Devotionals

​“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”  2 Corinthians 9:15His life is matchless,and His goodness is limitless.His mercy is enough,and His grace is sufficient.His reign is righteous,His yoke is easy,and His burden is light.He is indestructible.He is indescribable.He is incomprehensible.He is inescapable.He is invincible.He is irresistible.He is irrefutable.He is your Lord, your Saviour, your Jesus!O come, let us adore Him!Venite adoremus!Merry Christmas, my friends.Thank you for joining me on

PoetryTake a deep breath. It is the eve of Christmas.We don’t often take time to read poetry.  I love knowing that we are called God’s poema (in Ephesians 2:10 it’s translated as handiwork, workmanship, masterpiece). I love knowing that we are like a poem crafted by the Supreme Everlasting Almighty Loving and Holy Poet.Take some time to read this beautiful poem aloud (poetry is meant to be read aloud, you

From Father Thomas McKenzie . . .Outsider“Christ was always an outsider. Though he is the Son of God and the King of the Universe, he was born to a lowly couple.  As John’s Gospel says 'he came to that which was his own, but his own people did not receive him.' (John 1:1)Among the AnimalsHe was such an outcast that he wasn’t even born in a room fit for humans. Rather,

From Rachel Held Evans . . .“The language of the prophets was on the minds and lips of Mary, Zechariah, Simeon, and John the Baptist as they prepared for the arrival of Jesus.  John the Baptist'Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low,' announces John the Baptist, preaching from Isaiah. 'The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth and all people will see God’s

The Call of AbrahamFrom N.T. (Tom) Wright . . .“In Advent, we think our way back to the ancient people of God, to the call of Abraham and his family as the start of God’s rescue operation for a world in ruins and a human race in chaos. We follow the story of Israel’s hope, a hope that refused to die no matter what terrible things happened; a hope that

From John Piper . . .“Have you ever felt, like me, little and insignificant in a world of seven billion people, where all the news is of big political and economic and social movements and of outstanding people with lots of power and prestige?If you have, don’t let that make you disheartened or unhappy. For it is implicit in Scripture that all the mammoth political forces and all the giant

​A Christmas CarolFrom Johann Arnold . . .“In Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, the bitter old accountant Scrooge provides a memorable illustration . . .Having closed himself to human kindness, he lives in a universe so calculating and cold that no one escapes his suspicion. Before long he begins to despise himself and look for a way out of his misery. But he cannot find one.He is trapped — trapped in

Shoe Shine BoyFinal thoughts from Brennan Manning . . .“In 1980, the day before Christmas, Richard Ballenger’s mother in Anderson, South Carolina, was busy wrapping packages and asked her young son to shine her shoes. Soon, with the proud smile that only a seven-year-old can muster, he presented the shoes for inspection. His mother was so pleased, she gave him a quarter. I Done It For LoveOn Christmas morning as she

​Anchored in the RockMore from Brennan Manning . . .“When we accept the truth of ourselves — shipwrecked and saved — our lives are henceforth anchored in the Rock who is Christ, not in the shifting sand of our fickle feelings . . .When we are in right relationship with Jesus, we are in the peace of Christ . . .When things are plain and ordinary, when we live on

What do you want for Christmas?More from Brennan Manning . . ."I wonder if we were to stop people at random on the street on December 24 and ask them what they want most for Christmas, how many would say: 'I want to see Jesus?' . . .I believe the single most important consideration during the sacred season of Advent is intensity of desire.Paraphrasing Rabbi Abraham Heschel, 'Jesus Christ is