Category: Advent

The fullness of time (Ephesians 1: 10) had come and God became a human being (John 1: 14), born of a woman (Galatians 4: 4; Luke 1: 35), wrapped in swaddling clothes (Luke 2: 7) and born for us (Isaiah 9: 6; John 3: 16-17; Luke 2: 11). This event was long predicted. “God Himself…
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There is nothing better than good news. It doesn’t matter how it comes, by mail, telephone, face to face, television, instant messaging… we love good news. Better still, is getting good news when it’s unexpected. We love surprises even more, if it is good news. The birth of a child used to be one of…
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Christmas can happen… because the Star is shining bright. Every year in December, I look forward to the day when they turn on the star. It is quite breathtaking actually, 20 feet tall and 200 foot candles shining brilliantly over the Elizabeth River. It takes my breath away… Bright white against the stark and empty…
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Hope. Hope is such a little word… It is just four letters and yet this little, one syllable word conveys such powerful meaning. If we were to take away the letter on the end of the word hope, we would find our word altered and yet, the change is ever so slight. Hope facilitates joy…
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When you hear the word Christmas, what is the first thing that pops into your mind? In America, many of us think about twinkle lights; merry Christmas wreaths; or the smell of incense burning while candle light flickers onto lofty wooden beams or high stone arches laid together by pious ancestors long dead but still…
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Christmas Eve is here, at last. Bells are ringing, children singing…and tomorrow, Christmas day we light the last Advent candle. Placing an Advent wreath in the home and lighting Advent Candles became a tradition during post-Reformation Germany. I can only imagine that many believers during this time period, seeking intimacy with God were immediately drawn…
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This morning, long before sun rays kissed morning clouds of dawn, truth was given me. I have read this passage of scripture many times. Generally reading and passing by, reading steadily onward… to light on another flowers’ nectar… stopping elsewhere in the book of Luke, Mary’s’ betrothal perhaps….swaddling clothes….shepherds keeping watch by night….not to sip…
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Opening up email this morning, I read some very exciting news about the other side of the world. The Christmas boxes that my grandchildren had sponsored were delivered. Yippee! This is such a double blessing for us. Double blessing? You see, the Samaritan Purse boxes that my grandchildren sponsored had been delivered to children who…
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As the season of Advent bids good night and candles lean in to kiss green boughs, I find my thoughts returning to the Word spoken through the prophet Isaiah. I love this book, don’t you? It is my favorite of all the writings God has given to us. I don’t know why this book draws…
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Tonight marked the peak of the Geminid meteor shower, one of the year’s top night light shows and as predicted it did not disappoint. While watching God’s glory blaze across the clear night sky, I remembered the story about the star that announced Christ’s birth. “Where is He that is born King of the Jews?…
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