Press the play button to watch the video above or press 'more' to read the transcript of the daily devotion below. Please read 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 (use your own Bible or use the link above to access the in-App Bible).

‘We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you believers.’ 1 Thessalonians 2:13

Imagine living near Jerusalem in Jesus’ day and passing Him enough times to know His face. Imagine learning a couple of years later that it had turned out that man was actually the Son of God and He changed the lives of all He touched or ministered to. I would be so gutted that I hadn’t dropped everything to be around Him all the time! But how could I have known? He looked just like any of us.

Paul is giving thanks that the believers in Thessalonica took his words about Jesus as the message of life. These were Gentiles who had a completely different framework for explaining how everything had come into being and what the gods were about. Somehow the story and the witness of Paul and Timothy, and the work of the Holy Spirit, convinced them that this was in fact the truth about the Most High God and it had an urgent demand on their lives. They took the word of God to heart and it started transforming them. The life of their community had already started resembling the way of Christ and His first followers, even to the point of suffering.

How do we recognise the voice of God, and tell it from all the other competing voices? If we manage to avoid the distractions of consumerism and pressure about perfect celebrations, Advent and Christmas are a time when we can focus on God’s living Word coming in the midst of us. It’s become cosy and familiar, but we are invited to respond to so much more than a sentimental image on a Christmas card. God’s incarnate presence has been in the world since creation and His fingerprints are all over everything, but in Jesus, God wants to show us that He actually shares our reality and invites us to share His.

This is the invitation we don’t want to pass by. This is the time to drop everything else! Will you become an imitator of the Thessalonians and let your life be completely changed by God’s words of life for you?

Let us pray: Loving God, create in me an open heart to surrender more completely to Your transforming work in me. Amen.

The Revd Anna Walker Director of Whalley Abbey.