Advent Devotion - Loving God

Christmas Advent Devotion: Week 1

As Christmas draws near and a new year begins, let's ponder and rekindle our first love for God. In the midst of our preparations, how can we actively nurture and deepen our affection for God?

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭12:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

To offer our lives as a living sacrifice is the greatest gift we can give, out of a deep, deep love for God. Paul writes that we should do so “in view of God's mercy”. As we delve into the preceding chapters, we read the mercies Paul references. We see how Romans highlights the radical depravity of man, God's salvation (His mercies), and the guidance for Christian living.

God's mercies for us are revealed through His Word; through the Scripture, we learn of the beauties and excellencies of God. Yet, often, when we read the Bible, we are prompted to think about how we can benefit from it, or how we can apply what is written to our personal lives. We forget to ask ourselves, what does this say about God? What does this reveal to me about who God is? Don't treat the Scripture like a book of life lessons, but approach it as a revelation of the God who created, redeemed and loves you. The more you know God, the more we cannot help but love Him: the more you will want to trust Him, glorify Him, speak of Him.

If you want to be obedient out of love for God, start in the Scripture. This is easier said than done, and often, we find ourselves reluctant to do it. Here, we may question- if I do something out of sheer obedience, but don't feel moved by love or any feeling, should I still do it? The answer is yes. Regardless of our disposition or feeling, we are called to obey and please God.

Sometimes, we do not feel a sense a consciousness of God when we seek or serve him. But just as we get up everyday, not because we have a feeling for it, but simply because we know that it is what we need to do, we do it. Obeying God is not about feeling, but about knowing: therefore, study, obey and walk in the scripture. In fact, in the times that we walk in obedience in the dark, are the times we are glorifying God even more than in the mountain top experiences because it is purely driven by faith, and God's faithfulness.

“Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of his servant? Let the one who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on their God.”

Isaiah 50:10

There will be times of great affection and deep feelings, and this does not seek to take away from that. But there will also be times of silence, of no feeling, of ‘darkness and no light’, and we are to trust in God, what we know about God. In speaking of faith and trust, how can we have a biblical faith and trust apart from a biblical knowledge of God and His promises? With such knowledge, we can walk when there is no light or feeling, pleasing and honouring God.

“But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment.”

Isaiah 50:11

We should also be cautious of the pitfalls of ignorance; we are prone to filling up the gaps of our knowledge with our own wisdom. The warning in this verse: some may fake a ‘fire’, when there is none due to the discontentment of walking in the dark. Beware of chasing an artificial, false fire- don't live jumping from one experience/camp/conference to another, rising and falling in zeal. Remember that in the dark times, that is where you can glorify God more than in the mountain tops.