December 18: Isaiah 53:11 / 2 Corinthians 5:21

When a child is born, most parents can’t help but dream a little. They imagine what their child might become — maybe a professional athlete, a caring parent, or someone who carries on a family tradition. Above all, they hope for a healthy life filled with love and joy.

God’s plan for His Son looked very different. He knew Jesus’ life would be marked by poverty, hardship, persecution, and even death on a cross. And yet, in that short, difficult life, Jesus showed us what it truly means to live faithfully and righteously.

At every hard moment, He could have taken an easier path. No one would have blamed Him. But He didn’t. He gave Himself fully, body and blood, so that God’s plan of salvation could be complete. In doing so, He not only forgave our sins, but He also gave us an example of how to live in right relationship with God.

This Advent, as we picture the baby Jesus in the manger, we can celebrate not just His birth, but the life He was born to live. And as we look at our own children, grandchildren, or loved ones, we can dream — not just about their future successes, but about the possibility of them growing up to follow Jesus, faithfully and joyfully.

Most of all, we can rejoice in the hope that through Christ, we will one day be together with all those we love forever in God’s Kingdom.

Pastor JoAnn Meyer
Sturgeon Bay United Methodist



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction to Advent Devotional 2025

  Introduction Advent ( from the Latin  adventus , meaning   "coming")  begins on the 4th Sunday before Christmas Day, and is often considered a season of anticipation and hope. For many Christians it is not just about waiting for a Savior to be born, but also looking to a time when the Christ will come again, in power and with authority. The traditional emphases for this season are on both the First and Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and our accountability for faithfulness. Are you looking ahead to the return of Christ? Think about those who were eager for Messiah to come into the world the first time around! The Scriptures are filled with words like “watch”, “observe”, “guard”, and “keep.” They speak of faithful vigilance to the fulfillment of Divine promises. This is a season that calls us to lean into our waiting, excited for the Word of God to speak to our hearts once again. The theme:  In Days of Old, In Various Ways...God Spoke Each devotion will focus on...
Read more

November 30: Isaiah 6:1-5 / John 12:39-41

Image
In life sometimes we don’t see things by no fault of our own. Sometimes we don’t see things because we don’t want to. And being human, sometimes we see things and yet we do not respond or act the way we should. In John 12 we are told that even though Jesus had performed many miracles people continued to not believe in him. The Gospel writer attributes this to a prophecy of Isaiah long ago. He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts. Isaiah, in his calling to be a prophet, was shown things by God that he really didn’t want to see. Isaiah went on to do what God asked of him but in his initial reaction to this revelation he declared, “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty. The Gospel writer John references the prophecy of Isaiah as why pe...
Read more