Yesterday marked the beginning of the Advent season in many Christian churches. I realize not every church celebrates Advent and this blog isn’t going to be a persuasive essay about whether or not to celebrate Advent.

But for me the Advent season is a time of reflection and hope. It is a reminder for me to slow down and spend some quiet time thinking about how awesome Christmas really is! Now, Christmas is great for many reasons–the quality time with family, the food, the music, the television specials, the movies, the lights, and the gift giving to name just a few. But it is AWESOME because of what Christmas really means–God sending His Son to become flesh and blood like us to save us from our sins.

Do we really realize just how awesome this is?! Do we realize that because Love came down we now have answers to the questions, “Can this broken world REALLY be healed?” and “Can I ever be redeemed?”

Your challenge for the weeks leading up to Christmas is to find time to contemplate the amazing gift that Jesus is. How can you do that? Well, there are many Advent devotionals out there to choose from. If you are looking to go the free route, I know that if you have the Bible App, they offer many different free devotionals that only take a minute to sign up for.

You didn’t ask, but in case you are wondering what my favorite devotionals are for this season here they are. I have many that I pick and choose from. John Stonestreet and T.M. Moore from the Colson Center have an excellent resource that includes a DVD and a study guide called “He Has Come” that includes a CD by Michael Card titled, “The Promise: A Celebration of Christ’s Birth”. I also use a devotional that our church publishes each year that includes devotional thoughts from members of our congregation. My other two favorites over the years are “Celebrating Christmas with Jesus” by Max Lucado and “The Glory of Christmas” which includes writings from Max Lucado, Chuck Swindoll, Anne Graham Lotz, and Henry and Richard Blackaby.

The most important thing to remember is that what resource you use is not nearly as important as it is to spend time with your Lord and Savior and let Him examine your heart, soul, and mind so that you can love Him more and love others more.

More to come…
Jeremy