Advent

Isaiah 9:6

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Advent is a time of preparation for the birth of Jesus. The word Advent comes from the Latin adventus, which translates as “coming.” This time prior to Christmas emphasizes the need to pause and spend time in prayer and study, to ponder not only the beautiful story of Jesus’ birth in human form as a tiny baby, but also the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives today.

For me, the key word here is “ponder.” 

One of the names given to the Messiah in Isaiah is Prince of Peace. When I think about peace in the weeks prior to Christmas, I have a hard time finding it. There’s just so much to do: baking, decorating, shopping, special events at church, and the list goes on. Peace, times of stillness, quiet, and gratitude, are hard to come by in these times.

And yet. . .it is imperative that we remember whose birthday is approaching. For Jesus to be the Prince of Peace in our lives, we must rely on him all day every day, even those crazy busy days, and keep his message of Love foremost in our words and actions. It’s hard to be loving and kind when we’re stressed and constantly hurrying to get the next thing on the list checked off.

Advent is not the only time to remember the need to rely on the Prince of Peace. Our whole world seems to be plagued by discord, hatred, and hurtful words and actions. While we cannot individually remove all the problems people are facing that cause anger and frustration, we can act as peacemakers and demonstrate compassion and care for others.  

We do this both as a church and as individuals in all our dealings with others. We can seek to be a reflection of the Prince of Peace in all we do. Above all else, we can continue to pray diligently for compassionate solutions to the problems we face so that both individuals and governments can foster a more peaceful future for all. With the power of the Holy Spirit, it is possible.

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, we ask for your guidance as we prepare our hearts to celebrate the birth of your Beloved Son, the Prince of Peace. Empower us through the Holy Spirit to speak and behave in ways that demonstrate to others that His redeeming and transforming love are the way forward to happier, more peaceful lives for all. Amen.

This episode was written by Pat Scruggs and recorded by Bernice Howard.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.