Christmas Day - Day 25

Zaphaniah 3:17

Jerusalem will be told:

“Don’t be afraid.
Dear Zion, don’t despair.
Your God is present among you,

a strong Warrior there to save you.
Happy to have you back, he’ll calm you with his love

and delight you with his songs.

/The Message/

The Lord your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you

but will rejoice over you with singing.

/NIV/

Advent Daily - Day 24

John 3:16-17

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
/NIV/

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.
/The Message/ 

Advent Daily - Day 23

2 Corinthians 6:11-13

I can’t tell you how much I long for you 

to enter this wide-open, spacious life. 

We didn’t fence you in. 

The smallness you feel comes from within you. 

Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. 

I’m speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. 

Open up your lives. 

Live openly and expansively!

Advent Daily - Day 22

1 Corinthians 4:20

God’s Way is not a matter of mere talk; it’s an empowered life.

/The Message/

 

Advent Daily - Day 21

Genesis 28:15

I’ll stay with you, 

I’ll protect you wherever you go, 

and I’ll bring you back to this very ground. 

I’ll stick with you 

until I’ve done everything I promised you.

/The Message/

I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, 

and I will bring you back to this land. 

I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. 

/NLT/ 

Advent Daily - Day 20

Ezekiel 36: 25-28
For here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to take you out of these countries, gather you from all over, and bring you back to your own land. I’ll pour pure water over you and scrub you clean. I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed. I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands. You’ll once again live in the land I gave your ancestors. You’ll be my people! I’ll be your God! 
/The Message/

Advent Daily - Day 19

John 10:10

I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

/The Message/

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

/NIV/ 

Advent Daily - Day 18

Psalms 73:28 

But as for me, it is good to be near God. 

I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge 

/New International Version/

Advent Daily - Day 17

Philippians 1:1-19

So this is my prayer: 

that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. 

Learn to love appropriately. 

You need to use your head and test your feelings 

so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. 

Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, 

a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, 

making Jesus Christ attractive to all, 

getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.

/The Message/

Advent Daily - Day 16

Psalm 51:10

Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

/New International Version/