Prepare Your Heart

We usually attend a little church in Big Sky Montana during the Christmas season. As I ponder what Advent means to me, I think about the people in our church and how they are so caring and how they desire to bless those less fortunate. My wife, Marsha, and I discussed what we might do to help those in need this year. We considered giving gifts to children, food for families, and perhaps including a few Christian books to share a sense of peace and to reveal how much God loves them all the time, not just at Christmas.

• The Advent Season is a time to reflect and find ways to prepare our hearts to celebrate the birth of Christ, and the true meaning of Christmas.

This is done in many ways — prayer, reflection, music, and good deeds. It should be a time to stop amidst the frenzy of parties and shopping to celebrate Jesus’ birth and prepare for His second coming.

Many churches, like ours, take a dedicated time to light one candle on each of the Sundays of Advent. The first candle (purple) represents HOPE. When everything else in our lives fail, our only hope is found in Jesus Christ. No matter where we find ourselves, let us always remember our hope is in Him.

The second candle (also purple) represents PEACE. We need peace in our lives, our homes, our families, and in our world. May we take the time to slow down and seek the peace that passes all understanding from Christ alone.

The third candle (pink) represents JOY. Open your eyes to the simple joys all around you. Find joy in a hug or a smile or laughter or in the many small things around us each and every day. 

The fourth candle (also purple) represents LOVE. In Matthew 22:37–39, Jesus tells us that love is the greatest commandment, first to love God above all else, then to love our neighbors. Sharing the love of Christ is a gift, let us find ways to give that gift this season.

Written for Devotionals Daily by Jack Countryman, author of The Miracle of Peace.

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Your Turn

Find ways to share the hope, peace, joy, and love of Christ this season. Call a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while, visit a neighbor that lives alone, bring food or needed items to a homeless shelter or veterans home, make a list of people to pray for each day, or give to your favorite charity. No matter what you choose, make the light of Jesus shine through to show others His hope, peace, joy and love! ~ Devotionals Daily