Today's reading describes the ministry of Jesus' cousin John the Baptizer. John's ministry was to go and prepare the people of Israel for the coming of the Messiah. We read that John was preaching a message that the Kingdom of God had arrived and calling people to repentance in order to be a part of this new kingdom.

When people ask John what they must do to enter into God's Kingdom, John gives answers that sound much like the kind of things Jesus would later preach: generosity, fairness, honesty, integrity, and kindness.

But he also indicates that there's more to the Kingdom than simply a list of rules to follow. He says that when the Christ comes, he will "baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." This is the promise: in the new kingdom we will be called to live a lifestyle of holiness unto the Lord. But we will not be expected to accomplish this kind of holiness in our own strength. Jesus will immerse us in and overwhelm us with His Holy Spirit. The Spirit will empower and equip us to live a new Kingdom lifestyle.

Today, pray for a fresh filling and empowering of the Holy Spirit that will enable you to live as a citizen of Christ's glorious kingdom!

Today's scripture is an excerpt from Zechariah's reaction at the miraculous birth of his Son, John. Zechariah, filled with the Spirit, prophesied over His son and about the coming Messiah.

Today's devotional thought is for the parents who are reading this: Zechariah received a word from God and spoke it over his child and over the next generation coming after him. How often do we seek God for a word for our children? How often do we seek God for a prophetic declaration and blessing for our kids?

This week: Find some time to get into the secret place of prayer and ask the Lord to give you a prophetic word for your kids. Allow the Holy Spirit to speak words of blessing, wisdom, knowledge, and provision over your children and grandchildren. Take this opportunity to use your voice to bless the next generation.

Today, we are still in the story about the birth of Jesus' cousin, John the Baptist. Zechariah, John's soon-to-be father, was a priest who worked in the Jerusalem temple. Luke 1 tells us that while Zechariah was in the temple, offering prayers at the altar of incense, he was visited by an angel who told him that even in his wife's advanced age, they would have a son. This son would be the forerunner announcing the arrival of Israel's Messiah.

The altar of incense in the temple represents the place of intercessory prayer. After performing the appropriate rituals and sacrifices, the priest would stand at the altar of incense, just in front of the veil leading into the Most Holy Place. It was here that the priest would offer up prayers on behalf of the people. And as Zechariah the priest prayed for other people, God fulfilled the deepest and most personal desire of Zechariah's own heart.

There is a key truth here about intercessory prayer: As you offer up prayer for others, God sees your own personal needs and desires. As you stand in the gap and lift up prayers to benefit others, God will meet your own needs as well.

Here's the point: Don't grow weary in your prayer life. Don't stop praying for God's blessings on other people's behalf. Make a prayer list and call the names of others before the Lord. As you pray for others in the secret place, God sees your heart and God responds to your faith. 

This scripture is the inspiration behind that famous Christmas carol, "Go Tell It On The Mountain." It reminds us that whenwe receive good news, we want to go out and shout it from the rooftops!

How selfish is it, that often Christians receive the good news of salvation through Christ yet never share it. Out of some sort of anxiety or fear, so many of us refuse to take the Good News we have received and proclaim it to everyone we meet.

Take this as an opportunity today. We have been entrusted with the best news: Christ is born and salvation has come! Go tell somebody!

During the Advent season, we spend a lot of time reading the Hebrew Prophets in the Old Testament and the things they foretold about the coming Messiah. Here, the Apostle Peter is affirming that what God spoke through the prophets of old has come to pass through the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Our theme this month is "Heaven & Nature." Telling the Christmas story with the understanding that when Christ came to live among us Heaven & Nature were joined together. The God of Heaven entered into and lived among human nature, making a way from humanity to be reconciled back to God.

The gifts of the Spirit, including prophecy, are another way that God connects Heaven and nature. Heaven speaks through earthly men and women. The Word of Heaven is delivered through a human voice with a prophetic gift. While we believe that the Bible is the complete and authoritative word of God, we believe that God still can and does speak to and through his people.

Today, ask God to give you a fresh prophetic word for your life and for the lives of those around you. Ask God to speak to you and ask God to speak through you. Through Christ, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to be prophetic voices in this generation. Open your mouth today and speak God's word over yourself and over all those around you.

The God of the Bible is not a distant, removed deity. From the very beginning of human history, our God has been intimately involved with our story. His greatest desire is to dwell within and with His creation.

In Genesis, God walked with Adam & Eve in the cool of the day. He met with Abraham under the Oaks of Mamre. In Exodus He spoke with Moses face to face. He gave Israel plans for the tabernacle/temple so that His presence could dwell with them and among them on a daily basis. And through Jesus, God dwelled among us and lived the human experience alongside us. After Pentecost in Acts 2, God's Spirit dwells with us and within us.

Today, you are not alone. If you are a follower of Christ, then God dwells with you and walks with you everywhere you go. Through every season, every situation, every scenario you His Spirit is with you and will guide you.

God promises that Jesus will always bring light to dark places. In John 1, we read that the light of Jesus can never be overcome by darkness. His light is stronger than any evil force or wicked plan. He promised to break the bonds that our spiritual enemy, Satan, used to keep us trapped and held down. He promised to release us from the prison of our own sin. He promised to be our Mighty God and Everlasting Father.

Isaiah 9 is one of the most famous passages of scripture associated with the Advent Season. It's a reminder of who Christ is and just how wonderful a Savior he proves himself to be.

Make this your prayer today: Jesus, give me wonderful counsel when I need guidance. Jesus show yourself to be mighty and strong in my life when I feel weak. Jesus, be the everlasting Father I need when I feel alone or abandoned. Jesus give me your peace in my heart, my mind, my family, and my home today. Amen.

The word "Bethlehem" in Hebrew literally means, "House of Bread."

Jesus said, "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35).

How fitting that the Bread of Life was born in the city known as the House of Bread. God pays attention to the details. He meticulously meets our needs and works His power in our lives. He leaves no loose ends when He fulfills his plans.

This scripture also promises that God's Messiah will be a great shepherd who rules in strength. This shepherd is good. He takes good care of His sheep. He ensures their safety and their sustenance. He keeps an ever-watchful eye on his flock, ensuring their peace.

Today, remind yourself (your thoughts, your emotions, you fears) that you are fed by the Bread of LIfe and you are protected by the Good Shepherd.

Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, God gave a promise to the people of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah. He promised that a new King would come and restore the throne of King David. This new king would rule in justice and righteousness. He would bring safety and security to God's people.

In Bethlehem, God fulfilled that promise through His Son Jesus. Jesus is a direct descendent of King David through his mother Mary, and through his adopted earthly father, Joseph. In fact, Bethlehem was King David's ancestral hometown. God orchestrated history so that Jesus would be born in the royal bloodline, in the royal city, to inaugurate a new kind of Kingdom.

Throughout the scriptures, we find these incredibly creative ways in which God chooses to fulfill his promises to his people. As you pray today, make Jeremiah 33.14 your prayer: "The days are coming when God will fulfill his promise He made to me and to my house." Our God is faithful to keep every single promise. He is faithful to bring every one of his plans to completion. He rarely fulfills His word in the way we expect. But when He comes through it is always better than we ever imagined.

An often-overlooked part of the Christmas story is the birth of Jesus' cousin who later became known as John the Baptist. John was born to Mary's older cousin Elizabeth. His birth narrative is also a miraculous, Spirit-inspired story. In your own time, go back and read about it in Luke 1.

John was born and destined to become one of God's last prophets before the coming of the Messiah. And his life-assignment was to fulfill Isaiah 40.3-5, to be a voice crying out to the nation of Israel, "be prepared" for the coming of Messiah. For generations, the Hebrew prophets had been envisioning a day when God would send a Savior to ransom His people. But John's assignment was to announce that the day had finally arrived.

Amos 3:7 says, "The Sovereign LORD never does anything without revealing his plan to his servants, the prophets. " In other words, when God is about to do something in the hearts and lives of His people, he always sends a prophetic forerunner to prepare the way. He gives us plenty of opportunity to repent. He gives us plenty of warning before judgement comes. He gives us plenty of time to prepare our hearts for the move of His Spirit in our lives.

Here's something to reflect on today: What is God speaking to His people, His church, today? More specifically, what is God speaking to you personally? How can we prepare ourselves so that we are ready to receive the promises God has given us? What must we do to be ready for God to act in our lives?

One of the greatest titles the scriptures give to Jesus is "Prince of Peace." Hundreds of years before Christ was born, the prophet Isaiah wrote about the day when heaven would meet nature through God's Messiah. On that day, Isaiah envisioned a world of perfect peace and complete unity among God's creation.

Jesus, a natural descendent of King David and the only begotten son of God the Father, will reign on an eternal throne over all of heaven and nature. Even now, as we await the full consummation of his reign, he gives us his peace in our hearts and minds. Today, you can live and walk with the peace of God ruling over your life.

The Apostle Paul puts it this way, "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4.6-7)

May God grant you peace and comfort today and every day.

Imagine for a moment what the world was like before Jesus. There were no hymns about heaven. There were no sermons about resurrection. There was not much hope for an afterlife. Funerals must have been quite different affairs back then.

But thanks be to God, heaven has touched nature through Jesus Christ. Death is no longer a feared enemy but a conquered foe. For believers, death is not final but only a portal through which we pass as we enter into resurrection life.

As we focus our hearts and minds on the story of Christmas, we remember that the arrival of the baby Jesus is the beginning of a whole new world. In this new world, we have hope like was never known before. In this new world there can be joy unspeakable and full of glory. In this new world our faith gives us access to eternal life.

His arrival is always good news.

The scriptures are clear. There will come a day when heaven invades nature and God will establish his eternal kingdom on this earth. For those who are found in Christ, that day is a day of great celebration and thanksgiving. For those who are not found in Christ, that day is a day of grief and turmoil. But, as we noted yesterday, God is patient with us and gives us time to turn to him with hearts of repentance and faith. His greatest desire is that every human being, borne in the image of God, would have restored relationship with him.

Many have rightly taught that the last day when Christ returns will be a great, terrible, and fearful day. While that is technically true it only tells half of the story. The full truth is this: On that day evil will be conquered forever, sin will be defeated and eradicated, suffering will be silenced, sickness will be cast out, and death will be forever arrested. Then, God will restore and recreate the heavens and the earth in "a world filled with God's righteousness."

Friend, we want to be there on that day. And, if we have hidden our lives in Christ, there is nothing to fear. We have already been assigned a place in new creation and we can look forward to that day with great anticipation and joy.

Over the last few days our readings have focused on the surprise and the suddenness of Jesus' arrival in the second advent. But today, our reading deals with those moments when it feels like God is too slow and has waited too long.

At times, it can feel like Christ is running late for his arrival. We see the signs of the times, we see the suffering in the world, we've lived through the "wars and rumors of wars," and it's easy to wonder, "Where is God in all of this?" or "When will God come and fix this?"

In reality, it is because of his great love and mercy that he has not yet returned. He provides ample time and opportunity for the lost to be found and for the wicked to repent. Our God is not easily angered. Instead, he is longsuffering in patience and inexhaustible in mercy.

As the church, we must recognize an important reality. We are not called to waste what time we have. Part of the reason he has not yet returned is because he is giving the church the chance to fulfill the Great Commission and take the gospel to the ends of the earth and to every living soul. While we wait patiently for the Lord to return, we must busy ourselves with the Lord's work.

All of us have experienced a houseguest showing up unexpectedly for a visit. We rush to put away the laundry, get the dishes to the sink, pick up the toys left scattered by the kids, before we go to answer the door. Most of us hate being caught off guard and unprepared.

Jesus gives us a warning: don't be unprepared when the bridegroom comes to get his bride. The story of the ten bridesmaids serves to remind us that we must be prepared for his coming.

There is a great tragedy within the story of Advent. Although the people of Israel had been long awaiting and expecting a Messiah to come when he finally arrived, they were not prepared for him. Their hearts and minds were not prepared to receive the Messiah because they had become so consumed by their own notions of what they thought a Messiah would be. Israel had become so preoccupied with violence, bitterness, and political turmoil that when their King arrived in a manger, they couldn't recognize him for who he was.

This is the challenge to us as we await his second advent: We must keep our "lamps full of oil and our wicks trimmed." In other words, we must be filled with the Spirit and burning bright with the light of Jesus so that we will be prepared to receive him when he comes. 

One of the highlights of the holidays is the chance to get to see loved ones who we haven't seen in a while. As Christmas approaches the airports, bus stations, and train stations will be buzzing with traffic as people return home for the holidays. Families will wait at the gate ready to greet the long-anticipated arrival of a son, daughter, mother, or father. If you've been a part of one of these reunions, or witnessed one, you know the excitement and joy everyone feels when that beloved one finally arrives.

This is what Advent is all about. We simultaneously celebrate the first coming of Jesus in a humble stable in Bethlehem and we look forward with great anticipation to the promise second coming of Jesus on a cloud of glory to establish his reign here on earth as Lord and King.

We don't know exactly when he will arrive. We're not sure what day it will be or what time it will be. But he has promised to come and he always keeps his word. The challenge Advent presents to us is this: be eagerly ready and assuredly prepared for his arrival.

Revelation 22:12, "Behold, I am coming soon."

The Christmas story is our annual reminder every year that God himself has chosen to come and dwell among us (John 1). When we look at a nativity scene, the baby at the center of the scene is no ordinary baby. This baby is God wrapped in human flesh. This baby is the King and Creator of the universe who chose to humble himself when the Creator took on the form of Creation.

Think about for a moment the vast and majestic glory of Heaven. Angels at your beck and call. No pain. No sickness. No bills. No toil nor trials. In Heaven there is only perfection and there is only peace. Christ did not have to leave that perfect environment. He did not have to condescend himself to our level. He could have left us in our misery and in our sin.

Yet, because of His great love for us He not only chose to come and live among us, He also chose to die for us. And through death, Christ defeated death and is now seated in the place of highest honor.

Christmas reminds us who God is, what God is like, and what God has done for us. He did not abandon or leave us in our suffering. He came and made a way for us to spend our eternity with Him.

THIS WEEK'S ADVENT PRAYER: Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which you Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; so that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

This year, the Advent/Christmas series at Believers Fellowship is Heaven and Nature. Borrowed from the familiar Christmas carol:

Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let Earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing

During Advent we prepare our hearts, minds, families, and communities to join in the celebration of the arrival of the Messiah, Jesus, born in Bethlehem. We join in with all creation as we cry out for God to intervene in our world. And, on Christmas Day, we join with all creation as we celebrate the coming of our Savior-King.

On that morning, when Jesus was born, God became a man and "dwelt among us" (Jn 1). In that moment when the baby boy Jesus took his first breath, Heaven and Nature met in a glorious way. The Prince of Heaven came down and took on the nature of human flesh and human existence. Heaven and Nature meet and Heaven and Nature Sing.

Beginning November 27th, check back each day for a new daily devotional to help guide you through this very special season.