Advent Devotions

Yesterday I posted Favorite Books of 2008.  Below are two which I’m reading alongside the Word of God as the people of God journey through Advent and Christmas.  Do you have materials which you return to again and again to enable you to focus upon the meaning of the season in the midst of the end of the term, the holiday festivities, and the beginning of a new year? 

1. On the Incarnation by Saint Athanasius (c. 297 – 373).  The title and the author convey the importance of the writing.  Note: On the Incarnation available for download at Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL).  For background on Athanasius, read the bio at CCEL. 
2. Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas: A welcome addition to glutted holiday bookshelves — Amen to the front cover quote from Publishers Weekly!  And maybe it’s time to make the New Year Resolution to toss some of the other holiday books which glut the shelves of stores and houses, including my own.  Please take a few minutes to prayerfully consider the below reading from December 8:   

Jesus’ life began in a stable and ended on the cross between two criminals.  The Apostle Paul said he wanted to proclaim nothing but this crucified Christ.  We, too, having nothing to hold on to except this Christ.  We must ask ourselves again and again:  Are we willing to go his way, from the stable to the cross?  As disciples we are not promised comfortable and good times.  Jesus says we must deny ourselves and suffer with him and for him.  That is the only way to follow him, but behind it lies the glory of life — the glowing love of God, which is so much greater than our hearts and our lives. — J. Heinrich Arnold, Discipleship:  Living for Christ in the Daily Grind.  Farmington, PA:  Plough, 1995.  Note:  Arnold’s book available for download in several languages at Plough Press.

Tom Grosh IV

Tom enjoys daily conversations regarding living out the Biblical Story with his wife Theresa and their four girls, around the block, at Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ Church (where he teaches adult electives and co-leads a small group), among healthcare professionals as the South Central PA Area Director for the Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA), and in higher ed as a volunteer with the Emerging Scholars Network (ESN). The Christian Medical Society / CMDA at Penn State College of Medicine is the hub of his ministry with CMDA. Note: Tom served with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA for 20+ years, including 6+ years as the Associate Director of ESN. He has written for the ESN blog from its launch in August 2008. He has studied Biology (B.S.), Higher Education (M.A.), Spiritual Direction (Certificate), Spiritual Formation (M.A.R.), Ministry to Emerging Generations (D.Min.). To God be the glory!

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