December 14, 2020 - Advent Devotion
I wonder as I wander, out under the sky,
How Jesus the Savior did come for to die,
For poor ord'n'ry people like you and like I.
I wonder as I wander, out under the sky.
“May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
"A Christmas Carol" is a favorite story witnessed by many this time of year. Scrooge is visited and witnessed to by the angels of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Future. Scrooge awakens Christmas morning after a long night, and life is different. Everyone witnesses the change made known in God's grace. A man who was not at peace, not blameless, not sound, the day before; a man who must have wondered as he wandered if he had given it any thought at all why Jesus the Savior had come for to die was now sanctified and new in the morning light.
"A Christmas Carol" is a favorite story because it is our story. This will be a sign for you: The Holy Spirit does in one night for Scrooge, in one silent night for us and all the world, what we could never do ourselves. Just when we think there is not enough time to get ready, not enough time for God to make us ready for what God is making known and changing in our lives, God's grace gives us time.
On that first Christmas morning, a people, a world, was blessed to wake up new. May you and I live today sanctified! May we go to bed tonight at peace trusting every sign of God's grace will make us blameless at the coming and promised return of Jesus Christ! May we awake tomorrow morning ready to see, to witness, to wonder as we wander of the truth and of the awe of Jesus who did come for to die! May all who witness us, be filled with awe and wonder, as they see in us who are ordinary people, the extraordinary, the blessed signs of God's grace!
Let us pray: Gracious and merciful God, today I thank you for your Spirit changes my spirit, your Spirit renews my spirit, your Spirit sanctifies my spirit, your Spirit makes me blameless, your Spirit gives us enough time. Awaken me today, awaken me in every new day, to the wonder of every sign of your grace, as I trust in my Savior who came for to die. In Jesus' name, today is new, I am new, as I pray. Amen.