Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from Our Lord Jesus Christ.
My Apologies! The email went out with the wrong title and tagline! I hit publish too fast!
I hope you've had a great week! This last week was honestly a good one for me. Work was rewarding, classes came to a close, and I am able to turn my attention more towards Lutheran Answers and the work I'm trying to do here.
Speaking of, I've drafted several new articles that I hope to launch over the next few weeks, so make sure you keep an eye out for those!
Anyway, let's get into this week's devotional.
Collect
Lord Jesus Christ, we implore You to hear our prayers and to lighten the darkness of our hearts by Your gracious visitation; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Scripture of the week
Comfort, O comfort, My people,
says your God.
Speak kindly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare has ended,
that her iniquity has been pardoned,
that she has received of the hand of the Lord
double for all her sins.
Isaiah 40:1-2
Devotional Thought:
Today is Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete means Rejoice in Latin. For the first two weeks of Advent we have been focusing on the King arriving to the Earth. We've been looking at it through the natural eyes of man.
Here comes the judge! Here comes the Master, and He will judge us according to how we have stewarded His gifts to us.
What a terrifying thought!
But today, on Gaudete, we see a different picture. Comfort, O Comfort, My people! We see that the Lord of War indeed does come in vengeance and fury, but it is not directed at us! Rather, this vengeance and fury is directed at Sin, Death, and the Devil! The Lord comes to wage war against our death! He comes to destroy our sin!
And to us, He says that we will receive double from His hand for all our sin! That is to say, for every evil that has befallen us, we will be given by Him twice as much good. What a joyful message!
Faith in Action
- Prayer Challenge:
Liturgical Insights
🕯️ The Advent Wreath: "The origins of the Advent Wreath can be traced to German Lutherans in the 16th century who would light candles in anticipation of Christ's birth. However, what we know as the Advent Wreath was created by a Lutheran pastor named Johann Wichern, who worked with the urban poor in the 19th century. During Advent, children at his mission school in Hamburg, Germany, drove him crazy, asking him every day if Christmas had arrived. He decorated a large wooden ring with 24 small red and four large white candles. One red candle was lit successively every day during Advent, and a large white candle was lit each Sunday. The custom became popular in Germany and was eventually adopted by other denominations and became a wreath with four purple or blue candles (more on that later), representing the four Sundays of Advent and a central white candle representing Christ."
From The Liturgical Home, "Celebrating Advent with an Advent Wreath."
Recommended Resource
If you don't have one of these, you need it! The ESV is good as a daily driver, and the study notes are amazing. There have been many times in preparing a sermon or Bible study that the notes here are my first stop so that I can get a good handle on a passage. They are a bit pricey, but are worth every penny!
Community Connection
Please continue to remember Joseph Christina in your prayers as he recovers from surgery.
The Lord continue to bless your Advent.
In Christ,
Remy Sheppard
Host of Lutheran Answers
Does this resonate with you? Let me know if you'd like additions, subtractions, or changes! Just leave a comment and let me know!
