grace generation

Advent 2024

Thanks for participating in our Advent 2024 devotional series. We pray these daily devotions will bless you as we journey through the themes of hope, peace, joy and love.

Use the links below to access each days devotion, new links and devotions will be added every Sunday.

Monday - 16th
Tuesday - 17th
Wednesday - 18th
Thursday - 19th
Friday - 20th

Mon 16th Dec

“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with JOY in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
– ‭‭Psalm 16:11
When we think of Christmas time, we may think about what presents will be under the tree on Christmas morning, and if your anything like me, you will spend the few months before running about to find the perfect gifts for loved ones and also hoping you have not left anyone out!

This Christmas, when you’re thinking of all the presents, may you take time to be in His presence. When we take time to rest in the presence of our heavenly Father, He fills us with JOY. When the angels appeared to the Shepard’sto share the good news of Jesus birth, they went to be in His presence. In Luke 2 v 20 we read… “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.” When they had seen the greatest present that God had given to ALL people to receive, they were filled with JOY. May you receive the greatest gift, Jesus, He was and is the perfect gift and it is His heart that no one is left out. May you choose to be full of JOY by continually looking to Jesus despite your circumstances by being In His presence.

Tues 17th Dec

“…then the angel said to them, do not be afraid, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a saviour, who is Christ the Lord.”
– Luke 2:10-11

Joy is more than a feeling of happiness, it is a spiritual force that enables us to have inner contentment even when things aren’t going well. The message the angel brought to the shepherds was one of GREAT JOY, a message that was to transform the face of history, the Messiah was born. The news that the angel heralded was to bring a joy to mankind the like of which was never known before. This joy would be an everlasting joy that would set people free from sin, reconcile man to God and give an assurance of eternity in heaven.

Imagine the joy the shepherds experienced when they first set eyes on Jesus,the Messiah, the son of God. The shepherds reared the lambs that would be sold for sacrifice in the temple. The priest would examine the lamb to make sure it was ” without blemish and without spot ‘ However the shepherds would have been the first to examine these lambs. Maybe, just maybe, this is why they were the first to examine the ” Lamb of God’

May we all experience great joy as we celebrate the birth of Christ this advent.

Wed 18th Dec

Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.
– Luke 2:10-11

The good news of Jesus’ birth brings joy to the whole world. The joy of Christmas is not that we have approached God, but that God has approached us. Jesus, the Son of God, traded His glory for swaddling clothes. He is Emmanuel, God with us.
We can know joy, unshakeable joy, because Jesus took our place, died for our sin, and rose again, conquering death and granting us eternal life. What incredible love and sacrifice!

In Psalm 43:4 God is given the name El Simchah Giyli, God my exceeding joy. The words “Simchah” and “Giyl” mean pleasure, gladness and great joy. Happiness can come and go but the joy of the Lord goes beyond circumstances. This joy comes from knowing God, abiding in Christ and being filled with the Holy Spirit. Even in the midst of trials, we can experience an indescribable joy that springs from His presence.

Let us remember that the news of Jesus’ birth has the profound ability to fill our hearts with great joy. God has given us a joy that no one can take away. Our joy isn’t dependent on what is going on in our life or in the world around us. The same joy that filled the shepherds’ hearts has the power to flood our hearts with overwhelming gladness no matter what we may be facing.

Thurs 19th Dec

You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
– Psalm 16:11
In today’s devotional, we’ll focus on verse 11, though I encourage you to take a moment to read the entire Psalm. In this passage, David reflects on God’s goodness in his life, recalling how God has been his protector and source of security, both day and night. With God by his side, David finds courage to face whatever comes his way.

Verse 11 begins with the words, “You make known to me the paths of life…”
This doesn’t mean that God tells us exactly how things will unfold, as only He knows that. Rather, it means that God reveals to us the paths we should take. He understands that we often make mistakes, and though He guides us, we don’t always follow His lead. The beautiful thing is that, even when we fail, God, in His wisdom, can still turn our mistakes into lessons and make them work out for our good.

God grants us free will—the ability to make our own decisions. While He offers wisdom and direction, it’s up to us to choose whether or not we follow it. As we learn from our mistakes and trust His guidance more and more, we begin to experience what David describes next: “In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Fri 20th Dec

“I bring you good news of great joy”
– Luke 2:10

The first announcement of Jesus’ birth was by an angel: “I bring you good news of great joy”. What is joy? “joy is choosing to respond to external circumstances with inner contentment and satisfaction” (Mel Walker, Christianity.com, 2023).

Whilst our circumstances can bring us happiness or sadness, we can maintain that inner bedrock of joy by choosing to focus on, to believe in, Jesus – the One who loves us and has invited us to remain in His love (John 15:9-11). Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

We read in 2 Samuel that David rejoiced greatly as the Ark was being returned to Jerusalem to the tent he had prepared for it. The key here is that David had prepared for the Ark’s return. If we are struggling to connect with that inner joy, perhaps we need to prepare our hearts afresh to invite the source of all joy back in.