This Saturday, the Hospital Church will begin the Advent season with a series titled “Unwrapping Joy.” This is a special time of year when both joy and heartache can be intensified. I hope this devotional allows you time to embrace your identity as a treasured child of God and breathe in the saving grace of Christ. You are always welcome to share, comment, and subscribe!

 

Monday:  You Were Made for Christmas

Ephesians 2:8-10

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

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Christ my Lord, your grace is beyond measure. Your life is an example of faith, trust, and sacrifice. My joy is full when I am walking in your steps. Fill me with your mercy and love for the world you created. Amen.

 

Devotional: You Were Made for Christmas

Music: What Child is This/Child of the Poor

 

Tuesday: The Politics of Joy

Ephesians 3:17-19

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

 

Merciful Savior, you are love. You are God, yet you were created as and for humanity. You saw the world you created fallen and broken, so you gave yourself to redeem it. Be born in my heart so that I am filled with your self-giving love, open to your life-giving joy, and driven to bring justice to my world. Amen.

 

Devotional: The Politics of Joy

Music: Joy to the World

 

Wednesday: That Thieving Christ and Advent

Ezekiel 36:26

And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. 

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Son of God, you gave yourself for your creation. You selflessly left heaven and all perfection to redeem the broken and discarded. There is nothing I need to fear because you have provided all I will ever need. Clear away whatever holds me back from fully realizing the joy only you can provide. Amen.

 

Devotional: That Thieving Christ and Advent

Music: O Come, O Come Emmanuel (Every Longing Heart)

 

Thursday: A Hallmark Christmas

Deuteronomy 31:6 

So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.

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Lord Jesus, you could have come to the world as a king, but you chose to live a life of servitude and duress. You walked a difficult path but found strength by trusting your Heavenly Father. This life can be hard, but I believe you are always by my side. Thank you for bearing my pain so I can realize the joy of your grace. Amen.

 

Devotional: A Hallmark Christmas

Music: Away in a Manger (Forever Amen)

 

Friday: Let Us Adore Him

Mark 2:17

When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

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Emmanuel, God With Us, the announcement of your arrival was a gift of joy to poor laborers on a hill. Your life on earth brought justice to the oppressed and relief to the condemned. I am a sinner in need of a Savior. I am the least of these for whom you gave your life. Thank you for your mercy. Amen.

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Devotional: Let Us Adore Him

Music: O Come All Ye Faithful (We Adore You)