Advent Week 3 Devotionals
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This is the third week of Advent. If you are using traditional candle colors, you will light the rose colored candle in addition to the other two candles this week. Christmas draws near, and we are Joyful.
Remember the story Pollyanna, and how the “glad verses” changed a whole town? This week we are looking at glad verses, and remembering that Jesus changes lives.
For most of this week, I haven’t added commentary because the joy of the Bible says it far better than I can.
photo: Joep Roosen CC-BY-ND
Day 1 (Sunday)
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-7
Right now, we are living in very frightening times. Last week started with news that my in-laws had been robbed at gunpoint. The chaos and evil of the week continued with news of the shootings in Colorado at Youth With A Mission and in a church.
When I heard about the shootings, my first reaction was, “Jesus has to come back soon. How much longer can he wait?”
All around us, we see darkness, chaos, and evil running rampant, and without Jesus, it would be cause for anxiety. The opposite of joy is not sadness, and joy is not the same as happiness. Joy is based on more than passing feelings, it is based on the hope and confidence that we have in the Lord. You cannot be joyful and anxious.
After the robbery, My In-laws said, “We are just so thankful that nothing was lost that cannot be replaced, and I finally understand what it means, ‘the peace that passes all understanding.’”
As you light the third candle this week, pray for those who are living in the darkness. Let the one unlit candle be a reminder that there is darkness, but look at the joy of the three candles giving off light and be reminded that the Light has already overcome the darkness.
Day 2 (Monday)
Sing, O Daughter of Zion;
shout aloud, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O Daughter of Jerusalem!The LORD has taken away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.On that day they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing.”“The sorrows for the appointed feasts
I will remove from you;
they are a burden and a reproach to you.Zephaniah 3:14-18
Right now, we should be rejoicing. God dwells inside of us, and evil is already defeated! We have this promise. Be Glad! Rejoice with all your heart! God has made us a promise!
We have studied for the last two weeks, how God has kept his promises throughout the Bible. When we look at what He has done already, we see evidence of God’s faithfulness. We can have joy in knowing that he will continue to be faithful to His promises. All the prophecies will be fulfilled. Rejoice because light has overcome the darkness of your own heart!
Day 3 (Tuesday)
The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendor of our God.Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.”Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not journey on it;
it will be for those who walk in that Way;
wicked fools will not go about on it.No lion will be there,
nor will any ferocious beast get up on it;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,and the ransomed of the LORD will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.Isaiah 35:1-10
Day 4 (Wednesday)
When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion,
we were like men who dreamed.
Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy.Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like streams in the Negev.Those who sow in tears
will reap with songs of joy.He who goes out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with him.Psalm 126
photo: Jean Lemoine CC-By-SA
Day 5 (Thursday)
Mary’s Song
And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers.”Luke 11:46-55
Day 6 (Friday)
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Luke 2: 8-20
Day 7 (Saturday)
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:1-9
Rejoice in the Lord Always! Again I say it: rejoice!