Laurie Hopkins

Taken from: Advent Devotions to Take You Deeper: A Season of Faith (Laurie Hopkins, 2018, page 15)

“Let us pray together:

Gracious Father of all faith, hope and love, we come and sit still before you as we prepare for this Christmas season.  We have lost our way and we seek Your direction to find Your path among the paths of the world.  We thank you, for the most precious gift of all time, Your Beloved Son, whom You sent to earth in the form of a baby in Bethlehem.  This was the first step of a journey that would lead to Calvary where He would shed His blood for our salvation.  We ask Father that you would speak to us; show us the journey back to the true message of Christmas. The message that is not just for a season but one that we should live out every day of our lives; through our bodies, minds, and spirits, an extension of Your Almighty Hand in this world. We Praise Your Almighty Name as we bring these things before you in the Name of Jesus.  Amen and Amen and Amen!”

Taken from: Advent Devotions to Take You Deeper: A Season of Faith (Laurie Hopkins, 2018, pages 5,6)

“Let us pray together:

Almighty God, Giver of hope, love and life itself; we praise Your holy name and thank You for this Christmas season – the season in which we celebrate the birth of the Christ Child – the first step on the road to Calvary and eternal life.  Although some of us would be hesitant to admit it, for many of us the Christmas season has lost its meaning and we have been left with a time of rush and excess and stress that leaves us empty and disappointed in the end.  We long, Father, for the meaning and simplicity of earlier times.  We aren’t exactly sure where we took the wrong turn or how to find our way back. We ask, Father, that you would grant us wisdom and understanding this Christmas season as we search Your Word and study the lives of faith of those involved in the events of the first Christmas.  Grant us divine revelation Father.  Show us Your truth.  Help us to examine our faith and its impact on how we celebrate the birth of Your Son as well as its impact on our daily lives long after Christmas has passed.  We bring these things before You in the precious name of Jesus. Amen and Amen and Amen.”

What do you want Jesus to do for you today? 

No, really, what do you really want Him to do for you?  

The blind men on the side of the road knew they wanted their sight.  

Jesus asked, they answered, He had compassion and healed them.  

What happens when Jesus asks and we answer but we are not committed to the changes that go along with what we have asked for?   

Sometimes, we believe we want something, but we really don’t want to make the changes, do the work, or really grow in the way that this “thing” that we have asked will require.  

Jesus asked the blind men.  

They knew, I’m sure, that having their sight would keep them from continuing to beg on the side of the road.  

They were willing to make that change and so when asking, asked in earnest.  

What do you want Jesus to do for you today?  

Are you ready to take on the changes that will come with it; to do the work and to grow in it? 

Then ask away!  

Jesus is waiting!