The First Sunday of Adevnt – 2025

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Arise, shine; for thy Light has come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.

For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people:

but the LORD shall shine upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee.

And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

Isaiah 60: 1-3 KJV

We light this candle as a symbol of Christ our HOPE.

May the light sent from God shine in the darkness to show us the way of salvation.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel!

CHRIST OUR HOPE

Oh, how we need hope in our world today.

Lord, there are so many who have lost all hope; they are struggling physically, emotionally, financially, and most important – spiritually. Oh, how desperately they need to hear this message. You are our Hope!

They need to know the Gospel message: how you entered this world as a helpless infant – God wrapped in human flesh – to bring salvation.

Jesus died for us. He who was without sin, died on the Cross for our sin. “It is finished.” Those were His words, “Finshed,” completed, the sin debt was satisfied that day. All that remains for us is to accept or reject God’s gift of salvation. How easy God made this for His people but how difficult we make it. Yes, salvation comes at great cost but it was God who paid the price, not His people.

Oswald Chambers writes:

We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God; we must either receive it as a gift or do without it. The greatest blessing spiritually is the knowledge that we are destitute; until we get there God is powerless. He can do nothing for us if we think we are sufficient of ourselves, we have to enter into His Kingdom through the door of destitution. As long as we are rich, possessed of anything in the way of pride or independence, God cannot do anything for us. it is only when we get hungry spiritually that we receive the Holy Spirit. The gift of the essential nature of God is made effectual in us by the Holy Spirit, He imparts to us the quickening life of Jesus, which puts “the beyond” within, and immediately “the beyond” has come within, it rises up to “the above”, and we are lifted into the domain where Jesus lives. (John 3:5)

God has given you a gift. Have you “opened” His gift or have you rejected His offer? God is patient. He desires for all of His children to come to Him but He will not force anyone. And He will not wait forever.

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me.

In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.

I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself;

that where I am, there ye may be also.

John 14:1-3 KJV

And He said unto them,

It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power.

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you:

and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria,

and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up;

and a cloud received Him out of their sight.

And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as He went up,

behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;

which also said,

Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?

This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven,

shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.

Acts 1: 7-11 KJV

On this first Sunday of Advent my wreath sits on my dining room table.

The first candle is lit.

The candle burns

– a tiny flame –

but the darkness cannot overcome it.

The Second Sunday of Advent – 2024

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As it is written in the prophets,

Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,

which shall prepare thy way before thee.

The voice of one crying in the wilderness,

Prepare ye the way of the Lord,

make His paths straight.

John did baptize in the wilderness,

and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sin.

Mark 1:2-4

We light this candle as a symbol of

Christ the Way.

May the Word sent from God through the prophets

lead us to the way of salvation.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

O God, we have lost our way.

Many today preach social justice rather than the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

They have forgotten that when people hear the Gospel –

and repent and believe –

social justice will follow –

more than “social justice”

radical change occurs when hearts are changed.

Believers really can

“Love their enemies”

“Do good to those who hate them”

Jesus said

I am the Way, the truth, and the life:

no one comes to the Father but by Me.

Jesus Christ is the Way.

As His disciples

we are to point the Way

to share the Gospel

to proclaim Jesus Christ.

Do you know the Way?

My Journey Through The Dark Valley – Day 39

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June 5th

Day 39

3 a.m. meltdown –

Lord, I fall apart at the strangest times.

I am weary with my groaning;

All the night I make my bed to swim;

I water my couch with my tears.

Psalm 6:6

I never know when it will come.

Something triggers a memory and I fall apart.

Thank You, O God, that You are with me.

I am not alone in my time of trouble.

My Song For This Day

I must tell Jesus all of my trials;

I cannot bear these burdens alone;

In my distress He kindly will help me;

He ever loves and cares for His own.

I must tell Jesus!

I must tell Jesus!

I cannot bear my burdens alone.

I must tell Jesus!

I must tell Jesus!

Jesus can help me, Jesus alone.

I must tell Jesus all of my troubles;

He is a kind, compassionate Friend;

If I but ask Him, He will deliver,

And in my griefs with me He will blend.

Tempted and tried I need a great Savior,

One who can help my burdens to bear;

I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus;

He all my cares and sorrows will share.

O how the word to evil allures me!

O how my heart is tempted to sin!

I must tell Jesus; He will enable

Over the world the victory to win.

My Journey Through The Dark Valley – Day 38

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June 4th

Day 38

Sow to yourselves in righteousness,

Reap in mercy;

Break up your fallow ground:

For it is time to seek the Lord,

Till He come and rain righteousness upon you.

Hosea 10:12

Now the parable is this:

The seed is the Word of God.

Those by the wayside are they that hear;

Then cometh the devil,

And taketh away the word out of their hearts,

Lest they should believe and be saved.

They on the rock are they, which, when they hear,

Receive the word with joy;

And these have no root,

Which for a while believe,

And in times of temptation fall away.

And that which fell among the thorns are they,

Which, when they have heard, go forth,

And are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life,

And bring no fruit to perfection.

But that on the good ground are they,

Which in an honest and good heart,

Having heard the word, keep it,

And bring forth fruit with patience.

Luke 8:11-15

At any time, the receptiveness of your heart will determine your response to God’s Word.

-Experiencing God Day By Day

Lord, I thank You for Your Word.

I thank You for the faithful men and women who preach Your Word and who teach Your Word.

Bless each one who reads Your Word, who meditates on Your Word, who studies to understand and to put into practice Your Word.

May they bear fruit.

Thy testimonies are wonderful:

Therefore doth my soul keep them.

The entrance of Thy words giveth light;

It giveth understanding unto the simple.

I opened my mouth, and panted;

For I longed for Thy commandments.

Look Thou upon me, and be merciful unto me,

As Thou used to do unto those that love Thy name.

Order my steps in Thy Word:

And let not any iniquity have dominion over me.

Deliver me from the oppression of man:

So will I keep Thy precepts.

Make Thy face to shine upon Thy servant;

And teach me Thy statutes.

Rivers of waters run down mine eyes,

Because they keep not Thy law.

Psalm 119:129-136

My Journey Through The Dark Valley – Day 32

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Wednesday, May 29th

Day 32

But I say unto you,

that every idle word that men shall speak,

they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment.

For by thy words thou shalt be justified,

and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. 

Matthew 12:36-37

He that hath knowledge spareth his words:

and a man of understanding is of excellent spirit.

Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise:

and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed as a man of understanding.

Proverbs 17:27-28

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

James 2:19-20

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth,

but that which is good to the use of edifying,

that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Ephesians 4:29

-for every idle word there will be a time of accounting

-idle words are careless words – they reveal what is in the heart

Lord, help me to think before speaking – to keep silent when I have nothing of value to say – to remember that words can hurt.

Lord, guide my writing.

Give me the words to share my heart.

Words that encourage.

Words that heal.

Words that teach.

Words that nourish the soul.

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.

Proverbs 25:11

My Journey Through The Dark Valley – Day 29

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Sunday, May 26th

Day 29

Lord, You speak to me in Your Word.

Yesterday I was done – but You were there.

Hast thou not known?

Hast thou not heard,

that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth,

fainteth not, neither is weary?

There is no searching of His understanding.

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings as eagles;

they shall run, and not be weary;

and they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:28-31

Lord, You speak to me in the old hymns of the faith.

Oft-times the day seems long, our trials hard to bear,

We’re tempted to complain, to murmur and despair;

But Christ will soon appear to catch His Bride away,

All tears forever over in God’s eternal day.

—

Sometimes the sky looks dark with not a ray of light,

We’re tossed and driven on, no human help in sight;

But there is One on heav’n who knows our deepest care,

Let Jesus solve your problem – just go to Him in prayer.

—

Life’s day will soon be o’er, all storms forever past,

We’ll cross the great divide to glory, safe at last;

We’ll share the joys of heav’n – a harp, a home, a crown,

The tempter will be banished, we’ll lay our burden down.

Chorus

It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,

Life’s trials will seem so small when we see Christ;

One glimpse of His dear face

All sorrows will erase,

So bravely run the race

Till we see Christ,

-Esther K. Rusthoi

When I lift my heart, my head, my hands – and praise You, O Lord,

You give me a song!

There is nothing that pleases the Lord so much as praise.

There is no test of faith so true as the grace of thanksgiving.

Are you praising God enough?

Are you thanking Him for your actual blessings that are more than can be numbered,

and are you daring to praise Him even for those trials which are all but blessings in disguise?

Have you learned to praise Him in advance for the things that have not yet come?

“Thou waitest for deliverance! O soul, thou waitest long!

Believe that now deliverance doth wait for thee in song!

“Sigh not until deliverance thy fettered feet doth free:

With songs of great deliverance God now doth compass thee.”

-Streams In The Desert

My Journey Through The Dark Valley – Day 22

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Day 22

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;

and there shall be no more death,

neither sorrow, nor crying,

neither shall there be any more pain:

for the former things are passed away.

Revelation 21:4

Lots of tears today.

It started as I was driving into church.

I passed Jason on his church bus route and the tears came.

Then in church every time someone would hug me, the tears came.

Effie sat beside me and cried with me.

Thank You Lord, for this dear friend.

When I came home Ms. Pepper and I took a ride on the Gator back to the woods, the tears came.

But I also had such a sense of peace in the woods.

Olin and I enjoyed riding through the woods in Missouri.

He wasn’t there today Lord, but You were there.

Learn the Divine skill of making God all things to thee.

He can supple thee with all; or, better still, He can be to thee instead of all.

Let me urge thee, then, to make use of thy God.

Make use of Him in prayer; go to Him often, because He is thy God.

Oh, wilt thou fail to use so great a privilege?

Fly to Him; tell Him all thy wants.

Use Him constantly by faith at all times.

If some dark providence has beclouded thee, use thy God as a “sun”;

if some strong enemy has beset thee, find in Jehovah a “shield”;

for He is a sun and a shield to His people.

If thou hast lost thy way in the mazes of life, use Him as a “guide”;

for He will direct thee.

Whatever thou art, and wherever thou art,

remember God is just what thou wantest,

and just where thou wantest

and that He can do all thou wantest!

-Charles H. Spurgeon

My Journey Through The Dark Valley – Day 20

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Day 20

Two are better than one;

Because they have a good reward for their labour.

For if they fall,

The one will lift up his fellow:

But woe to him that is alone when he falleth;

For he hath not another to help him up.

Again, if two lie together,

Then they have heat:

But how can one be warm alone?

And if one prevail against him,

Two shall withstand him;

And a three-fold cord is not quickly broken.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother,

And shall cleave unto his wife:

And they shall be one flesh.

Genesis 2:24

Have ye not read,

That He which made them at the beginning

Made them male and female,

And said,

For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother,

And shall cleave to his wife:

And they shall be one flesh?

Wherefore they are no more twain,

But one flesh.

What therefore God hath joined together,

Let not man put asunder.

Matthew 19:4-6

There were three of us in this marriage –

God – Olin – Charlene

Lord, You are who made this possible.

What You created – this family – has been torn asunder.

He was a part of me, and now he is gone.

I am left with an empty place in me.

Lord, You are the only one who can fill it.

Fill my cup, Lord

I lift it up, Lord

Come and quench this thirsting of my soul

Bread of Heaven, feed me till I want no more

Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole

My Journey Through The Dark Valley – Day 19

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Day 19

Go . . .  have I not sent you?  Judges 6:14

When God sent Gideon it seemed an impossible task

yet because Gideon was obedient it was accomplished.

Lord, if You lead me I will follow and watch to see Your plan unfold.

Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit. – God

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 

Philippians 4:13

In the evening my wife died.

The next morning I did as I had been commanded.  

Ezekiel 24:18

The great God wants our conspicuous crises to be occasions of conspicuous testimony;

our seasons of darkness to be opportunities for the unveiling of the Divine.

He wants duty to shine more resplendently because of the environing shadows.

He wants tribulation only to furbish and burnish our signs.

He wants us to manifest the sweet grace of continuance

amid all the sudden and saddening upheavals of our intensely varied life.

This was the prophet’s triumph.

He made his calamity a witness to the eternal.

He made his very loneliness minister to his God.

He made his very bereavement intensify his calling.

He took up the old task, and in taking it up he glorified it.

“In the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded.”

The evening sorrow will come to all of us:

What shall we be found doing in the morning?

We shall have to dig graves; have burials:

How shall it be with us when the funeral is over?

J. H. Jowett

Make a pulpit of every circumstance.

Springs In The Valley

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,

but against principalities,

against powers,

against the rulers of the darkness of this world,

against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Ephesians 6:10-12

The battles not mine, said little David,

Lord, its thine

I’m in Your favor,

I’m giving it all to You,

I knew not what to do,

I’m so glad You let me see

That You’re really all that I need,

For the battles not mine

I give it to You

Lord its Thine.

Roderick Windham

My Journey Through The Dark Valley – Day 13

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Day 13

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

When the wicked, even min enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh,

they stumbled and fell.

Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear:

though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after;

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.

For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion:

in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me;

He shall set me up upon a rock.

And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me:

therefore will I offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of joy;

I will sing, yea, I will sing praise unto the Lord.

Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

When Thou said, Seek My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.

Hide not Thy face far from me; put not Thy servant away in anger:

Thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.

When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.

Teach me Thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.

Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies:

for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.

I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart:

Wait, I say, on the Lord.

Psalm 27

Then said his wife unto him,

Dost thou still retain thy integrity?

Curse God, and die.

But he said unto her,

Thou speakest as one of the women speaketh.

What?

Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?

Job 2:9-10

KJV

His wife said,

“Still holding on to your precious integrity, are you?

Curse God and be done with it.”

He told her,

“You’re talking like an empty-headed fool.

We take the good days from God – why not also the bad days?”

The Message

Lord, You are so good to me.

Thank You!

You do not leave me in the midst of my distress.

You are with me.

You surround me with love.

Thank You!

Lord, give me more of You.

Fill this hole in my heart with more of You.

Thank You for Olin – for all the years – for all the memories – for the family and friends – for the life we built together.

We were blessed.

We are blessed.

Because it isn’t over.

Life goes on – a new path – but it does go on.

Eternal life is promised.

Jesus said,

Because I live, ye shall live also.

God, You have given us so much good,

even the bad times are useful,

teaching us to live life abundantly,

so I will praise You, even to this day.