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The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas
Thousands of readers have already fallen in love with Ann Voskamp's "One Thousand Gifts," and this Christmas, Ann will help readers celebrate the lineage and the majesty of God's greatest gift--Jesus Christ. In what is sure to become an instant holiday classic, Voskamp reaches back into the pages of the Old Testament to explore the lineage of Jesus via the advent tradition of "The Jesse Tree."Beginning with Jesse, the father of David, "The Greatest Gift" retraces the epic pageantry of mankind, from Adam to the Messiah, with each day's reading pointing to the coming promise of Christ.Sure to become a holiday staple in every Christian home, "The Greatest Gift" is the perfect gift for the holidays and a timeless reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.
263 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
About the author
Ann Voskamp
83 books1,300 followersAnn Voskamp is a farmer's wife, the home-educating mama to a half-dozen exuberant kids, and author of One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, a New York Times sixty-week bestseller..
Named by Christianity Today as one of fifty women most shaping culture and the church today, she's a global advocate for needy children with Compassion International, a loser of library books, a stirrer of soup, a loud laugher, a kid snuggler, a Jesus lover and honestly, a bit of a mess. It’s okay really. Grace is the most amazing of all.
Her online journal, one of the top 10 most widely read Christian blogs online, is a relief of quiet vulnerability and an oasis of sacred, seeing God in the everyday ugly beautiful.
Connect with Ann on:
AnnVoskamp.com
Facebook
Twitter
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Pinterest
Named by Christianity Today as one of fifty women most shaping culture and the church today, she's a global advocate for needy children with Compassion International, a loser of library books, a stirrer of soup, a loud laugher, a kid snuggler, a Jesus lover and honestly, a bit of a mess. It’s okay really. Grace is the most amazing of all.
Her online journal, one of the top 10 most widely read Christian blogs online, is a relief of quiet vulnerability and an oasis of sacred, seeing God in the everyday ugly beautiful.
Connect with Ann on:
AnnVoskamp.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 438 reviews
November 7, 2013
I was reluctant to buy this book because it was difficult to get through her last book. The writing style was tough to follow. I am glad I spent my money on this book!
This book is brilliant. If you have other Advent devotionals, throw them away. This is the only one you need and it will be a generational standard.
She leads the reader through the advent period through Scripture. She pulled from Old and Nee Testament, and not just the usual verses. She supplements her writing with quotes from other authors and then follows up with challenging questions.
This book is absolutely brilliant! Get it now and walk through it during Advent.
This book is brilliant. If you have other Advent devotionals, throw them away. This is the only one you need and it will be a generational standard.
She leads the reader through the advent period through Scripture. She pulled from Old and Nee Testament, and not just the usual verses. She supplements her writing with quotes from other authors and then follows up with challenging questions.
This book is absolutely brilliant! Get it now and walk through it during Advent.
December 26, 2022
2022
It's been a few years since I've read this book, but it was worth reading it again.
Seeing God’s hand in orchestrating the events of history to give us the Greatest Gift is amazing. This book walks you though the “Jesse Tree” as you follow the line of Christ up until His birth. It’s written as a book to read one chapter a day during December. I love reading this book each December. It gives a clearer, fresh look at Christmas. I can't wait for December to start so I can begin reading it again!
It's been a few years since I've read this book, but it was worth reading it again.
Seeing God’s hand in orchestrating the events of history to give us the Greatest Gift is amazing. This book walks you though the “Jesse Tree” as you follow the line of Christ up until His birth. It’s written as a book to read one chapter a day during December. I love reading this book each December. It gives a clearer, fresh look at Christmas. I can't wait for December to start so I can begin reading it again!
December 26, 2023
I don't normally read anything for Advent, but I'm so glad I chanced upon a used copy of The Greatest Gift - what a blessing it was to me throughout this month! Each day, there is a section of scripture, a devotional type piece, followed by questions that were truly thought-provoking. I read each day's entry every morning, and it was a great way to start the day with my mind on the true meaning of Christmas. Voskamp truly connects the meaning and purpose of Christmas to every day faith. Her writing is not quite as flowery here, perhaps, as in her other books, but it's still definitely her style, just a bit more brief. I love her style, so either way is not a problem for me, but some readers that find her prose a bit too rambling might appreciate that about this book.
I can see myself reading this again next year, and perhaps years to come. Highly recommended!
I can see myself reading this again next year, and perhaps years to come. Highly recommended!
December 25, 2017
Blessing! Love everything Ann writes. Will read every year until I can no longer read. Be
Ann takes us through Dvent in this book. I’ve read several Advent de ltionals but none as beautifully written as this one! the author definitely has a way with words and her passion is front and center in her videos.
Reading for 2017 Christmas and watching YouTube videos. Read 2015,2016,2017
It was as meaningful and beautiful as it was in 2015 the first time I read it.
Ann takes us through Dvent in this book. I’ve read several Advent de ltionals but none as beautifully written as this one! the author definitely has a way with words and her passion is front and center in her videos.
Reading for 2017 Christmas and watching YouTube videos. Read 2015,2016,2017
It was as meaningful and beautiful as it was in 2015 the first time I read it.
July 29, 2016
I was disappointed in this. Let me start off by saying that I really enjoyed One Thousand Gifts, and I have frequently been encouraged and challenged by Voskamp's blog. However, I really think her writing style is not suited to a short devotional form.
I bought this book after hearing a radio interview with Voskamp, in which she (I thought) rather eloquently explained that in order to appreciate the meaning of God's gift to us in Christ, it is useful to review the history of His family tree, beginning with Adam. She explained that this book is a tool to do that -- reviewing various Scriptures and people that point to and lead up to Bethlehem. However, this book does very little expositing of the Word; it is mostly Voskamp's adventurous launching out. Each day gives you a scripture reading included in the book (in the New Living Translation, yuck, but that's another point altogether). Voskamp's very short daily devotional certainly starts with the scripture given to read, but then soon launches into ---well, whatever. Many, many times I thought Voskamp was trying too hard. Every sentence was trying to be profound. So much so that I often ended the reading thinking, "What in the world was that all about?"
Another pet peeve of mine is how Voskamp bends the rules of the English language to suit her attempts to be profound. Others have criticized her for this, and it didn't really bother me in her first book or in her blog, but it did in this volume. Actual examples:
'There are a thousand ways you can suffer brave.'
'Your Christmas becoming more. Becoming miracle.'
I am all for creativity, but the devotions felt too short to bear the weight of such liberties.
The last thing that bothered me was how every day just kind of assumed that you were stressed, overwhelmed, depressed, lonely, or miserable. Sometimes I indeed felt that way and was encouraged. Other times I felt irritated by the fact that she always assumed I was deeply struggling, when I wasn't.
Well that was a lot of blathering. I do like and appreciate Ann Voskamp, but this volume fell very short of my expectations.
I bought this book after hearing a radio interview with Voskamp, in which she (I thought) rather eloquently explained that in order to appreciate the meaning of God's gift to us in Christ, it is useful to review the history of His family tree, beginning with Adam. She explained that this book is a tool to do that -- reviewing various Scriptures and people that point to and lead up to Bethlehem. However, this book does very little expositing of the Word; it is mostly Voskamp's adventurous launching out. Each day gives you a scripture reading included in the book (in the New Living Translation, yuck, but that's another point altogether). Voskamp's very short daily devotional certainly starts with the scripture given to read, but then soon launches into ---well, whatever. Many, many times I thought Voskamp was trying too hard. Every sentence was trying to be profound. So much so that I often ended the reading thinking, "What in the world was that all about?"
Another pet peeve of mine is how Voskamp bends the rules of the English language to suit her attempts to be profound. Others have criticized her for this, and it didn't really bother me in her first book or in her blog, but it did in this volume. Actual examples:
'There are a thousand ways you can suffer brave.'
'Your Christmas becoming more. Becoming miracle.'
I am all for creativity, but the devotions felt too short to bear the weight of such liberties.
The last thing that bothered me was how every day just kind of assumed that you were stressed, overwhelmed, depressed, lonely, or miserable. Sometimes I indeed felt that way and was encouraged. Other times I felt irritated by the fact that she always assumed I was deeply struggling, when I wasn't.
Well that was a lot of blathering. I do like and appreciate Ann Voskamp, but this volume fell very short of my expectations.
December 28, 2014
I've heard many great things about this author but this didn't seem like a devotional. And it is a pet peeve when people bend the rules of English to sound profound. I finished this book only because I'd paid for it.
December 25, 2023
This a gentle, moving, and lyrical Advent devotional. Ann Voskamp is not for everyone, but those who like her style of writing will greatly enjoy this devotional. It was phenomenal.
Merry Christmas! God has come for me and you.
Merry Christmas! God has come for me and you.
December 25, 2022
Beautifully written.
December 25, 2023
This really prepared my heart for Christmas. There is no doubt in my mind that I will be rereading this for years to come.
March 30, 2016
There is no denying Ann Voskamp has her own style of writing. While many love and identify with (and try to emulate, as unfortunately seems to be the case with many authors now, rather than finding their own style and voice), I personally find her writing style detracts from the valuable messages she tries to convey.
The content of The Greatest Gift is important for a season that has become so commercialized and difficult for many people (though not all of us struggle through the season, as this book seems to assumes). I appreciated the daily practical applications/exercises at the end of each chapter. However, I thought the chapters were choppy and confusing, almost like a hodgepodge of rabbit trails. Part of her writing style is really short (often one-sentence) paragraphs and abrupt, incomplete sentences. This broke up the flow and the chapters were not smooth. I also felt the abrupt changes in tenses worsened that. One more thing that distracted me was the author's frequent use of "this" to modify concepts she's trying to really make sink in for the reader. Rather than make me feel I was "right there" with the use of "this," it got annoying and repetitive and didn't work in most instances.
Two stars because the message of how Jesus's birth meant hope and life to you and me is an essential one. If you enjoy Ann Voskamp's flowery style, you may also enjoy this book. If you are distracted from her message by her forced writing style, you will likely have a hard time with this book.
The content of The Greatest Gift is important for a season that has become so commercialized and difficult for many people (though not all of us struggle through the season, as this book seems to assumes). I appreciated the daily practical applications/exercises at the end of each chapter. However, I thought the chapters were choppy and confusing, almost like a hodgepodge of rabbit trails. Part of her writing style is really short (often one-sentence) paragraphs and abrupt, incomplete sentences. This broke up the flow and the chapters were not smooth. I also felt the abrupt changes in tenses worsened that. One more thing that distracted me was the author's frequent use of "this" to modify concepts she's trying to really make sink in for the reader. Rather than make me feel I was "right there" with the use of "this," it got annoying and repetitive and didn't work in most instances.
Two stars because the message of how Jesus's birth meant hope and life to you and me is an essential one. If you enjoy Ann Voskamp's flowery style, you may also enjoy this book. If you are distracted from her message by her forced writing style, you will likely have a hard time with this book.
June 28, 2021
The God & Glam Bible Study Christmas 2020
➡️ Join us on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/godandglam
This, is the love story that's been coming for you since the beginning.
It is possible for you to miss it.
To brush past it, to rush through it, to not see how it comes for you up over the edges of everything, quiet and unassuming and miraculous — how every page of the Word has been writing it, reaching for you, coming for you.
And you could wake up on Christmas only to grasp that you never took the whole of the Gift, the wide expanse of grace.
So now we pause.
Still.
Ponder.
Hush.
Wait.
Each day of Advent, He gives you the gift of time, so you have time to be still and wait...
➡️ Join us on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/godandglam
This, is the love story that's been coming for you since the beginning.
It is possible for you to miss it.
To brush past it, to rush through it, to not see how it comes for you up over the edges of everything, quiet and unassuming and miraculous — how every page of the Word has been writing it, reaching for you, coming for you.
And you could wake up on Christmas only to grasp that you never took the whole of the Gift, the wide expanse of grace.
So now we pause.
Still.
Ponder.
Hush.
Wait.
Each day of Advent, He gives you the gift of time, so you have time to be still and wait...
November 24, 2014
Ann Voskamp's delightful lyrical style was a joy to read, and I appreciated her day-by-day bible stories, quotes, current day application, and daily activities. I read through the book almost in one sitting to get a broad overview. Beginning December 1st, I plan to re-read the book in a study with my friend, Kathleen, to have the opportunity for more reflection and to complete the activities each day to prepare as we celebrate the incredible gift from God... his son, Jesus Christ.
December 25, 2021
A wonderful Christmas devotional to direct your heart to worship of the Light of the World - Jesus! Beautiful, lyrical, poetic prose that is Ann Voskamp’s hallmark style ushers your heart and mind into the wonder and beauty and amazement of the truth of how God in His infinite love and wisdom brought about His plan of rescuing mankind from our sin - by wrapping Himself/His Son in the robes of humanity and becoming our Immanuel! I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to deepen their walk with Jesus and spending time each day of the Advent season to focus their hearts on the true Reason for the Season!
December 21, 2019
What a wonderful devotional for the Christmas season! I loved Ann Voskamp's lyrical style of writing, and her way of expressing herself was so fresh and interesting -- though a few instances of it may not have appealed to me as much as others. I definitely recommend this very thought-provoking and encouraging read which includes ideas for action and questions for personal application. If you haven't read it yet, put in on your to-read list for next Advent season. I'm sure it will bless you.
December 25, 2021
I will start by saying that I started this book 6 years ago, only got a few days in, and stopped. Then I picked it up a few years later and did almost the whole devotional, but got a few days behind, and stopped on Dec 20 (I did that one on the 26th). This year, I read it with a group of women and finished it. I loved the Scripture passages and discussion questions! There were so many that really made me think. I'm not a huge fan of Ann's writing style. There are a lot of things I underlined in the book, but overall, my brain doesn't process in quite the same way as her target readers.
December 27, 2022
The message of Christ being the ultimate and undeserved gift was definitely the focus. However, I am not sure if I enjoyed the writing style or set up if this book. Some of the days the writing felt confusing and the meaning of her words were lost under fluff.
I appreciated the reflection at the end of each day as well. Overall, the writing style of this book was just not for me.
December 30, 2022
I don’t usually read devotionals, keeping my Bible the focus of my devotion time. However, I wanted to add something new, to initiate a complete and different study that would be compelling at this time of year. Ticked off all the boxes as it focused on reminding me of Christ’s legacy… and mine. What a wonderful gift we were given that first Christmas morning.
December 19, 2023
This is my second read through and I’m sorely disappointed. It’s been almost 5 years since I picked up this advent devo and I thought for sure it would be a hit again. But no, this lacks depth - which is what I’m looking for when studying the Bible. It felt kind of… commercial-y? If that makes sense. Lots of one liners and buzz phrases that sound good but are so corny, and some honestly made me cringe. I don’t know what my younger self was thinking when I thought this was a good advent study. I hate to be that brutal but… this was a yikes for me.
December 29, 2020
One of the best books I’ve ever read!
December 25, 2021
Rich devotional. Powerful truths and nuggets.
“I don’t want a Christmas. you can buy. I don’t want a Christmas you can make. What I want is a Christmas you can hold. A Christmas that holds me, remakes me, revives me. I want a Christmas that whispers, Jesus.”
“I don’t want a Christmas. you can buy. I don’t want a Christmas you can make. What I want is a Christmas you can hold. A Christmas that holds me, remakes me, revives me. I want a Christmas that whispers, Jesus.”
December 24, 2022
This was the perfect book to end off my Christmas reading. I listened in 8 x 20-min segments but next year I'm going to listen from 1 December as intended.
Jesus is the reason for all this madness and this book brings it all down to the basics which is honestly refreshing in the world of social media with elves, Santa, big piles of presents and so on. I loved the pull to focus on what is actually important and rated it 5🌟 Next year we're going to listen to a chapter at supper every evening.
Ann Voskamp is also the narrator and does a fantastic job with a scripture, a message and action steps/ things to think about, all in a daily segment of 5-6 minutes.
Jesus is the reason for all this madness and this book brings it all down to the basics which is honestly refreshing in the world of social media with elves, Santa, big piles of presents and so on. I loved the pull to focus on what is actually important and rated it 5🌟 Next year we're going to listen to a chapter at supper every evening.
Ann Voskamp is also the narrator and does a fantastic job with a scripture, a message and action steps/ things to think about, all in a daily segment of 5-6 minutes.
January 23, 2016
This is the Advent devotional I was looking for and hoping for. Even though I read it a month late, it made my heart soar because the truth and beauty of it is timeless. I can't wait to read this again when Christmas comes, and my family can come together and shut out the noise and scrub our hearts clean with weightless grace.
February 17, 2015
A new Christmas tradition! Loved how easy it is to complete. I will also be giving this as a gift to friends next Thanksgiving. I was fearful of Voskamp's typical floral prose, but this was easy to understand and apply. I loved it.
December 26, 2014
Voskamp’s prose is beautiful, as always, and the Christmas-centric message she provides here is a wonderful way to spend the season focusing on God’s greatest gift. I was moved and my thoughts were provoked. Lovely.
November 16, 2014
Poorly written
December 31, 2020
I've read this every Advent for years and every year it's just as good.
January 18, 2016
This was an amazing book. It brought the Christmas season to a level of peace and true enjoyment.
December 22, 2017
1. Family gives you context, and origin gives you understanding, and the family tree of Christ always gives you hope.
2.
Each day of Advent, He gives you the gift of time, so you have time to be still and wait.
3.
Gaze on shoots of glory to grow deep roots in God.
4.
The authority of God made all of creation. But it was the affection of God that made all His children.
5.
The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.
6.
And the greatest gift we can give our great God is to let His love make us glad.
7.
In all humanity’s religions, man reaches after God. But in all His relationships, God reaches for man.
8.
Your God refuses to give up on you. Your God looks for you when you’re feeling lost, and your God seeks you out when you’re down, and your God calls for you when you feel cast aside. He doesn’t run down the rebel. He doesn’t strike down the sinner. He doesn’t flog the failure. Spurgeon writes that no matter what the day holds, how the season unfolds, God holds and enfolds: “I am come to find you wherever you may be. I will look for you till the eyes of My pity see you. I will follow you till the hands of My mercy reach you, and I will still hold you . . . to My heart.”[3]
9.
Strange, this familiar Father of prodigals whose love, too much for one lifetime, wills that we shall share the feast of forgiveness and joy in the epilogue of eternity. Strange, this daily advent of EMMANUEL J. F. WILSON
10.
This is the gift that wraps up all stresses quiet: I will bless you. “I will bless you,” says the God who comes to where you are.
11.
So slow down to feel the wind. Listen to the carols just a little bit longer. Linger in the quiet and taste the grace of now, and know that He is good and He is God. Name them in this moment —gift upon gift upon gift —and listen for the echo in everything: I will bless you.
12.
The greatest gift God graces a soul with is His own presence.
13.
the whirl can hush and the spin can slow because He will bless, and He will bless with Himself come down. The present is His presence, and the greatest present you always have to give is His presence —looking into someone’s eyes as you listen, refusing the wrong of rushing, lingering long enough to really listen —to everything.
14.
Worry is belief gone wrong. Because you don’t believe that God will get it right. Peace is belief that exhales.
15.
God gives God, and we only need to slow long enough to unwrap the greatest Gift with our time: time in His Word, time in His presence, time at His feet.
16.
Great faith is the greatest equalizer, the greatest eraser, and the greatest definer.
17.
When my priorities aren’t the things seen —when my priorities are rather all things unseen —it’s only then that my life begins to have substance and weight.
18.
God and Father, I repent of my sinful preoccupation with visible things. The world has been too much with me. Thou hast been here and I knew it not. I have been blind to Thy presence. Open my eyes that I may behold Thee in and around me. For Christ’s sake, Amen. A. W. TOZER
19.
The message of Christmas is not that we can make peace. Or that we can make love, make light, make gifts, or make this world save itself. The message of Christmas is that this world’s a mess and we can never save ourselves from ourselves and we need a Messiah. For unto us a Child is born.
20.
light a dark world and the unexpected places with a brave flame of joy; when you warm the cold, hopeless places with the daring joy that God is with us, God is for us, God is in us;
21.
You know you have an idol whenever you have to perform.
22.
Esther hears the Mordecai message, and it does something to her soul. You’ve got to use your position inside the gate for those outside the gate —or you’re in the position of losing everything.
23.
I will rejoice in the LORD!
24.
even though I fail, even though so much fails —even now I will rejoice in the Lord. Even now I will be joyful in the God of my salvation.
25.
Hasn’t He already unequivocally earned trust? You can take your hands off your life —you don’t have to try to save yourself. Behold Him everywhere, and be held.
26.
Behold the goodness of the God of your salvation everywhere, and be held
27.
Assurance grows by repeated conflict. . . . When we have been brought very low and helped, sorely wounded and healed, cast down and raised again . . . and when these things have been repeated to us and in us a thousand times over, we begin to learn to trust simply to the word and power of God. JOHN NEWTON
28.
Zechariah breathes through the miracle of his priesthood —one man named “God Remembers,” an undistinguished old man without a son to pass down the priesthood, married to one time-engraved woman named “My God Is an Oath.” A woman ashamed and disgraced at the barrenness of oaths. God bends His heart to hear the prayer of the breaking —the remembering God of the small and the forgotten —and miracles begin again here.
29.
Never doubt that there are two kinds of doubt: one that fully lives into the questions, and one that uses the questions as weapons against fully living.
30.
The herald of the King calls to you in this moment to come away from the crush and the crowds, to come away to a space of stillness to be ready for the coming of the Lord.
31.
There is no need to produce or perform or perfect —simply become a place for God. That is all.
32.
When you are a space to receive whatever the will of God is in this moment as grace, you take hold of God. You most take hold of God when you simply receive Him in this moment taking hold of you. Taking hold of your unsure hand. Taking hold of your unseen needs. Taking hold of your unknown stress. He wants to take hold of you, to be with you. He wants to carry you, to be carried by you, to have relationship with you.
33. the literal translation of “to provide” means “to see.” God always sees—and He will always see to it.
34. Every mountain that every Christian ever faces, the Lord levels with sufficient grace: The Lord Will Provide.
35. Worry is belief gone wrong. Because you don’t believe that God will get it right. Peace is belief that exhales.
36. “The Holy Ghost thought fit to take particular notice of that marriage of Boaz with Ruth, whence sprang the Saviour of the world,” writes Jonathan Edwards. “We may often observe it, that the Holy Spirit who indited the Scriptures, often takes notice of little things, or minute occurrences, that do but remotely relate to Jesus Christ.”[ 15] Every little thing is going to be okay because God is working good through every little thing. All that’s happening is happening to make miracles. The mundane is what’s making miracles.
- The spirit of Christmas needs to be superseded by the Spirit of Christ. The spirit of Christmas is annual; the Spirit of Christ is eternal. The spirit of Christmas is sentimental; the Spirit of Christ is supernatural. The spirit of Christmas is a human product; the Spirit of Christ is a divine person. That makes all the difference in the world. STUART BRISCOE
- You know you have an idol whenever you have to perform.
-
2.
Each day of Advent, He gives you the gift of time, so you have time to be still and wait.
3.
Gaze on shoots of glory to grow deep roots in God.
4.
The authority of God made all of creation. But it was the affection of God that made all His children.
5.
The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.
6.
And the greatest gift we can give our great God is to let His love make us glad.
7.
In all humanity’s religions, man reaches after God. But in all His relationships, God reaches for man.
8.
Your God refuses to give up on you. Your God looks for you when you’re feeling lost, and your God seeks you out when you’re down, and your God calls for you when you feel cast aside. He doesn’t run down the rebel. He doesn’t strike down the sinner. He doesn’t flog the failure. Spurgeon writes that no matter what the day holds, how the season unfolds, God holds and enfolds: “I am come to find you wherever you may be. I will look for you till the eyes of My pity see you. I will follow you till the hands of My mercy reach you, and I will still hold you . . . to My heart.”[3]
9.
Strange, this familiar Father of prodigals whose love, too much for one lifetime, wills that we shall share the feast of forgiveness and joy in the epilogue of eternity. Strange, this daily advent of EMMANUEL J. F. WILSON
10.
This is the gift that wraps up all stresses quiet: I will bless you. “I will bless you,” says the God who comes to where you are.
11.
So slow down to feel the wind. Listen to the carols just a little bit longer. Linger in the quiet and taste the grace of now, and know that He is good and He is God. Name them in this moment —gift upon gift upon gift —and listen for the echo in everything: I will bless you.
12.
The greatest gift God graces a soul with is His own presence.
13.
the whirl can hush and the spin can slow because He will bless, and He will bless with Himself come down. The present is His presence, and the greatest present you always have to give is His presence —looking into someone’s eyes as you listen, refusing the wrong of rushing, lingering long enough to really listen —to everything.
14.
Worry is belief gone wrong. Because you don’t believe that God will get it right. Peace is belief that exhales.
15.
God gives God, and we only need to slow long enough to unwrap the greatest Gift with our time: time in His Word, time in His presence, time at His feet.
16.
Great faith is the greatest equalizer, the greatest eraser, and the greatest definer.
17.
When my priorities aren’t the things seen —when my priorities are rather all things unseen —it’s only then that my life begins to have substance and weight.
18.
God and Father, I repent of my sinful preoccupation with visible things. The world has been too much with me. Thou hast been here and I knew it not. I have been blind to Thy presence. Open my eyes that I may behold Thee in and around me. For Christ’s sake, Amen. A. W. TOZER
19.
The message of Christmas is not that we can make peace. Or that we can make love, make light, make gifts, or make this world save itself. The message of Christmas is that this world’s a mess and we can never save ourselves from ourselves and we need a Messiah. For unto us a Child is born.
20.
light a dark world and the unexpected places with a brave flame of joy; when you warm the cold, hopeless places with the daring joy that God is with us, God is for us, God is in us;
21.
You know you have an idol whenever you have to perform.
22.
Esther hears the Mordecai message, and it does something to her soul. You’ve got to use your position inside the gate for those outside the gate —or you’re in the position of losing everything.
23.
I will rejoice in the LORD!
24.
even though I fail, even though so much fails —even now I will rejoice in the Lord. Even now I will be joyful in the God of my salvation.
25.
Hasn’t He already unequivocally earned trust? You can take your hands off your life —you don’t have to try to save yourself. Behold Him everywhere, and be held.
26.
Behold the goodness of the God of your salvation everywhere, and be held
27.
Assurance grows by repeated conflict. . . . When we have been brought very low and helped, sorely wounded and healed, cast down and raised again . . . and when these things have been repeated to us and in us a thousand times over, we begin to learn to trust simply to the word and power of God. JOHN NEWTON
28.
Zechariah breathes through the miracle of his priesthood —one man named “God Remembers,” an undistinguished old man without a son to pass down the priesthood, married to one time-engraved woman named “My God Is an Oath.” A woman ashamed and disgraced at the barrenness of oaths. God bends His heart to hear the prayer of the breaking —the remembering God of the small and the forgotten —and miracles begin again here.
29.
Never doubt that there are two kinds of doubt: one that fully lives into the questions, and one that uses the questions as weapons against fully living.
30.
The herald of the King calls to you in this moment to come away from the crush and the crowds, to come away to a space of stillness to be ready for the coming of the Lord.
31.
There is no need to produce or perform or perfect —simply become a place for God. That is all.
32.
When you are a space to receive whatever the will of God is in this moment as grace, you take hold of God. You most take hold of God when you simply receive Him in this moment taking hold of you. Taking hold of your unsure hand. Taking hold of your unseen needs. Taking hold of your unknown stress. He wants to take hold of you, to be with you. He wants to carry you, to be carried by you, to have relationship with you.
33. the literal translation of “to provide” means “to see.” God always sees—and He will always see to it.
34. Every mountain that every Christian ever faces, the Lord levels with sufficient grace: The Lord Will Provide.
35. Worry is belief gone wrong. Because you don’t believe that God will get it right. Peace is belief that exhales.
36. “The Holy Ghost thought fit to take particular notice of that marriage of Boaz with Ruth, whence sprang the Saviour of the world,” writes Jonathan Edwards. “We may often observe it, that the Holy Spirit who indited the Scriptures, often takes notice of little things, or minute occurrences, that do but remotely relate to Jesus Christ.”[ 15] Every little thing is going to be okay because God is working good through every little thing. All that’s happening is happening to make miracles. The mundane is what’s making miracles.
- The spirit of Christmas needs to be superseded by the Spirit of Christ. The spirit of Christmas is annual; the Spirit of Christ is eternal. The spirit of Christmas is sentimental; the Spirit of Christ is supernatural. The spirit of Christmas is a human product; the Spirit of Christ is a divine person. That makes all the difference in the world. STUART BRISCOE
- You know you have an idol whenever you have to perform.
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January 6, 2018
This is the third year in a row I have read this Advent devotional and it was still fresh and inspiring. I plan to read it again next year too. The author’s literary style is very different and poetic and sometimes above my head, but when I get it, it speaks deeply to me. Reading this devotional has become my new favorite Christmas tradition and helps me really focus on Jesus and the entire story of His coming, even from Gen 1:1. I highly recommend!
February 1, 2018
I started reading this book at the beginning of Advent 2017, but got sidetracked and put it aside. I just finished it last night. Oh my goodness, this book is rich and powerful and points in all ways to Christ the Redeemer, in a real yet mysterious way (isn't that the way of Christ?). I would recommend this to everyone - and I think it can be read any time of the year even though it's dated through December.
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