Ready to get your heart and mind prepared for a hope-filled, God-centered Christmas? Join the free advent devotional 2020 7-day series, based in the book of Isaiah.
Earlier this year, I hit a rut.
Things in the world felt so dark and dismal. Conflict, isolation, loneliness, social injustice, illness, tragedy. I knew I needed to turn to God, but I felt lost in my own uncertainty and fear.
Where do you turn when God doesn’t feel like a secure place?
It makes me think of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, when Mr. Beaver describes Aslan the Lion: “Safe? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
God isn’t always safe the way I envision safe. He often doesn’t work the way we expect him to.
But he is sovereign, and he is good, no matter what we go through. That’s what my heart was desperately seeking this year in my Bible study.
Something drew me to Isaiah.
The outlook at the beginning of Isaiah? Bleak.
Isaiah starts with charges from God against Judah. They’ve opted for rituals instead of relationship, rebellion instead of reconciliation. Idols instead of the one true God.
And they are suffering for it, with external attacks and internal corruption. In fact, God says that if he hadn’t reserved a remnant of people faithful to him, they would have been destroyed completely.
Basically – bleak. But not hopeless. God is planning to refine and restore his people to righteousness.
The more you dig in this book, the more treasure you find. And Isaiah keeps directing us forward – in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. (The name Isaiah itself means “The Lord saves”.)
This year, I’m doing something I’ve never done before: a week-long Advent devotional study series.
This free Advent devotional for 2020 will include a daily short read with Bible verses sent straight to your inbox, right up through Christmas Eve. It’s low commitment – just one week – and you can go at your own pace. This will make for encouraging personal Bible study times with God leading up to Christmas.
One of the resounding messages of the book of Isaiah was looking forward to the Messiah’s coming, to the time when God would reconcile the earth to himself, through no efforts of our own. My hope is that this Christmas Bible study will help direct your focus UP in this hectic and sometimes difficult time.
Are you ready to join the Free Advent Devotional 2020?
Sign up below:
Photo Credit:
1 – Kieran White on Unsplash
2 – Toa Heftiba on Unsplash
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