Daily Dose For December 19

Memory Verse; He (Jesus) is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17 

Isaiah 34-35, Proverbs 15:30-33

“This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” - Luke 2:12

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 2:20

“In this day, this season, miracles will grow within, unfurl, bear fruit. And the heart that makes time and space for Him to come will be a glorious place. A place of sheer, radiant defiance in the face of a world careening mad and stressed. Because each day of Advent, we will actively wait. We will wait knowing that the remaking of everything has already begun.” - Ann Voskamp, The Greatest Gift

Father, We praise You for giving us signs and wonders! For communicating to us through prayer and miracles. Help us to see your hand in this world, Father. You are always with us, guiding us, providing for us, and embracing us in your perfect love. We are the ones who get sidetracked by life and it’s distracting circumstances. May we stay focused on you intently this Advent season and beyond, knowing and trusting in Your work in our lives. Help us see the everyday miracles of your presence and provision in our lives.  In Jesus’ Name,  Amen. (https://www.ibelieve.com/holidays/family-prayers-to-pray-each-day-of-advent.html)

Daily Dose For December 18

Memory Verse; He (Jesus) is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17 

Isaiah 32-33, Proverbs 15:1-29

“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.” - Luke 2:10-11

The angel echoed Isaiah 43:11: “I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.” 

Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are.  Marianne Williamson

Father, Fill our hearts with the truth of the angel’s words. Because of Jesus, as believers we never have to be apart from you again. Thank you for giving us the gift of your Son. Jesus, thank You for taking on all of our sin by way of the cross. Thank you for walking the earth so you could understand how we feel, and comfort us the way no one else can. You truly are, a joy for all people. Let us not forget the joy and peace you give us through our salvation. Don’t let the weight of this world and the everyday stress of life cause us to forget it… or you.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.   (https://www.ibelieve.com/holidays/family-prayers-to-pray-each-day-of-advent.html)

Daily Dose For December 17

Memory Verse; He (Jesus) is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17 

Isaiah 30-31, Proverbs 14

“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid.’” - Luke 2:10

The fear the shepherds felt was the same fear that struck Zechariah when the angel visited him. God’s holiness creates a reaction of awe when we are in the presence of his glory.

"For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child himself." Charles Dickens

Father,

Many times, you tell us not to be afraid. Help us to understand the difference between fear of the things of this world, and fear in respectful awe of you. We want to fear you, God, meaning to be in awe of who you are and your love for us. Remind us that other things threatening to scare us will pass away. You promise to defend us, provide for us, and love us eternally. Jesus’ birth on earth and death on the cross is the greatest expression of your love for us. This Advent, let us be in awe of the plan you put in place to save us from our sin. A baby, born in a manger. your Son. Jesus Christ.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.  (https://www.ibelieve.com/holidays/family-prayers-to-pray-each-day-of-advent.html)

Daily Dose For December 16

Memory Verse; He (Jesus) is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17 

Isaiah 28-29, Proverbs 13

“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.” - Luke 2:8-9

“Shepherd” was not a glamorous job. Shepherds were dirty and smelly from tending their sheep, and a lower class in society. Yet the angel appeared to them! Who in your communities are the ones who are looked down on, to whom the glorious good news might have come to today?

God has entrusted us with his most precious treasure - people. He asks us to shepherd and mold them into strong disciples, with brave faith and good character.  John Ortberg

Father, 

The care and compassion to allow shepherds, who were not looked upon very highly in their day, to witness an angel and Your glory, teaches us You value all of us no matter what we do and how looked down upon we may be. This Advent season, open our eyes to see the “shepherds” in our lives and communities, and to love them as we would any other. Create in us hearts of compassion, and like the shepherds, hearts filled with awe of who you are. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.(https://www.ibelieve.com/holidays/family-prayers-to-pray-each-day-of-advent.html)

Daily Dose For December 15

Memory Verse; He (Jesus) is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17 

Isaiah 26-27, Proverbs 12

“While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloth and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” - Luke 2: 6-7 

The simplicity of Jesus’ birth circumstances tells us a lot about Him. He didn’t come into this world in a palace, but in a stable …some say a cave used as a stable. 

“Into this world, this demented inn, in which there is absolutely no room for him at all, Christ comes uninvited. But because he cannot be at home in it, because he is out of place in it, and yet he must be in it, his place is with those others for whom there is no room. His place is with those who do not belong, who are rejected by power because they are regarded as weak, those who are discredited, who are denied the status of persons, tortured, exterminated. With those for whom there is no room, Christ is present in this world. He is mysteriously present in those for whom there seems to be nothing but the world at its worst.”

Thomas Merton, “The Time of the End Is the Time of No Room” in Raids on the Unspeakable, pages 51-52

Father,

Praise, glory and hallelujah for the birth of Christ our King! Help us to learn from the humble circumstances Jesus was born unto on earth. The lack of room for Mary and Joseph did not delay You from coming to earth to be with us. Immanuel means, “God with us.” You are a God of purpose, intention and perfect timing. Allow us to discover who you are through the birth of Jesus.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen. (https://www.ibelieve.com/holidays/family-prayers-to-pray-each-day-of-advent.html)

Daily Dose For December 14

Memory Verse; He (Jesus) is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17 

Isaiah 24-25, Proverbs 11

“So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.” - Luke 2:4

Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem for a census decreed by Caesar for the entire Roman Empire, however, their location fulfilled Isaiah 9:7, “He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom …”

“Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.” —Anne Frank.

Father,

Every part of Christ’s birth story reflects a prophecy fulfilled. The faithfulness of Joseph and Mary is inspiring, and we pray to be obedient as they were. Life didn’t stop for them because You chose them for this important mission. They still had to go to Bethlehem for the census decreed by Caesar. But God, your purposes were greater, then and now. Help us to remember, when life is unfair and hard, you are still at work in our lives. And nothing can stop the work You have started.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.  (https://www.ibelieve.com/holidays/family-prayers-to-pray-each-day-of-advent.html)

Daily Dose For December 13

Memory Verse; He (Jesus) is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17 

Isaiah 21-23, Proverbs 10

Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” - Matthew 1:20-21

Joseph didn’t want to embarrass Mary, but he did not believe her at first and was still planning on divorcing her quietly before the angel visited him. 

The proper response, as Hanukkah teaches, is not to curse the darkness but to light a candle.” —Rabbi Irving Greenberg.

Father, 

We remember Joseph today, and realize in a new way what courage it must have taken him to marry Mary! He didn’t believe her at first, Father, and nor do we believe people who are speaking truth to us sometimes. As the angel visited Joseph to clarify the truth and assure him the child was from the Holy Spirit, we pray to be able to hear Your voice clearly through whomever you choose to speak through in our lives. As we follow Christ in our daily lives, we pray to be obedient to you. In Jesus ‘ Name, Amen.

(https://www.ibelieve.com/holidays/family-prayers-to-pray-each-day-of-advent.html)