Divine Intervention-Advent 2020

When it seems like the impossible clouds all earthly possibilities, hang on.
When it feels like the troubles of this life will never change, don’t give up.
When hope is a distant thought and despair pummels us from every angle, keep hoping!
When the struggle is real and our strength fails us, take heart!
When we’re weary from running on empty, and it’s beginning to look like we can’t get there from here… God does something remarkable!

He reminds us that He’s with us.

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:  “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). Matthew 1:22-23

God’s actions convey that He sees our faith and hears our prayers.  He acts with great power on our behalf.  Sometimes it’s as simple as an answer to prayer or a reassuring voice, “Be still and wait upon the Lord.” Or the steadfast awareness that the battle is not ours.  It’s His.  Sometimes it’s encouragement out of the blue from a godly friend who was inspired to offer a hand of assistance to persevere through the tough stuff. 

But sometimes it’s more. It’s all this … on steroids. 
It’s Divine Intervention: When Only a Miracle Will Do.

Throughout Biblical history, God has displayed that He’s very much engaged with what is going on here on Earth.  Never more plainly than at Christmas with the birth of His Son Jesus to be our Savior.

Join me this Advent beginning on Sunday, November 29th and continuing to Thursday, December 24th as we celebrate the first coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and look forward to His Second Coming.  By signing up on the sidebar of my Home Page you can receive these daily devotionals. Or they will be reposted on SeminaryGal’s Facebook page as well.

Together we will see how God has been actively involved all along as Divine Intervention for a hurting world and nations in tumult– Intervention for you and for me when our status as sinners required nothing short of a miracle.

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Acknowledging inquiries about an entire season’s devotionals for your study group’s planning purposes, Seminary Gal’s prior seasons’ Advent devotionals can be accessed via the archives to the right and are as follows:  

  • Last year’s Advent Devotional Series God’s Christmas list explored what might be on God’s Christmas list, learning what He wants from us. It began December 1, 2019.
  • Storyteller began December 2, 2018 and entered into the Christmas story through its telling.
  • The 2017 series Still Christmas, began December 3, 2017 and was the Advent complement to the Lenten series, Be Still and Know that I AM God.
  • The 2016 season devotionals were called Timeless: The Message of Christmas for All Ages” and explored how the message of Christmas is timeless truth, for all ages of people, and for all ages at all times.  Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love as we looked into the Word, saw the face of our Lord Jesus, and experienced restoration in His presence.  His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless. The 2016 devotionals began November 27, 2016.
  • The 2015 season devotionals were titled Incarnation and involved digging deep–and yes, I mean deep– in this important mystery of Christian theology.  They began November 29, 2015.
  • Carol Me, Christmas! remains one of my most popular offerings and tells the Christmas story through our most beloved Christmas hymns and carols.  You can access all of the numbered devotionals from 2014 via the archives.  They began November 30, 2014.
  • The 2013 series was Emmanuel: When LOVE Showed Up in Person and examined the Prologue to the Gospel of John.  It began December 1, 2013.
  • The 2012 series focused on Expecting the Unexpected…the unexpected, unlikely, and uniquely divine qualities of God’s perfect plan outlined in Luke’s account of the Christmas story.  It began December 1, 2012.

Categories Articles and Devotionals, Devotionals | Tags: | Posted on November 2, 2020

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2 Comments

  1. by Betsy Leggett

    On November 8, 2020

    Thank you for your calm and for refocusing me on the TRUTH. God is the truth and his is the power. Appreciate you.

  2. by seminarygal

    On November 8, 2020

    You’re welcome. 🙂 I had been praying about a theme for this year’s devotional series. I even considered giving up after these years of its being an annual tradition because I felt pretty spent. But God impressed upon my heart during my flight back to Florida, that He had it all in mind. He had it all in control. He knows my life is beyond busy with varied stresses and struggles. But He asked again for my obedience this year and so I obey. I plowed ahead with this series which He told me to write and, just wow, it flows like it’s from God’s hand, not mine. (God is SO GOOD!!!)

    During the writing which I’ve been doing, it’s calming me. He reminds me of His faithfulness and how many ways He’s stood in the gap even when we didn’t know there was a gap. It’s a spiritual battle and God will NOT let His people be ashamed for putting their trust in Him. Why? Because it’s witness! And it’s amazing!

    But His ways are not our ways. I firmly believe that God’s plan is far bigger than a simple election (which I surmise is a reason so many Christians are spiritually unsettled right now, having prayed and voted like they believed a holy God–the Giver of Life–would have them to do). You would not believe the old posts that have suddenly been rediscovered as a source of encouragement. I can see God at work.

    So, while the results seem unclear to many of us, and even if certain groups are doing a premature victory lap, God’s timing is perfect. He is all-seeing, all-knowing, and He says in His Word that He is Truth and He will not be mocked. This election and its present results are not the end of the story. It’s an amazing cause to reflect that things looked pretty bleak on Good Friday, and many still didn’t “get it” even on Easter Sunday. But the hope of God shines brightest against a dark backdrop. Hang on. Even if we’re in for another season of judgment, He is able to distinguish between His people and those who do not know Him. Our Good Shepherd knows His sheep. I rest in this comfort.

    May God bless you with His peace now and always. Your sister in Christ, Barbara

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