ADVENT DEVOTION - Christmas Eve, 2021

December 24, 2021

Micah 5:2 NIV
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

700 years. Let that sink in. 700 years. After the above verse was written, there were 700 years before it was fulfilled in a manger in Bethlehem. The prophet not only foretold of the Messiah, but named His birthplace, and even gave the size of the town. Seems about the only thing left was him signing Messiah's name on the parchment birth certificate (if they did such a thing in those days).

So why this small little town? Why not Jerusalem? It seems a much better birthplace for a King! To understand better, look here:

Micah 4:8 NIV
As for you, watchtower of the flock, stronghold of Daughter Zion, the former dominion will be restored to you…

Ever paid attention to the words “watchtower of the flock?” If you’re like me, the answer would be, “No.” So what does it mean? Migdal Eder, the Tower of the Flock, was where the lambs set aside for temple sacrifices were raised. This was the place where shepherds kept “watch over their flocks," whether by day or night. And the population of both man and lamb there was incredibly dense! One lamb was needed for every household to sacrifice for atonement of sins for the year. With a population of about 5 million people in the area, that would mean no less than about 250,000 lambs would be needed. That’s 250,000 FIRSTBORN lambs. Actually, 250,000 firstborn UNBLEMISHED lambs. That’s not even counting their wooly brothers and sisters. A dense population, indeed.

Every firstborn male lamb was considered holy and was set aside for temple sacrifice. They would be wrapped tightly in strips of cloth that swaddled them—holding them tightly preventing much movement while laying in a manger and being examined for blemishes. When it was time, the shepherds watching over these lambs would select the firstborns with no spot or blemish and take them to Jerusalem to be purchased by families for temple sacrifice.

Starting to see why Bethlehem?

So when a “multitude of heavenly hosts” appeared to some of these sacrificial lamb shepherds and told of good news that meant peace and good will to all men, they also mentioned that the shepherds would find this Baby "wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." Immediately, the shepherds, whose lives were centered around being willing to give their own to protect these precious temple sacrificial lambs, knew exactly where to find the Lamb of God lying in that manger: Migdal Eder in Bethlehem, the Tower of the Flock.

Thirty years later, Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist, pointed to Jesus as He approached and proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” In doing so, John pointed back to His birth in a manger, and forward to His redeeming death on a cross. Tonight we join John in a similar mission. Only tonight, we point back to the Lamb of God, born in a manger and Who sacrificed His life in our place, but we also point forward to this same Jesus who will come again as the Lion of Judah and receive those who trust in Him to Himself forever and ever. Behold, the Lion and the Lamb!

Merry Christmas.

Jesus, how do we say thank You? How can the purchased show proper appreciation to the Purchaser who paid a price much higher than the appraised value of what He bought? Yet tonight, that is exactly the place in which we find ourselves. If You had been born in Jerusalem, the rightful place of a king, You might seem unreachable. Yet Your wisdom brought You to be born in Bethlehem; a place that is among the lowly such as we. Welcome into our lives—in our homes—this Christmas. Tonight, we remember Your birth. We celebrate Your first advent. We celebrate Your coming second advent. We celebrate You. We love You, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Pastor Kevin

December 19, 2021

Isaiah 9:6 NIV

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Michelle and I recently enjoyed a week of vacation together in Myrtle Beach. You may ask, “Why would you go to the beach in November? The water is too cold.” Understand, getting in water where we cannot see who or what is swimming around me is not why we like the beach. 

For us, we enjoyed the mornings with the sliding glass door open on the 14th floor overlooking the ocean, the shimmer on the water, the breeze blowing, and sitting on the balcony in 70° weather with a cup of coffee in one hand while holding each other’s hand in the other. It was so…well…peaceful. 

Have you ever noticed the things about creation that most people find peaceful? It’s usually the ocean, the mountains, the lake, fresh air, trees, and the like. Ever wondered WHY we find these things to be peaceful? Now I know these aren’t an exhaustive list, but I’d like to propose a possible answer.

In Genesis, God gave man dominion over fish, birds, livestock, wild animals, and creatures that move along the ground. He also gave animals and every seed-bearing plant or tree for food. When sin entered the world through Adam and Eve’s decision, these things over which they had dominion were corrupted. What wasn’t corrupted because it was outside their dominion purview? Water, air, rocks (mountains), and non seed-bearing trees; the things in which we find peace. Could it be we find peace in these things because they are closest to the perfect way in which God created them?

The closer we are to God, the more at peace we will be. That’s why Jesus came. God wanted us to be at perfect peace. We could not achieve that without His intervention. So Jesus stepped in so that He could be the bridge between our sinful nature and God’s perfect peace. Let’s thank Him for this beautiful gift. 

Lord, thank You that in a world of unrest and uncertainty, we can find peace in You, our Prince of Peace. As I continue to draw closer to You and You to me, may I be an ambassador of Your peace to those around me. May they see You in me in my words and actions. Help me to represent You rightly every day I live until the day I rest in Your arms and experience perfect peace for eternity. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Pastor Kevin

December 12, 2021

Luke 2:10-11 NIV

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord."

In more than one culture in our world there are gifts that when opened, there will be a smaller gift, then a smaller one, then another smaller still until after you’ve peeled back the layers of the “onion,” you finally reach the treasure held in the belly of the gift-wrapped beast. It’s been my experience that my relationship with Jesus (and His Word, the Bible) is much the same way. And just when I believe I’ve found the treasure, another word opens up and leads me deeper still.

I don’t want to minimize my Lord by comparing His words to me to a layered vegetable that makes you cry, but God has indeed made an art form of being layered. Advent is no exception. Just taking the first three themes we have celebrated that Christ has brought (hope, love, and now joy), you must ask yourself, can one feel loved without hope? Can feeling loved come without the promise of joy? Can you have the promise of joy without having hope? No! They are concentric circles of promise; concentric circles with a star-lit manger in Bethlehem at their center.

Joy and happiness are different. We use them interchangeably, but they aren’t. Happiness is temporal and is dependent on circumstance. Joy is eternal and has circumstance largely dependent on it! It’s not that we will always have a warm fuzzy FEELING of being happy.

So what is the joy of the Lord? His promises. His Word tells us that, “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” (Psalm 30:5b) That’s a promise! Joy was wrapped in a PROMISED Messiah. The angels announced the “good news of great joy” to shepherds two thousand years ago. They knew who the Messiah was. He had been promised for centuries!

Today, we, too, live in joy because we have a promise. It is backed by the same word that delivered on its promise the first time and has now been layered by being guaranteed by the blood of the Answer to that first promise. One day soon, it will be layered again when we are caught up with Him as His Bride, then again as we return with Him to reign for a thousand years, then again as we live with Him in eternity forever and ever.

The joy of the Lord is in the fact that He who promised is faithful to deliver. And just as He delivered us on the cross of Calvary as our promised Messiah, He will deliver us again as our promised soon-coming King!

There’s Gonna Be Joy

There’s gonna be joy like an ocean

Joy overflowing

Joy that’s filling everyday

‘Cause Jesus keeps on bringing the song that I’m singing

No matter what comes my way

He’s good when life is good

When it’s hard He’s even better

Whatever, there’s gonna be joy

(Excerpt There’s Gonna Be Joy by Kevin Pledger, Sue C. Smith and Brad Steele)

Father, You have said that in this life, there WILL be trouble and trials. So when these things come and rob me of momentary happiness, help me to look past the weeping filling tonight to the joy that will come with the morning. In this I declare my trust, that You are good no matter my circumstance. So I will rest in the promise that You will even make this thing that brings weeping into something that will be for Your glory and my good because You are good and only goodness comes from Your hand because of Jesus. So I will walk in joy. I will sing in joy. I will talk in joy. I will live in joy! In Jesus’ name, amen.

Pastor Kevin

December 5, 2021

John 3:16 NIV

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

It’s the most famous Bible verse that exists today. It’s on bumper stickers, coffee cups, social media profile pictures, computer desktops, seemingly every end zone of every football game, and is highlighted in most Christians’ Bibles around the world. It’s a short verse with an eternal impact. 26 words (in the translation above) that have changed history. “For God so loved…”

To understand the enormity of the weight of this verse, we need to understand the enormity of the weight of our God. I’m not talking about a physical weight measured on a scale dependent on earth’s gravitational pull, but rather a weight measured in importance and significance. Sit back for a moment and just ponder the immense implication that the God of the universe would even take time away from spinning planets and naming stars to even know who we are, being so small in comparison, much less…love us. Yet, we, as Christians, believe and know that He does, right? Our hope that we mentioned last week is based on this very fact.

No word is in Scripture by accident. None is there just as a filler. Yet, how many times do we breeze right past the small words in search of the larger ones thinking they may carry the significance we crave? Chances are that you have been guilty in this verse. After all, how could two letters form such significance that the cosmos would shift so that a star could appear over another little thing of seemingly little significance: a manger. But that’s exactly what the small word, “so,” did. “For God SO loved…”

His love for us little people was no little thing to Him. He loved BIG! He so loved. “So” meant that His Son, Jesus, had to die. “So” meant that His heart would break worse than at any time in eternity. “So” meant that the Eternal must become a fleshy Temporal to defeat that which would rob Him of the only thing that was bigger than Him: His love for you.

He came because He so loved. And He will come again for the very same reason one day. Those two letters aren’t “so” little after all.

Father, today we are thankful for Your love. Faith, hope, and love will always remain for eternity, but no wonder You said that the greatest of these is love. We could’ve never reached You if not for “so.” Your love is not small for us. May our love for You never be small in return. We “so” love You, Jesus. We are glad You came. We are gladder still that You are coming again to receive us to Yourself one day soon. Our hope is in You, our God, our King. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Pastor Kevin

November 28, 2021

Isaiah 9:6-7 NIV:
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this."

The first week of Advent focuses us on hope. This first purple candle lit in today’s service is also called the Prophet’s Candle since it was through the words of the prophets, especially Isaiah, that the Israelites found hope in their reminders of a coming Messiah.

One of my favorite movies of all time is The Shawshank Redemption. In it, Andy Dufresne, one of the main characters, is talking to his friend, Red, about a life of freedom. During the conversation, both are incarcerated at Shawshank Prison. Andy says, “Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

Isaiah was speaking of hope. Israel had long been waiting on their promised Messiah. In the middle of tendencies to take their eyes off the prize of their Savior, Isaiah reminds them of what is to come.

While Isaiah’s words in part have been realized, the majority of these verses are yet to come. There is still coming a day when Jesus, the Son born to us, will reign from David’s throne. To the peace that He brings, there will be no end. He will establish and uphold His reign in justice and righteousness forever and ever. Until then, we watch and we wait. We do so being busy working, sharing Jesus with a world that needs His light and love, and being His hands and feet to those whom we know and serve.

At the end of the movie, with promises of a new future, Red remembers Andy’s words to him about hope. We hear his thoughts in a closing monologue: “I find I'm so excited that I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel. A free man at a start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.”

We have an excitement only a free man can feel; a man who is “free indeed.” (John 8:36) The primary difference in Red’s situation and ours as followers of Jesus, is that while his conclusion may have been uncertain, our conclusion is the hope of the glory of God - an eternity in the presence of our Lord. Ours is a confident hope that will not disappoint. (Romans 12:12, Romans 5:5)

And so…we hope.

Father, we observe this first week of Advent, we focus on the hope that Jesus brought, as well as the hope He still will bring. We believe in You. We trust in You. “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” (Psalm 20:7) Thank You for being our Confident Hope! We look to You, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Pastor Kevin