Tuesday, December 10, 2024 - Advent Devotion
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Redner & Brooks
O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight
“I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.”
Do you know anybody who is a natural at something?
How nice it would be to be naturally good at things. Most things for most people take lots of practice, lots of hard work.
Musicians, athletes, artists, students - the good ones all spend time at their craft.
To be a disciple, to be a student of Christ, to be a follower of The One who will return, takes some work.
As Paul writes though, `The One who has begun a good work in us will bring it to completion by the day, by the return, of Christ.’ No one is a natural at this. If we were, we would not need Jesus.
As we get ready for Christmas, as we try to do the best we can to get ready for Christ, let us trust The One who made ready the whole little town of Bethlehem will make us ready. God is best at making us ready, best at completing all He has begun, best at blessing us with grace while we wait for Christ's return, best at forgiving sin far as the curse is found, best at making heaven and nature sing! God is a natural at all of this!
Let us pray: Good and perfect God, make us ready to be the best disciples we can be. Give us grace to be faithful to the work you have begun in us as we get ready for Christmas and for your promised return. Through your grace, as you made ready that little town of Bethlehem, make us ready to be confident of this, that you have begun a good work in us, that you have begun a good work in all creation, that you will make us and all things far as the curse is found, ready for the day of Jesus Christ. Amen.
