you daily. This is not an exercise in condemnation nor the attitude that we are “worms” or worthless…on the contrary this discipline of confession is a place of safety and dependence on a loving, compassionate, and gracious Father Who desires intimacy with us. Mine today: I confess that I have tried to struggle through on my own as a parent to my boy. I struggle with control and that came up strongly yesterday when we left him in VERY capable hands but I was all a-panic. This is Your little boy, Lord, and I thank You for providing help. Forgive me for believing that I am the only person capable of properly caring for him. Forgive me for thinking others are incapable. Help me not to project that false belief. Help me to receive help for him. Thank you that it went GREAT and he was FINE. Thank You for showing me my fear and control in this area. Help me to quickly lay it at Your feet and not take it up again.)

Supplication:

God, I lift my needs and requests to You. I thank You that You will continue to perfect that which concerns me. Help me to continually put on my own “oxygen mask” so that I can be effective in caring for those under my care. (Journal victories, progress, needs, concerns, requests. Mine today: This sickness could be pneumonia now, so we are having to change around the day to get me medical attention. Please expedite this process for us and help my husband not to get behind at work while I am being cared for. Help him to be able to handle the added responsibility of getting our son off to school.  Show us where to go for chest xrays. Let my daughter be compliant and easygoing. Let school go well for my son so that we can take care of this concern. Keep my family healthy and don’t let them catch this crud. I also lift my business to You. In Jesus’ Name. I thank You today for the reminder of hope, and I give these needs to You knowing that You have given me hope.)

Intercession:

I lift my children to You today. I bow at Your Throne, my heart confessed before You, and I lay these precious treasures at Your feet. I again ask You to examine my heart toward these children and show me if I am harboring any ill will, resentment, old hurts, or wrong attitudes toward them. Remove these relational hindrances and cause me to be pure hearted toward them and before You. I ask that You bless each child represented in this group with Your great and mighty love. I thank You that each child is fearfully and wonderfully made in Your image, and that You are their true Father. (Journal needs and concerns, victories and progress. For Christian today: Lord, keep his body healthy and whole and free from sickness. I also again lift his toilet training, and ask that he will choose the toilet every time. I pray that he will initiate every day for urine and BM. I also ask that we will find the proper outlet(s) for his amazing, beautiful and abounding energy and love of running. Help us to harness it in healthy and relationship building ways. Give us the energy and stamina to embrace who he is, created by You in Your image. For Chloe today: I pray that she will also be healthy and whole and that this plague will not enter her body. I pray that she will be fully joyful and able to enjoy this day. Give me strength to work with and interact with her. Help her to understand that I can’t run around while I am sick. Help my sweet husband to have an extra measure of patience as he jumps in to help while I am sick.)

Thanksgiving and Consecration:

Father I am so deeply thankful for You. I thank You that even when my body doesn’t cooperate, I can always come into Your Presence joyfully. Thank You for this time today. Continue to minister to each and every parent and child as we worship You today. Bless our time, and be our front and rear guard this day. In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.

Blessing and Benediction:

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God bless you all with hope this day!