Renewing Our Hearts

By Julia White

During the busy holiday season, it is easy to get caught up in the frenzied excitement, making us feel overworked and stretched thin. However, Advent brings a time to slow down, refocus, and renew our tired hearts. Our spirits long to see the glimmer of hope that will lead us to the manger so we can be revived by the miracle of God’s presence with us. This book of daily devotionals will lead you through the wonder of God’s promises and help you prepare to receive the great love God has given through His son, Jesus Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Julia White
• Release date: Nov 29, 2017
• ISBN: 9781981233861

Julia White

Julia White has been the author of many short stories and various works of fiction. She is the current Programming Chair for Mom2Mom in  Normal, IL and started writing original devotionals to share with her fellow moms every Friday morning. This is her first published work with a co-authored novel on the horizon. In her spare time, she loves to read, watch movies, run around with family activities, and share stories with friends

Book preview

Introduction

First Sunday of Advent

1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Additional scripture for reflection and study:

Isaiah 64:1-9

Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19

Mark 13:24-37

Christmas sometimes sneaks up on me. Yes, it could be because they start putting Christmas decorations out in July, but mostly it is because, like so many others, I get focused on doing daily life things. I get tunnel vision for kids’ activities, laundry, errands, dishes....and the pages fly off the calendar with increasing speed and velocity. But then I notice it....greenery wrapped around light poles in the parking lots, red bows adorning trees on the sidewalks, and rows and rows of Christmas glittered items at the local craft stores.

It always makes me take a deep breath when Christmas starts to make its way into my peripheral vision. Sometimes I don’t even realize I’ve been traveling with my head down, but then I see a glimmer...a small sparkle of light that catches my attention and my heart jumps with recognition. Like John jumping in Elizabeth’s belly when she saw Mary, my heart recognizes the opportunity to see when God is near. Advent is here and with it, there is a chance for us to renew our hearts with the promises God sent to earth with His son. Jesus brought hope, fulfillment, and salvation from sin. He was the light of goodness shining in a troubled world and this is the very gift that our world, and more importantly, our troubled hearts need today.

In Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth, Paul first focuses on God’s grace in Christ. He calls the readers’ attention back to the amazing peace, unmerited favor, and immense love that God has bestowed on His people. Paul calls out to his readers because maybe they have let their focus slip away from the primary focus on God. Maybe they too are caught up with daily life things like laundry and errands. They too may have tunnel vision that is blocking out their true purpose. Paul is calling out to them to come back to the center of faith, which is God’s grace through Jesus Christ. He is calling them to renew their hearts with the word and the truth of God and find gratitude because of the gifts we have been freely given in Jesus.

The journey of Advent is a way to receive Paul’s message too. We see our lives reflected over and over in the stories of the old testament and like the people of the early church, it is easy for our focus to slip. Sometimes we keep our heads down and it takes a glimmer, a glimpse of God, to pull our focus back. Sometimes we don’t realize how far we have actually veered off course, but Advent is a time to come back to the center of faith so our hearts can recognize when God is near. In order to approach the