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To You We Turn

January 10, 2026 by Christine Jerrett

A prayer for January 11 , 2026
Scripture: Acts 10: 34 -43

Prayers of Adoration and Confession

Our gracious Master,
our holy God,
to you we turn,
looking for hope in troubled times;
looking for strength to keep going;
looking for courage to meet the challenges of these days. 

To you we turn,
and you pull us into the story of Jesus
and of his people.
We set ourselves now at his feet. 

Open our ears, open our hearts;
write your good news deep into our lives.
In your mercy and love,
turn us from stories that misdirect us;
stories that set us chasing after illusions;
stories that make our lives shallow and small.

To you we turn,
and your Holy Spirit moves us
into a life that is full of surprises:
surprises of your life invading our despair;
of your healing weaving us back into community;
of your summons giving us a place in your salvation story.

To you we turn,
with gratitude,
with hope renewed,
with our love and our lives. Amen.

Assurance of God’s Grace

God has made us God’s own people. We have received God’s mercy in Christ Jesus. God has made us witnesses of God’s mighty acts of reconciliation and peace. Now we get to be God’s message of reconciling love to all who dwell in despair or injustice.

Receive God’s grace. Be God’s grace, for the sake of Jesus our Lord, for the sake of the world God loves. 

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This Holy Time

December 28, 2025 by Christine Jerrett

A message for the Shiloh Inwood Congregation on December 21 2025

Many years ago, there was a conference held in Britain. Experts from around the world were asking, “What is unique about each of the world’s religions?” The time came when they asked question about Christianity. The well-known Christian author, C.S. Lewis joined the conversation. “That’s easy,” he said. “It is grace.”  (Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace, p.  41)

What is the unique gift that the Christian faith offers to the world? Grace. From the moment of our birth to the moment we die and beyond, we are surrounded by God’s grace. 

When the gospel writer John described Jesus’ birth, he wrote, “God’s Word became flesh and moved into our neighbourhood, and we beheld his glory, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

When John of Patmos was finishing up his great symphony of the Revelation of God, the last words he wrote were, “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all.” The whole story of God saving us summed up:  “All is grace”. (Revelation 22: 21)

I have found those words helpful in navigating through the troubled and confusing times that life can bring. “All is grace.” Whatever happens, whatever doesn’t happen, the most decisive power operating in your life is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing in all creation can take you outside of that power.

I read of one minister who preached a lot about grace. One day, a woman stopped him after a worship service and said, “You’re always talking about grace. I don’t know what you mean by that. I don’t know what to do with it. Just tell me the rules. I am really good at keeping the rules. I know how to live by rules.”

Especially when times are confusing, when the future looks uncertain, most of us reach for something we can count on. We want rules; a clear outline of what we should be doing; straightforward directions that give some structure to our lives.

That’s not what you get when the church says, “All is grace,” or “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” We want rules. We get a story about a baby born in Bethlehem and angels telling shepherds that this baby is the way God will save the whole world. We don’t get clear directions. We get a person. We get a summons into a relationship with that person. That’s God’s grace.

We tell the story of Jesus inviting us to participate in the kingdom of heaven —not because we are such good people. We often aren’t. And not because we have such amazing gifts and power and skills to make God’s kingdom great — we have varieties of gifts and skills and powers and often the ones that are most useful in God’s kingdom are not the ones we think they are. 

Jesus invites us to participate in God’s reign because God loves God’s creation. We get to participate because God has a good and holy purpose for each of our lives. We get to participate because nothing in all creation is powerful enough to separate us from that holy purpose.

You and I are more than just flesh and blood. You and I are more than just a machine made up of actions and reactions. We cannot be duplicated by an artificial intelligence programme, no matter how sophisticated. We are human beings whose lives have been changed, transformed by God’s presence within them. 

Our lives count for something. We have some purpose larger than ourselves and our dreams and our goals. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, we are being made disciples of Jesus. We have something good and holy to do as part of God’s story. 

Trusting that makes all the difference in how you navigate your life. There can be long stretches of time when you have no idea what you’re doing here. You can go through some terribly upending experiences that throw all your carefully laid-out plans out the window. Life can throw you some huge interruptions to your dreams and goals. Those interruptions can be frustrating, sometimes even devastating. They can leave you disoriented, unable to see what you are supposed to be doing. 

Then it is that you get to lean into God’s promise, “All is grace”. Your life — its purpose, its meaning, its value — is not defined by your plans and your dreams and your accomplishments or your lack thereof. Your life is a gift of God’s grace. Your life is part of the unfolding salvation story that God is telling.

Remember as you lean into God’s promise: nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love. Jesus is God-with-us. God comes to dwell your everyday life. The Holy Spirit is even now drawing you into God’s good, saving work in the world. This is a great mystery. Oftentimes it will remain a mystery to you, a wonder, a gift of grace that you cannot control or manage or use but only receive.

This holy time is a gift to remind us that all nights and days are holy. All our nights and days are permeated through and through by the living, active God. All is grace. You can trust that promise because the one who makes it put his life on the line to make it true. 

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Advent Devotional ~ Day 28

December 24, 2025 by Christine Jerrett

Wednesday, December 24, 2025 Luke 2:8-20 by Cathi Kennelly

Read this scripture passage through once to get an overview of the story and then a second time more slowly. The second time through, make yourself an observer, and allow yourself to imagine the sights, smells and sounds of those moments.  The stink of the sheep, the cold of the night and warmth and scent of the fire, the low rumble of the shepherds as they talked around the fire.  Imagine the shock of the sudden eruption of light and choirs of angels. Imagine the shepherds as they watch and listen, and then hurry away. 

What are you thinking or feeling about what you observe? Is the Lord speaking to you in any way through this scripture? Is there an invitation? A challenge? A warning? Comfort?  Contemplate what you are thinking and feeling. Write it in your journal if you have one.

I was listening to a devotional by Brian Trent about this passage that really got me thinking, so thought I’d share some of it with you:

Brian was talking with his sons about the story of the shepherds, and the youngest one asked him “Dad, what happened to the sheep?”  Brian thought about it for a moment and realised that in all the years that he had read and even preached on that story it had never occurred to him to ask that question. As they talked together they discussed the possibility that the sheep might well have been traumatized by the appearance of angels, bright lights, voices and singing, and that being deserted by their shepherds in that moment would not have been ideal for them.  In the end the boys decided that perhaps an angel had stayed with them to watch over and comfort them. The truth is that we don’t really know.

But what we do know is that this story seems to parallel a parable that Jesus told – where a different shepherd also left the bulk of his flock in order to chase after one. In that case, one that was lost, one that needed saving and restoration. One that needed to be returned to the safety of the flock.

In the nativity story of the shepherds we see a similar plot – where the shepherds leave the flocks untended in order to seek the one – but in this case, they are seeking:
Not the lost one, but the One who is never lost
Not the one who needs saving, but the One who saves.  
Not the one who needs healing, but the One who heals.  
Not the one who needs restoration, but the One who restores.

I would imagine that things were a whole lot different from that day for those shepherds – they would have seen the world in a whole new way. Like them, we too are called to leave the 99 things on our to-do list so that we can get to the One that truly matters. Because that One is worth it all. 

I know that some of you will be familiar with the traditional Easter greeting: ‘Christ is risen’, to which we respond ‘He is risen indeed’.  There is a similar Christmas greeting that goes “May Christ be born in you”, with the response “And in you”.  

Every holy day presents an opportunity for us to observe ourselves and make adjustments in our hearts and lives as we seek after the One. My prayer for each and every one of us this Christmas season is for Christ indeed to be born anew in us.  That as we choose to leave the 99 things behind we will see him with fresh hearts and fresh eyes.  That we will give him more space and more control and come to know him with greater intimacy.  May we be a people who’s heart cry is to know him better and to make him better known.

God bless you each and every one in these most precious and holy days!

Enjoy this beautiful Christmas song — and my it touch and draw your hearts closer to him: Be Born in Me by Francesca Batistelli

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Advent Devotional ~ Day 27

December 23, 2025 by Christine Jerrett

December 23, 2025 by Marie McNally

Scripture – Luke 1: 46-55

Read slowly through Luke 1: 46-55 two or three times.
What words or images do you notice?
What thoughts come to mind as you contemplate those words or images?
What would you like to say to God about those thoughts?

Having prayed your words and thoughts, take a few moments simply to sit in God’s presence.

Meditation

I love this scripture!  What a fantastic title – The Magnificat!  Mary’s song of Praise!  Out of all the women in the world, God chose Mary to give birth to the long-awaited Messiah.  Mary would be the mother of the Saviour of the World!  

When I read this as a kid, and saw pictures of Mary with a halo, I never thought about what this honour truly meant for Mary.  I just accepted the fact that she was the most honoured and revered woman of all time. When I got older and began to study the scriptures, and the history of Israel, and the cultural customs of that time, my respect and admiration for Mary deepened. If I had to make a choice, and knew that saying ‘Yes’ to God could mean that things could go horribly wrong in my life, would I respond the way Mary did?  Would you? 

When Gabriel told Mary that she was highly favoured by God and would become the mother of the long-awaited Messiah, the only question she asked was, ‘How is this possible, since I’m a virgin?’  She accepted Gabriel’s explanation that nothing is impossible for God, and replied, “I am the Lord’s servant.  May everything you have said about me come true.’

Scripture doesn’t explicitly state when Mary told Joseph about the baby, but because Luke tells us that Mary was in a hurry when she left a few days after meeting Gabrel, I’m guessing she hadn’t told anyone. The reality of her situation had set in. Mary was highly favoured by God, but that didn’t mean that the problems associated with her pregnancy disappeared. Mary’s hopes, dreams and plans for her wedding celebration were shattered. Her parents might disown her.  Joseph would know the baby wasn’t his, and could divorce her.  She would experience public shaming – whispers, gossip, accusations, and a lifetime of suspicion. Young women in her condition often became social outcasts, excluded from community life and pushed into poverty. Her life, her future, and her place in the community would be in jeopardy.

These thoughts must have weighed heavily on her mind as she travelled about 150 km over rough and dangerous terrain from Nazareth to the hill country of Judea to visit her cousin Elizabeth.   But what a welcome she received! Luke 1: 41-45, New Living Translation –
“At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, ‘“’God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what He said’.”

Overcome with emotion, grateful beyond description that God had revealed His plan to Elizabeth, Mary burst out this beautiful song of praise. Luke 1: 46-51, New Living Translation -“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.  How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For He took notice of His lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed. For the Mighty One is holy, and He has done great things for me.”

I am humbled by the faith that this young woman had.  Mary believed that what the Lord said to her – something unique and humanly impossible – would happen.  For Mary, what God had promised was as good as done.  Corrie ten Boom said, ‘Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable and receives the impossible”. This is the kind of faith Mary lived.                                                                         

Advent invites us to live into this same kind of faith. Not because the path is easy, not because the cost is small, but because our God Who promises, is faithful.  Like Mary, may we say, “I am the Lord’s servant.” And may we trust that what God has spoken over us, He will surely bring to pass.

Prayer

Heavenly Father,
We are humbled by Mary’s faith and courage.
Help us to trust You when the path is uncertain,
to say “Yes” to Your plan even when it is difficult,
and to rest in the promise that You are always faithful.
May we, like Mary, praise You with our whole hearts,
and walk in obedience, trusting that You hold our lives in Your hands. Amen.

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Advent Devotional ~ Day 26

December 22, 2025 by Christine Jerrett

Monday, December 22, 2025 by Marie McNally

Scripture – Isaiah 33: 17-22

Read slowly through Isaiah 33: 17-22 two or three times.
What words or images do you notice?
What thoughts come to mind as you contemplate those words?
What would you like to say to God about those thoughts?

Having prayed your words and thoughts, take a few moments simply to sit in God’s presence.

Meditation

What do you think Heaven will be like?  

Isaiah is speaking to people who are frightened, weary and uncertain.  He dares them to imagine a future when they will see the King, not in fear, but in beauty.                                                                                                         When I read today’s passage, the song “I Can Only Imagine’ by Bart Millard came to my mind.
This song was written out of Bart’s personal faith journey and his complicated relationship with his father.
For much of his childhood, Bart’s dad Arthur, was abusive, and distant.  Years later, Arthur experienced a dramatic transformation after becoming a Christian.  He repented, sought forgiveness, and became a gentle, faith-filled man before dying of cancer.

Bart was devastated when his dad died.  The father he had waited for his whole life had finally arrived, and now was gone.  Bart was comforted by the knowledge that one day, when he met Jesus face to face, he would be reunited with his dad, who had been redeemed by Christ.  One day, sitting at the piano he imagined what it would be like to stand in God’s presence.

Bart’s song asks the same question Isaiah raises.
What will it be like when we finally see what our hearts have trusted?
How will we respond when we see our King in all His beauty –
when our fears and worries are permanently removed,
when the voices that once ruled by intimidation, and the powers that once  demanded our compliance will be gone,
when we are surrounded by God’s glory?

Will we dance in His presence, or will we be still?
Will we stand, or will we fall to our knees?
Will we sing Hallelujah or will we be able to speak at all?

Advent reminds us that the fears, the disappointments and the sorrow that dominate our present, do not define our future.  The Lord, our judge, our ruler, our King, has saved us. One day, He will take us home.  We can only imagine.

Prayer

Gracious God,
In this season of waiting, lift our eyes beyond our fears and our sorrows.
Quiet the voices that trouble our hearts, and steady us with Your promise.
As we long for the day when we will see our King in His beauty,
teach us to trust You in the waiting,
to hope in Your salvation,
and to rest in the glory yet to come.                                                                           

Until that day, hold us in Your peace.
We offer ourselves to You with awe and gratitude.  Amen.

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Advent Devotional ~ Day 25

December 21, 2025 by Christine Jerrett

Sunday, December 21, 2025

The message preached at Shiloh Inwood United Church on their “Christmas Eve” service (traditionally held the Sunday before Christmas)

Scripture: Luke 2: 1-21

Many years ago, there was a conference held in Britain. Experts from around the world were asking, “What is unique about each of the world’s religions?” The time came when they asked question about Christianity. The well-known Christian author, C.S. Lewis walked into the room. “That’s easy,” he said. “It is grace.”  (Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace?, p.  41)

What is the unique gift that the Christian faith offers to the world? Grace. From the moment of our birth to the moment we die and beyond, we are surrounded by God’s grace. 

When the gospel writer John described Jesus’ birth, he wrote, “God’s Word became flesh and moved into our neighbourhood, and we beheld his glory, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

When John of Patmos was finishing up his great symphony of the Revelation of God, the last words he wrote were, “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all.” The whole story of God saving us summed up:  “All is grace”. (Revelation 22: 21)

I have found those words helpful in navigating through the troubled and confusing times that life can bring. “All is grace.” Whatever happens, whatever doesn’t happen, the most decisive power operating in your life is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing in all creation can take you outside of that power.

I read of one minister who preached a lot about grace. One day, a woman stopped him after a worship service and said, “You’re always talking about grace. I don’t know what you mean by that. I don’t know what to do with it. Just tell me the rules. I am really good at keeping the rules. I know how to live by rules.”

Especially when times are confusing, when the future looks uncertain, most of us reach for something we can count on. We want rules; a clear outline of what we should be doing; straightforward directions that give some structure to our lives.

That’s not what you get when the church says, “All is grace,” or “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” We want rules. We get a story about a baby born in Bethlehem and angels telling shepherds that this baby is the way God will save the world. We don’t get clear directions. We get a person, a summons into a relationship with that person. That’s God’s grace.

We tell the story of Jesus inviting us to participate in the kingdom of heaven —not because we are such good people. We often aren’t. And not because we have such amazing gifts and power and skills to make God’s kingdom great — we have varieties of gifts and skills and powers and often the ones that are most useful in God’s kingdom are not the ones we think they are. 

Jesus invites us to participate in God’s reign because God loves God’s creation. We get to participate because God has a good and holy purpose for each of our lives. We get to participate because nothing in all creation is powerful enough to separate us from that holy purpose.

In a few minutes Marie will sing for us “O Holy Night”. She will help us celebrate that great gift of God’s grace when Jesus comes to dwell among us, full of grace and truth. Because God came to earth on that holy night, God’s presence now makes all our nights and days holy. 

You and I are more than just flesh and blood. You and I are more than just a machine made up of actions and reactions. We cannot be duplicated by an artificial intelligence programme, no matter how sophisticated. We are human beings whose lives have been changed, transformed by God’s presence within them. 

Our lives count for something. We have some purpose larger than ourselves and our dreams and our goals. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, we are being made disciples of Jesus. We have something good and holy to do as part of God’s story. 

Trusting that makes all the difference in how you navigate your life. There can be long stretches of time when you have no idea what you’re doing here. You can go through some terribly upending experiences that throw all your carefully laid-out plans out the window. Life can throw you some huge interruptions to your dreams and goals. Those interruptions can be frustrating, sometimes even devastating. They can leave you disoriented, unable to see what you are supposed to be doing. 

Then it is that you need to lean into God’s promise, “All is grace”. Your life — its purpose, its meaning, its value — is not defined by your plans and your dreams and your accomplishments. Your life is a gift of God’s grace. Your life is part of the unfolding salvation story that God is telling.

Remember. Lean into God’s promise:  nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love. Jesus is God-with-us. God comes to dwelling our ordinary lives. The Holy Spirit is even now drawing you into God’s good, saving work in the world. This is a great mystery. Oftentimes it will remain a mystery to you, a wonder, a gift of grace that you cannot control or manage or use but only receive.

This Holy Night is a gift to remind us that all nights and days are holy. All our nights and days are permeated through and through by the living, active God. All is grace. You can trust that promise because the one who makes it put his life on the line to make it true. 

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Advent Devotional ~ Day 24

December 20, 2025 by Christine Jerrett

Saturday, December 20, 2025 by Christine Jerrett

 Scripture: Psalm 80: 1-7, 17 -19

Read slowly through  two or three times.  (The daily lectionary lists only verses 1-7 and 17 -19. I have prayed the whole psalm as the basis for these reflections)

What words or images do you notice?
What thoughts come to mind as you contemplate those words/images?
What would you like to say to God about those thoughts?

Having prayed your words and thoughts, take a few moments simply to sit in God’s presence. 

Message

Do you hear the desperation in the psalmist’s prayer?
Hear us, Shepherd of Israel . . .
Awaken your might . . . come to save us
Restore us . . .
How long, Lord God Almighty?
Return to us, God Almighty!

How broken was the time in which the psalmist lived? Had the systems that used to make life work broken down? Were the lines at the foodbanks growing longer day by day? Were drug addicts making ordinary neighbourhoods unsafe and were the court systems and the medical systems and the mental health supports overwhelmed? Were hate groups on the rise and were people becoming used to hearing of mass shootings and other acts of violence on the daily newsfeed?

Was the despair made worse because no politician, no economic or business leader, no technology ‘whiz-kid’ really knew what to do about it? All the easy solutions had been tried; all the promised fixes had not worked out. Is that why the psalmist turns to God? 

Fleming Rutledge (Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Christ) writes that Advent is a time for facing the darkness . . . “where there is no human hope whatsoever and the only possibility is the impossibility of the intervention of God. “Nothing can save us that is possible” wrote W. H. Auden in Advent section of For the Time Being.

I have been thinking a lot lately about the Church’s tendency to turn so quickly and so expectantly to the ‘government’ to solve the problems and social issues that confront us. Affordability? What’s the government doing to bring prices down? Mental Health issues? What programmes will the government be funding to address the crisis? Corporations engaging in environmental destruction? What new laws will the government be passing to force them to take more care?

It is as if we have stopped believing that God can or does intervene. It is as if we first and foremost frame our problems as issues that can be addressed by applying new laws or technologies. 

What if the problems we face are, at their roots, spiritual problems? What if the Church’s contribution to the conversations and the attempts at solutions was not to line up on one side or the other of any issue? What if we didn’t operate as if only the government passing more laws could save us?

What if our work in a broken world is to teach people to pray like the psalmist is praying?  What if our work is to help people search for God showing up in unexpected places, changing our hearts and minds so that we live lives that reflect God’s purposes, God’s glory? 

What if a baby born in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago really is the way God restores us and makes God’s face to shine upon us so that we are saved? 

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Advent Devotional ~ Day 23

December 19, 2025 by Christine Jerrett

Friday, December 19, 2025 by Cathi Kennelly

Scripture: Galatians 3: 23 -29

Read this scripture passage once to get the general gist of it.  Then read it twice more, but more slowly, asking the Lord to speak to you through the words and images.  

What comes to mind?  Did you discover something new, or a reminder of something you already knew? Are you being challenged or comforted, or is something else happening?

Throughout Biblical history the entire portion of scripture that we call the ‘Old Testament’ is the story of a very specific ‘in group’ for God – the people of Israel.  They were his people, those through whom he would reveal himself and safeguard his plans and purposes for the world. Their uniqueness was displayed in the laws they followed, the festivals they celebrated and the history that connected them. The call of God on this growing community made them a special and unique group. Their laws and observances safeguarded their uniqueness and protected the children of Abraham from the pagan world around them. They were a relatively homogeneous group because few people converted from other faiths.  

And then Jesus came. 

All of a sudden there was no ‘in group’ any more. The earmark of Jesus-followers was that they included those from every tongue and tribe and race of the earth. Those from all levels of society, men and women. The poor, the rich and everyone in between. All who submitted themselves to Christ and his teaching are welcome into this new family. 

You too are included in this family.  We are worthy not because of what we have done, or earned, or accomplished, but solely because of what Jesus has accomplished on our behalf.  Think about that for a moment – everyone, no matter who they are, no matter how broken, is welcome in the family of Christ.

Spend a few moments praying, thanking the Lord for being included in his family. Consider others you know who might not be very interested in God at this time of their lives.  Ask the Lord to open their spiritual eyes and ears so that they can hear and respond to his voice. 

Let your heart soar in the presence of your King with the words and music of this beautiful song:  Be Enthroned by Jeremy Riddle

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Advent Devotional ~ Day 22

December 18, 2025 by Christine Jerrett

Thursday, December 18 2025 by Christine Jerrett

 Scripture: 2 Samuel 7: 18 -22

Read slowly through 2 Samuel 7: 18 -22  two or three times. 
What words or images do you notice?
What thoughts come to mind as you contemplate those words?
What would you like to say to God about those thoughts?
Having prayed your words and thoughts, take a few moments simply to sit in God’s presence. 

Meditation

When we are baptized, we are adopted into a story that began long before we were born. It is a story that will continue after we have died. At the centre of that story is Jesus.

To say that Jesus is at the centre of the story that determines our life and our identity is to acknowledge that our life is a gift that comes from a good and holy God. This God works in our lives and in our world through covenants and promises made with people who are very human — sometimes faithful, sometimes flawed, often confused about when we are being faithful and when we are missing the mark.

The prayer which David offers in 2 Samuel 7 comes after David had decided he wanted to build a big, beautiful Temple to honour the God who had given him his life and purpose. God said, “Thanks, but no thanks. I have something else in mind for you. I shall build a house through you and through your family — a house made of people, not of stones.” Eugene Peterson in Leap Over a Wall (p. 160) summarizes God’s reply to David’s offer as,”The kingdom that I’m shaping here isn’t what you do for me but what I do through you.”

Peterson notes that David’s response to this message was God was to “sit before the Lord”. He says, “This may be the single most critical act that David ever did, the action that put him out of action . . . David let himself be stopped by God” (p. 160-161) The danger we often face is that we put ourselves, our plans, our actions at the centre of our lives where God belongs. We may be well-intentioned but, nevertheless, doing so puts us in danger of missing God’s action in our lives.

There is a direct line from this story to that stable in Bethlehem. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to David. Jesus is the way in which God comes to dwell among us. Jesus is God’s salvation in our midst.

To centre our lives on this Jesus is to learn again and again that the “kingdom that [God] is shaping here” isn’t so much what we do for God but what God does through us. Centering our lives in Jesus takes us out of the centre. It means that our lives are taken up into whatever it is God is doing to save our world. 

Much of the time we will not see what God is doing in and through us. We walk most of this journey by faith and not by sight. As the apostle Paul says, “For now we see only a reflection, as in a mirror, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

Jesus adopts us into a community whose God makes and keeps promises. So, for now, we can take ourselves out of the driver’s seat; we can set ourselves before God; we can  rest in the presence of the One who has come to dwell among us, full of grace and truth. 

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, Light of God, Prince of Peace,
We set ourselves before you. 
We open our spirits to your Holy Spirit:
Dwell in our hearts by faith
Dwell in our minds in truth
Dwell in our whole being 
to shape there your own image
that we may dwell in gladness and joy
this day and every day, 
as children of the Great King.  Amen.

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Advent Devotional ~ Day 21

December 17, 2025 by Christine Jerrett

Wednesday, December 17, 2025 by Cathi Kennelly

Psalm 42

Read slowly through this scripture passage a couple of times. As you do, let Holy Spirit speak to you about where your heart is. Are you struggling with heartbreak? Grief? Discouragement?  This time of year can be very difficult for many. 

Apparently the psalmist was facing a tough time when he wrote these lines – depressed, heartbroken, and verse two suggests even despairing of life.  It’s interesting how we place so much emphasis on verse one that we miss the very human messiness of the verses that follow it. There is a surprising permission here for us to ‘feel our feelings’; to acknowledge our own difficult emotions just like the psalmist has done.  At the same time there is an invitation not to root ourselves in them.  He reminds us that no matter what, the Lord pours out his unfailing love, and we can respond to that with praise in any circumstance. We see that the difficulties of life are what drive the psalmist’s hunger and thirst after God. The pain and struggle impel him towards God rather than away from him. 

I’d like to invite you to read through the scripture passage slowly at least once more.  Where are the places you can relate to?  

Consider your own response to difficult times.  Do you, like the psalmist, run towards God – seek for his embrace?  Do you tend to run away in disappointment?  

Can you see any hints of the Lord at work in you and/or through you? If not, how about the lives of others?  Can you see him at work even where they can’t?

Does seeing a hint of God at work in your life or the lives of others change your perspective on your more challenging emotions and/or thoughts?

Spend a few moments thanking God for what he is revealing in your heart.

May this be your prayer today…Here’s My Heart by Casting Crowns

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