Articles — Advent Christian Voices

Putting to Death the Flesh

There is possibly no greater challenge to the faithful Christian than living this life with eternity in mind. Paul warns us in Romans 13:14 that we should “make no provision of the flesh, to gratify its desires”. In 1 Corinthians 15 we are reminded that if it is in this life only that we have hope, we should be pitied. Indeed, our life is not our own, it belongs to God, “For none of us lives to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s” (Rom. 14:7-8).

Spiritual FormationErik ReynoldsFebruary 20, 2018Calvin, Flesh, Happiness, Contentment Comment

Emmanuel Has Come- a Devotion (4/4)

“O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel!”

Each Advent season, these words are sung in churches around the nation and likely, in some form, around the globe. They are words of hope and longing. They are words of expectation and yet to be fulfilled promise. They are words that capture, very well, the mood of the Israelite people at the time of the incarnation. There was longing and pain, yet there was hope.

Matt Larkin, Spiritual Formation, DevotionalsMatt LarkinDecember 24, 2017emmanuelComment

That Present Before Us- a Devotion (3/4)

“Mommy, can we open the gifts right now?” Wait for a second. Let’s go back approximately 12 hours before to a short exchange between my wife and I. After our bedtime routine with the boys, my wife says to me, “I think I am going to start wrapping presents tonight.” My wise and all-knowing response: “Okay, but you do realize as soon as the boys see the wrapped gifts they’re going to want to open them immediately.” Now fast forward 12 hours. Our youngest sees the presents and yells, “Christmas presents!” The oldest asks….and asks…and asks, “Mommy, can we open the gifts right now?” Their voices are full of excitement and anticipation. With one fell swoop, mommy and daddy crush the excitement—but hopefully not the anticipation—with a “No, we have to wait until Christmas.” Then comes the all too familiar whiney “Please?!”

Spiritual Formation, DevotionalsMike AlixDecember 17, 2017presents, excitement, prophets, second adventComment

Advent Meets Exodus- a Devotion (2/4)

“Born thy people to deliver…born to set thy people free.” These words sung of Jesus in Charles Wesley’s well-known Christmas hymn could as easily be sung of another baby, the one whose birth brightens the otherwise dismal opening to the book of Exodus. There we find the chosen people of God suffering as slaves at the hands of a Pharaoh who knew not their forefather Joseph, nor their Father God.

Spiritual Formation, DevotionalsAndy RiceDecember 10, 2017exodus, moses, christmas, jesus, advent, charles welsey Comments

Brokenness Awaiting Advent- a Devotion (1/4)

I stand at the open door staring at the number of single socks accumulating on top of the dryer. The other darks — underwear and jeans — were gathering clean, folded, soon to return to their assigned spots in my dresser. As the items piled up, I wonder how many socks must be removed before two can be paired and moved to the folded piles. For me the general rule of thumb — one of every pair.

Spiritual Formation, DevotionalsClayton BlackstoneDecember 3, 2017advent, adam, eve, chesterton, christmasComment

Preaching the Gospel to Myself – A Recovering Pharisee

My evangelism professor in seminary was Jack Miller. He not only believed the gospel, he loved the gospel. He was gospel-centered and from that center he overflowed with joy and love. He was also a risk-taker. He believed the words of Paul in Romans 8 that if God has given us his Son then we can face death all day long. We can take risks for Jesus’ sake and Jack did. I am not sure how anecdotal this account is but I was told that he would often go up to a complete stranger and introduce himself by saying, “Hello, I am Jack and I am a recovering Pharisee.”

Spiritual Formation, DiscipleshipLouis GoingNovember 28, 2017pharisee, Gospel, sin, forgiveness, grace Comment

Home Blog

Contact Subscribe