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Be of Good Cheer: A Christmas Devotional
Be of Good Cheer: A Christmas Devotional
by Susan Hill
The season of Advent has come and gone on the Christian calendar as we remembered the arrival of Jesus, the King of Kings, who was born, as predicted in the Old Testament, in the little town of Bethlehem. His humble birth was just the beginning of the earthly story of the long awaited Messiah who was both fully God and fully man. He experienced in his perfect body all the things that we experience—grief, joy, pain, love, hunger, disappointment. Then he sacrificed himself on the cross to redeem men from their sins.
Be of Good Cheer is a 40 day devotional that draws the reader to the character of Jesus and focuses on words that are elements of a Christ-filled life. In fact, if you are looking for your “word” for 2025, this could be a resource for inspiration for that project.
This small book is a visual delight with illustrations that are both photographs and paintings. It makes a nice coffee table book that can be read through as an Advent devotional according to each day or picked up by a casual guest to peruse at their leisure. The smooth, heavy weight paper adds touch to the pleasures of holding this book. Each chapter has a one word title followed by a relevant Scripture reference. For example, Chapter 1 is “Cheer” with the verse “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). A short message ends with a suggestion on how to live out the word, how to apply it. This is followed by a brief prayer.
I enjoyed reading each passage. I think this book would make a nice gift for many in 2025.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Nonfiction, Christian, Devotional
Publication: October 1, 2024—Zondervan
Memorable Lines:
From Glory: To give glory to God doesn’t mean to give God something He lacks—it means to proclaim the magnificent glory He already possesses. God’s glory can be defined as all the things that make Him heavenly—His omniscience, omnipotence, and perfect love.
From Miracles: Christmastime is the ideal time to reflect on the reality that God is in the miracle business and routinely accomplishes the impossible. Is there a specific area in your life where you need God to work? Be encouraged that you serve a God who can do all things.
From Kindness: God, thank You for the countless ways You have lavished acts of kindness on me. Help me see the ways You are kind, and lead me to people who need my kindness.
Church of the Good Shepherd–Anglican
December 27, 2024
The Advent candles flicker with the arrival of Christ, the Light of the World.
The Wise Men have been added to the nativity scene in readiness for January 6.
Gloria in Excelsis Deo!
Christmas: The Season of Life and Light
Christmas: The Season of Life and Light
by Emily Hunter McGowan
In reading the book Advent (reviewed here) by Trish Harrison Warren, I learned much about liturgical Protestant churches (typically Lutheran, Anglican, and Episcopalian) that follow a structured, participatory format with foundations in practices of the early Christian church. The church calendar begins with the season of Advent focusing on repentance and the anticipated coming of the Messiah, which is celebrated on December 25th at the commencement of the Twelve Days of Christmas.
I decided to follow up my reading of Advent with the book entitled Christmas: The Season of Life and Lightwhich is also in the Fullness of Time series, but is written by a different author, Emily Hunter McGowin. I was pleased that Christmas held many of the same qualities that are found in Advent. Both are short books and very readable, but are packed with theological truths. McGowan did a lot of research, as witnessed by her footnotes, and she includes a brief list of books for further reading at the end of each chapter. After a fairly personal introduction, she very appropriately begins with the origins of the celebration focusing on the debates about when Christ was actually born. Much of the book discusses God in relationship to people. God’s gift of His Son can be related to the gifts we give at Christmas. Jesus was born in a poor family, and He was concerned about the poor all through his three year ministry. He leaves Christians with the mandate to give sacrificially to the poor. Decorations are an important part of our Christmas customs in the West, and her analysis of their role is found in the chapter “God of Creation and Re-Creation.” McGowan does not gloss over the tragedy of Herod’s slaying children in an attempt to ensure his throne from the threat of this newborn King. Singing and lighting candles are highlighted in her discussion of life and light.
Christmas ends with an appendix listing the “appointed Scriptures and collects” or prayers for Christmas found in the 1979 Lectionary and the Book of Common Prayer. I look forward to reading the other books in the series, all by different authors: Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost.
Christmas permeates our society in cultural as well as religious ways. Therefore, this series has benefits of instruction and understanding for all—Christians who use the Book of Common Prayer and those who don’t, as well as those who aren’t followers of Jesus. I invite you to read this book to examine the truths behind our customs and the reasons Jesus Christ is the focus of this season named after Him.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Christian, Nonfiction, Religion, Theology
Notes: part of the Fullness of Time series which can be read in any order
Publication: 2023—InterVarsity Press
Memorable Lines:
Profligate shopping sprees and conspicuous consumption notwithstanding, the practice of gift-giving in itself remains evocative of the central mystery of Christmas: the incarnation of God in Christ. Christmas is about God’s great gift to us, which is God’s own self in the person of Jesus Christ.
In fact, children are among those people with whom Jesus so closely identifies that they become a sacramental sign. The hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the unclothed, the sick, the imprisoned, children—Jesus says of all these that to welcome and serve them is to welcome and serve him (see Matthew 18:5; 25:40; Mark 9:37). So we separate ourselves from the poor, needy, and vulnerable at our collective peril.
Advent–Hope and Repentance
Advent: The Season of Hope
by Tish Harrison Warren
I have almost finished reading Advent by Tish Harrison Warren for the second time this season. It is a small book that packs a powerful punch and is worthy of a reread.
In the Protestant churches of my childhood and most of my adult years, “advent” was a word I rarely heard. The focus was on Christmas and making sure the cultural aspects of the celebration (e.g. decorations, gifts, and parties) did not take prominence over the spiritual foundation: “Jesus is the reason for the season.” In more recent years, I have worshiped in Protestant churches that follow the liturgy found in the Book of Common Prayer. Warren’s book has helped me unravel the church calendar year which begins with Advent and to understand Advent itself.
This tiny book explains the three comings or advents of Christ. We celebrate His birth in Bethlehem at Christmas and look forward to what we refer to as “His Second Coming” when He will reign as King of Kings. Warren says there is a third coming which we currently experience when He dwells in our hearts as we are filled with the Holy Spirit.
There are many themes of Advent discussed in this book, but the ones that impact my heart the most are “repentance and hope” and “darkness and light.” Warren refers to four prayers composed for the Advent season in the Book of Common Prayer. In addition to talking to God, these prayers or collects lead the reader to a deeper understanding of Christian theology and what we believe as Christians. She explains eight practices of Advent for those who want to use this season to meet with God and draw closer to Him during the course of the four weeks of Advent that lead up to Christmas.
Perhaps my favorite chapter in the book Advent is entitled “Crying Out: Two Prophets of Advent.” Who prophesied most about the advent or coming of Jesus? Isaiah in the Old Testament and John the Baptist in the New Testament. It is a good beginning place if you want to learn more about prophecies from the Old Testament that were fulfilled in the New Testament and prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled when Jesus comes again, not as a baby in a manger, but as the Messiah who returns to banish Satan and evil and rule on Earth for eternity with justice, peace, and love.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Christian, Theology
Notes: 1. “Each volume in the Fullness of Time series invites readers to engage with the riches of the church year, exploring the traditions, prayers, Scriptures, and rituals of the seasons of the church calendar.” These are standalone books, each written by a different author: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost.
2. This is a choice for my book club and lends itself well to group discussion, but it is also perfect for devotion, study, and meditation for individual readers.
Publication: 2023—InterVarsity Press
Memorable Lines:
Advent comes each year and quietly asks me to pause, to remember that we do not bring the kingdom of God to the world through our own effort or on our own timeline. We wait for one outside of us and outside of time. We wait for our coming king.
Advent is training in hope because this season tells us that when things lie fallow they do not lie in waste; things that seem dormant are not dead, and times of waiting are not without meaning, purpose, or design. God is working, sometimes almost imperceptibly, deep beneath the surface of time. Waiting is part of his redemption. It is part of his gift to us. It is part of his grace.
The love of God is the blazing fire that purifies us, remakes us, and sets right all that is broken in us and in the world. The love of God brings us to repentance. The love of God sets the oppressed free and makes all things new. The love of God insists on truth and justice. The love of God reveals every hidden thing. And it is this love that is coming for us.
Our Gift-Giving God: A Devotional
Our Gift-Giving God: A Devotional
by Andrea Levin Kim
In Our Gift-Giving God, Andrea Levin Kim centers the devotional around eight gifts from God to us, each paired with a traditional Christmas symbol. The author suggests beginning on the first day of December and learning about and meditating on each gift for three days. Each gift and supporting Bible verses are followed by questions and a prayer. The book concludes with the gift of Christmas. Alternate schedules are provided for those who would like to associate the gifts with Hanukkah or with the use of particular Christmas symbols throughout the season. Regardless of how you choose to use Our Gift-Giving God, you will be blessed as you prepare for Christmas by studying Scriptures that focus your thoughts on the role of Jesus in your life, not only as a child in a manger or a humble miracle-working man, but as the Savior of the world who sacrificed his own life so that you can have eternal life.
Our Gift-Giving God is sweetly illustrated by Carissa Robertson with simple line with watercolor pictures. The symbols are traditional for Christmas but may be associated with a gift you might not have anticipated. For example, a decked out fireplace is paired with new beginnings and angels with the concept of mercy. Andrea Levin Kim makes her points quite well, and you will come away with a deeper understanding of God’s love, provision, and sacrifice. I recommend this book for a scripturally based devotional with a fresh approach to the Advent season.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Lucid Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Christian, Religious
Notes: 1. The purpose of this book is not to address the historical origins of various Christmas symbols, but to help prepare the reader’s heart for a celebration of the birth of Christ.
2. The suggested timelines for reading the book are truly only suggestions. I worked my reading of it into my schedule and was blessed by it.
Publication: November 19, 2018—Lucid Books
Memorable Lines:
Accepting this gospel gift of approval humbles us and fills us with a deeper desire to love and serve the Giver with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love others out of that secure place of the covering of His approval. He will never love you less and He cannot love you more because His love and approval are perfect…
God’s words about real joy are like notes that together sing of the truth of a gospel gift that cannot be drowned out, that never lies, that is never upstaged or outshined by an emotion or circumstance, a song that never gets old or outdated but invites us to dance in step with Him. His word reveals a joy that is not only catchy, but catching, not only memorable, but lasting; not only uplifting, but a reminder that the Savior raises us up and seats us with Him.
The secret ingredient of the Lord’s gift of joy is the Lord Himself—God with us, Immanuel. It’s not what He can do for us or the multitude of blessings He delivers, although they are certainly good.
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