This year, I'm pondering the traditional Advent themes—HOPE, PEACE, JOY, and LOVE—found in the apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians (my recent Bible study). We've examined HOPE, PEACE, and JOY. Today we look at LOVE.
Hope
Advent 2025 First Sunday: HOPE
This year, I’m still pondering my recent study of Galatians. While we celebrate Jesus’s birth at Christmas, we cannot separate it from the reason he came nor his promises for the future. Join me here as I look at each of the traditional Advent themes—HOPE, PEACE, JOY, and LOVE—found in Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Today we start with HOPE.
Isaiah Offers Hope in the Hard
In the middle of the “weighty messages from God” (oracles) that Isaiah delivers to the nations surrounding Israel (Is 13–24), he continues to give us glimpses of hope—God’s compassion, peace, justice, righteousness, deliverance, salvation—on his people, his handiwork, his inheritance.
A Life With God
Since my word for 2023 is with, I enthusiastically dove into "With: Reimagining the way you relate to God" by Skye Jethani. The author’s thesis is, "Our true selves cannot be discovered by living under, over, from, or for God. It is something that will be revealed when we are fully with God."
Jesus is Better: Summaries from Hebrews
The author of the New Testament book of Hebrews presents many arguments to prove emphatically that Jesus is better. And because he is so superior to anything else, we are exhorted to stick with him to the end, despite suffering or persecution.
Advent: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love
Today we head into the final week of waiting for our annual celebration of the birth of Mary’s son, Jesus. We expectantly anticipate the coming—the Advent—of the Son of the Most High as she did. During each week of Advent, I focused on finding the traditional Advent themes in Mary's story.
Hopeless
My devotional asks me, "What can I do to relieve the fears of others?" I am stopped short. I have been exacerbating fears, not relieving them.
Pain and Hope
How does one accept the reality of pain and disappointment without losing hope? How do we surrender and face reality and yet not give up? How do we trust that God might never answer our prayer the way we want it and yet still keep asking for a miracle? How does one continue to experience loss and yet still have faith?
Pondered Treasures 