Advent Devotions, Week Four, Devo 4

DEVOTION 4
COLOSSIANS 1:12-23

Look and see what Jesus has done! In these verses, Paul declares who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. As we have studied the first and second coming of Christ, we now see the entire mystery put together. These verses testify to Jesus being fully God as the first-born Son, and having everything- including the creation of the world under His authority. Not only is Jesus exactly like God, but it says here that God was happy to live fully inside His Son in order to then become the perfect sacrifice over all sin that
separates us from God. God was pleased for Jesus to make peace between God and us by sacrificing his blood on the cross. And why was God happy to offer Himself as a sacrifice for us through His beloved Son Jesus?

“So that all beings on heaven and on earth would be brought back to God.” (Vs. 20)

I think it would be safe to say that God misses us and is willing to go to extreme lengths to get us back!

How far are you willing to go to be close to God? How far away are you from the One who has sacrificed Himself to get you back? Take a moment to reflect on what you can do to dwell with Him more closely. He has given up everything to dwell with you; perhaps you can give up what is keeping you from being close to Him? God’s presence in our hearts and in our daily lives is the best present we will ever receive!
-Marilyn Williams
© Safe Harbor Ministries, Inc.
Marilyn Williams
Ministry of the Word
December 24, 2009
www.marilynwilliams.com

Advent Devotions, Week Four, Devo 4

DEVOTION 4
COLOSSIANS 1:12-23

Look and see what Jesus has done! In these verses, Paul declares who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. As we have studied the first and second coming of Christ, we now see the entire mystery put together. These verses testify to Jesus being fully God as the first-born Son, and having everything- including the creation of the world under His authority. Not only is Jesus exactly like God, but it says here that God was happy to live fully inside His Son in order to then become the perfect sacrifice over all sin that
separates us from God. God was pleased for Jesus to make peace between God and us by sacrificing his blood on the cross. And why was God happy to offer Himself as a sacrifice for us through His beloved Son Jesus? “So that all beings on heaven and on earth would be brought back to God.” (Vs. 20) I think it would be safe to say that God misses us and is willing to go to extreme lengths to get us back!

How far are you willing to go to be close to God? How far away are you from the One who has sacrificed Himself to get you back? Take a moment to reflect on what you can do to dwell with Him more closely. He has given up everything to dwell with you; perhaps you can give up what is keeping you from being close to Him? God’s presence in our hearts and in our daily lives is the best present we will ever receive!
-Marilyn Williams
© Safe Harbor Ministries, Inc
Marilyn Williams, Ministry of the Word
December 23, 2009
www.marilynwilliams.com

Advent Devotions, Week 4, Devo 3

DEVOTION 3
REVELATION 22: 12-21

Jesus is coming again! It is so easy to get distracted with our daily lives and forget what is coming! As we prepare for this Christmas season, let us not only prepare our hearts for Christmas day, but an even greater day, Judgment Day! He came once as a baby, but He will return as a conqueror! A star led His arrival, but the light of His glory will reveal His return! There was no room for Him in the inn, but the world will not be big enough for His coming appearance! Wise Men brought worldly gifts to honor Him, but He will bring heavenly treasures to reward His faithful! He had only a few visitors at His birth; but the entire world will see Him when He returns as “The First and The Last” and “The Beginning and The End!”

-Marilyn Williams
© Safe Harbor Ministries, Inc.
Marilyn Williams
Ministry of the Word
December 22, 2009
http://www.marilynwilliams.com/

Advent Devotions, Week Four, Devo 2

DEVOTION 2REVELATION 1:17-18
Whom shall we live for? No other, beside Jesus, has the final say in our lives! Jesus holds the key to where we will spend eternity. He has been given all authority and all power over heaven and hell. Why not give Him complete authority over our lives as well? As we surrender our lives to Him with each new day, we will begin to experience this same awesome power over the smallest and the largest of details in our lives. What greater reason to celebrate this Christmas season than the gift of God in our everyday lives through His Son Jesus Christ! -Marilyn Williams
Copyright: Safe Harbor Ministries, Inc.Marilyn Williams, Ministry of the WordDecember 21, 09http://www.marilynwilliams.com/

Advent Devotions, Week Four Intro and Devo 1

THE JESUS CANDLE
Reflections of Him…

Once again, be sure to light the three previous candles before you light the fourth candle. Repeat each candle’s name and significance as you light each candle. You are now ready to light the fourth candle of the Advent Season, the Jesus Candle.

WEEK FOUR INTRODUCTION

Depending on what day of the week Christmas falls on each year, your fourth week will bring a different number of days to complete this fourth candle. Some years you will do all seven, other years you may only have a couple of days before Christmas hits. You can simply do the devotions each year affords, or you can continue finishing past Christmas to complete the week. Either way, I hope and pray you are blessed by keeping your focus on Jesus throughout this chaotic, yet holy time of year.

ONE SOLITARY LIFE

He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman.
He grew up in another village.
He worked in a carpenter shop until he was thirty, and then for three years he was an itinerant preacher.
He never wrote a book.
He never held an office.
He never owned a home.
He never had a family.
He never went to college.
He never traveled more than two hundred miles from the place where he was born.
He never did any of the things that usually accompany greatness.
He had no credentials but himself.
While He was still a young man, the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away.
He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial.
He was nailed to the cross between two thieves.

While he was dying, his executioners gambled for the only piece of property he had on earth, and that was his coat. When He was dead, He laid in a borrowed grave through the kindness of a friend. Nearly twenty centuries have come and gone, and today He is still the central figure of the human race and the leader of mankind’s progress.

(Anonymous)
DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR WEEK FOUR

DEVOTION 1
REVELATION 1:4-8

Jesus is defined here as the fulfillment of everything that was said about the coming Messiah in the Old Testament; therefore, we can securely and confidently put our hope in this same Jesus to fulfill all of the Bible’s future prophecies and promises. When everything in our life is uncertain, we can turn to the final chapter of God’s plan for mankind: the book of Revelation! When you don’t know what to hope in or who to trust in, look to the One who is Lord over the past the present, and the future! What a gift
He is to us: He is both the giver and the gift!
-Marilyn Williams

© Safe Harbor Ministries, Inc.
Marilyn Williams
Ministry of the Word
December 20, 2009
www.marilynwilliams.com

Advent Devotions, Week Three, Devo 6 & 7

DEVOTION 6
PSALM 145

As followers of Jesus Christ, we have so much to celebrate! There are so many reasons to give praises to our God! Psalm 145 is one big celebration of our Lord!

Verse 1 tells us our God is the King and we will have all of eternity to praise His name!
Verse 3 declares that He is worthy of our praise and no one could ever compare with His greatness!
Verse 5 tells us His works are wonderful and we should meditate on them!
Verse 7& 9 describe that His mighty works will be remembered forever throughout one generation after another!
Verse 8 shows us how gracious, compassionate, and rich in love is our God!
Verse 13 records that His kingdom is everlasting, His reign is over every generation; and, at the same time, He is faithful in His love for His people!
Verses 14-16 express His heart for the humble and the hurting, as well as His hand that provides for and satisfies every living thing!
Verses 17 & 19 declare Him to be a perfect balance between justice and love!
Verse 18 is the most miraculous; yet it tells us that He is near and listening to our cries!
And verse 2 & 21 direct us in how to respond to such a God as ours: PRAISE HIM EVERY DAY, FOR ALL ETERNITY!

DEVOTION 7
PROVERBS 12:20; PROVERBS 15:30

Proverbs 12:20 informs us that by spreading peace, we can increase our joy! Take a moment to think on ways you can spread peace to the little corner of the world God has assigned you. Start first with your attitude toward the people you live with. Are you doing your part to make your home a place of peace, not strife? How about at your work or in your school? Do you see opportunities to reconcile people to one another? Instead of spreading dissension through gossip—envy—or competition, are you spreading peace through integrity—forgiveness—and unconditional love? Look for opportunities to wear Jesus’ shoes of peace in a world of uncertainty and chaos.

Proverbs 15:30 further instructs us on how to bring joy to others. It is truly amazing how far a smile can go in a person’s day! As we wear Jesus’ shoes of peace and as we simply pass on even just a tiny bit of the joy we are given, we will soon discover that the joy of the Lord is an endless supply of strength in our lives and in the lives of those around us!
-Marilyn Williams
© Safe Harbor Ministries, Inc.
December 19, 2009
Marilyn Williams
Ministry of the Word
http://www.marilynwilliams.com/

Advent Devotions, Week Three, Devo 5

DEVOTION 5
1 PETER 2:9-10

We, who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior from the penalty of spiritual death for our sins, are called to show others the same mercies we have received from God. We are not only chosen by God to receive His mercies, but also to declare the praises of Him who has called us out of spiritual darkness and into His glorious light! Take a moment to consider how you can use this Christmas Season as an opportunity to declare His praises to the world around you. Think of who you can invite to your next Advent Devotional time as a fun and natural way to introduce them to God’s mercies that
have changed the course of your life forever!
Marilyn Williams

© Safe Harbor Ministries, Inc.
December 16, 09
Marilyn Williams
Ministry of the Word
http://www.marilynwilliams.com/