December 5

New City Church

December 5

December 5, 2023

People who are incredibly talented or beautiful evoke deeply ambivalent feelings in us. On the one hand we are drawn to them, but on the other hand, they make us feel inadequate in comparison to them. How much more would this be the case in the presence of infinite beauty and power and love? Everywhere in the Bible where people get near to God, it is traumatic. When Job sees God, he says, “I have heard of you but now my eyes have seen you and I am undone.” Moses hides his face. Isaiah falls to the ground and says “Woe is me!” John tells us that when Jesus came to us, we were seeing the glory of God. That’s why when Peter first met Jesus he fell at his feet and said, “Go away from me, I am a sinner.” He saw the glory of God in Christ, and it was traumatic. But watch! Jesus responded tenderly to Peter, inviting Peter to follow him. The same Jesus who made Peter realize his wickedness, invited him to walk in relationship and purpose, and the world was never the same!

Matthew 4:19 “‘Come, follow Me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’”

Download The Advent Journal Here

December 1, 2023

Dear Reader, Thank you for taking the time to walk through this daily devotional. As you read, reflect and journal, our prayer is that these simple thoughts from the scriptures will encourage your heart and stir a deeper sense of devotion and appreciation for the gift of our Savior this season. Merry Christmas! Pastor Steve Andres and New City Church

December 1

December 1, 2023

Advent is anticipation and preparation. Hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, the prophet Isaiah looked ahead to the coming of Christ and said, “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.” As we start this Christmas season, we are inviting God to shine a light on our hearts and lives, to search us and give us clarity and vision for who He is calling us to be and how we should live. We want that light to clarify the way we see ourselves. How can it do that? 1 Peter 2:9 says, “God has called you out of darkness and into his wonderful light.” Our destiny is not darkness, it is light. Someone once said, “Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.” Just because there is darkness in your past doesn’t mean that you aren’t made for light. Thank God today for sending light into our world at Christmas, for rescuing us from darkness and putting us on a path to light and life! 1 Peter 2:9 “God has called you out of darkness and into his wonderful light.”

December 2

December 2, 2023

Words are a miracle. The act of speaking is incredibly complex. It starts in the speech center of our brains, where a message is sent to our diaphragm telling it to push breath from our lungs, through our throat, making our vocal cords vibrate. Subtle movements of the palate, tongue, and lips shape those vibrations into the sounds we know as words. Those are the mechanics of speech, but words are more than mechanics. Words bring us closer to people. They form bonds and give meaning; they express who we are. Words aren’t just for communication, they are for communion. The Apostle John begins his biography of Jesus saying, “In the beginning, the Word was with God and the Word was God.” God has always been speaking, inviting us to know Him, but at Christmas He spoke with a thundering clarity, His word expressed in flesh and bone, the language we understand best. Are you listening to Him speak today? John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”