We are now in the advent season, which for the believer is a wonderful time to celebrate the coming of our Messiah.

The thought struck me this morning to look the passages in the bible that lead into the entry into creation of the promised Saviour Jesus. Many of us celebrate the Christmas period with advent calendars, but what about celebrating with an advent devotional?

Whilst is might seem to be something that catholic or mainline churches might use for worship, I think there is a great blessing in walking through the scriptures in the lead up to Christmas day.

Here are ten great advent devotional resources that you can use in your own life:

• Advent Reading Guide (Evanston Vineyard) – Downloadable PDF
• Advent Scripture Reading Guide (WOLC) – Onsite Reading Guide
• Advent Reading Guide (Gospel.com) – Onsite Reading Guide
• Family Inductive Study Guide for Advent (Eleanor Zweigle) – Downloadable studies
• Journey to Bethlehem (Scripture Union USA) – Onsite Devotions
• Advent Bible Verse (intothyword.org) – Teaching on Advent & Scripture Reading Guides
• Following the Star (d365.org) – Interactive, daily advent devotional
• Advent Christmas Devotional Guide (BaptistWay) – Downloadable PDF
• Carol: A Christmas Devotional (YouVersion) – Online and on mobile devices
• Countdown to Christmas (YouVersion) – Family devotions, Online & mobile

(Note: not all are 2012 calendars, but it is pretty easy to adjust to the current year in the lead up to December 25th)

Happy and blessed Christmas!!

Related articles

• Waiting and Hoping by Mark D. Roberts
• Advent Reading: December Facebook Bible Study
• Preparing for Advent
• The First Day of Advent

Hearing from God through Reading the Word in Devotions

Some time ago, a pastor friend in the city introduced me to a simple means of devotional bible study. Let me share it with you as I know it help feed your Spirit from the Word of God each day.

Many of us come to the Word of God not knowing what it is we are reading, why we are reading it or what to expect as a result of reading it. The result is words on a page that have very little impact upon our lives as our eyes pass over them. That is not the purpose of daily bible devotions.

My Pastor friend gave me four simple things to look at and consider as we read a passage of Scripture. They make up the acronym L.I.F.E.*
[Read more…] about How to Hear From God Through Bible Devotions

A Simple Way to Spend Devotional Time with God Daily

Most Christians know we are supposed to have a devotional time with God each day. But what many don’t know (and may be too afraid to ask) is how we are meant to have devotional time with God.

There are many ways to spend devotional time with God, and there is no right or wrong way. The simplest way we can spend time with Jesus is through His Word (the Bible) and in prayer. It is through these two means we both hear from God and speak to God and know how to live for God.

Here are the 101 basics of how to have a devotional time with God:
[Read more…] about How to Have a Devotional Time with God