Make It a Holy Season

Advent rolls around again. It’s not the first time I think about Christmas. In fact I have been seeing Christmas decorations in all the stores since before Halloween. It is the first time I accept Christmas. It is the week I begin turning my heart to what the season is meant to be all about. As I begin to experience Christmas again this year, I need to hold my heart open to the holiness of the season or I have no chance of making it a holy season.

It starts with fighting off the world and all its trappings at Christmas. There is nothing holy about frantically buying gifts I can’t afford, packing my schedule with events and parties that drain my energy, and eating every delight that is set before me.

The season begins with high hopes that will be fulfilled only if I set my hope on Jesus. He brings hope to every heart! Hope will help us make this season a holy season. If you have an Advent wreath, use it to help you maintain your focus on the holiness of this time of year. The circle of evergreen dotted by a candle to light each week with the white candle in the middle, ever reminding you of Christ, is untainted by the other trappings of Christmas. It forces you to remember that Christmas is holy.

You have to orientate your soul to feel hope because hope is about what is not seen. Christmas is thrown in your face and can distract you from hope. The first candle of Christmas is called the Prophet’s candle. The prophets held on to the hope that God would do what He said He would do. Year after year they held on to the promise of the Messiah even though hundreds of years passed without a sign of Him.

Holiness was everywhere Jesus was while He lived on this earth. Not everyone recognized His holy presence. There is holiness in the air at Christmas, but it can easily be overcome by all the pressure and pleasures the season offers.

I will live in holy hope as I focus on my living King. He is in heaven reigning over the spiritual kingdom that will never leave me hopeless. I have more reason than the Israelites in Isaiah’s day to believe in the light that has come. Isaiah 9 talks about the child that is born with a special introduction in verse 2—The people walking darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.

Each Sunday before Christmas I will remind myself that this is a holy season as I bring light to represent the hope that cannot be taken away from me because the child was born at Christmas, He became a man who taught me how to know God as my father, then He died on a cross, was buried and rose again. I wish you a holy season.

A Pilgrimage that Started with Tears

Who would think I would shed tears deciding to set out on a wonderful journey that I have longed to take for many years? Before I was ready to fully accept God’s invitation for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, I had to journey to a place of agreement between what my soul wanted and what the Lord wanted for me. For years I have been declining opportunities to travel to Israel—not because I didn’t want to go but because I wanted to go with my husband by my side. I know that God could have arranged that for me, but instead He asked me to accept that He wanted me to be willing to go and leave everything behind. When I was asked to make a decision about going on a Pilgrimage to Jerusalem, God gave me this verse in answer to my prayer -- Debi, observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are cr...

The Bliss of Knowing You are Loved by God

There is bliss of knowing that you are loved by a real and intimate God. I have felt that bliss. I don’t experience it all the time and sometimes it takes me a while to notice how much I miss it. Often I come back to my senses when I read the spiritual writings of one who is explaining how great God is and I am reminded how good He is to me. I suppose the saints stayed more connected to the bliss of God on a regular basis and missed it far less than me. I wish I knew their secret; all I can tell you is that it is a cycle for me to find myself unaware of God for a time. It is often a struggle to reconnect each day. What brought me to my senses recently was a huge blessing He sent my way. This good thing literally came to me directly from the hand of God. I didn’t even consider sharing the joy I was ...

Why Me?

When something tragic or unexpected happens, our first question seems to be, Why me? It’s only human to feel this way and wonder why life has got to be so hard. God has helped me look at my unwanted circumstances with a different question. Rather than keep the focus on my pain and ask, Why me? I focus on Him and wonder, How can You be glorified when everything is going wrong? Adding one more word to that question makes a huge difference spiritually and opens my soul to find so much more than just my pain. Another way to look at life’s tragedies is, Why not me ? Sure, we each have our own amount of personal sorrows. These are the kind of sorrows that have no answers. We can't explain away death, cancer, rape, bankruptcy and other heartaches. It is easier to explain...

Soul Sister Time

Search This Blog