Trust and Do Good: Advent Daybook, 12
Take a few deep breaths, settle your body, mind, and heart into a quiet space and let’s begin with prayer.
Opening prayer: Heavenly Father, make me more like Jesus and more like the true self you’ve created as I savor your loving presence today. Please guide my thoughts and impressions by your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Look: A violinist plays in the rubble of Jonah’s tomb, Muhammad Hamed / Reuters - Source
Ameen Mukdad, a violinist who lived under the so-called Islamic State for two-and-a-half years, performs at Nabi Yunus, a shrine in eastern Mosul, Iraq, following liberation, in 2017.
Listen: Carol of the Birds, Fernando Ortega - Spotify | YouTube
This gorgeous tune is a traditional Catalonian carol. Read here for the rich history of what's been called "the most beautiful music created by man"
Read: Psalm 37; Isaiah 7:1-9; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12; Luke 22:1-13
Excerpts:
"Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers, for they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.
Trust in the Lord and do good; live in the land and enjoy security. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will make your vindication shine like the light and the justice of your cause like the noonday.
Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.
Refrain from anger and forsake wrath. Do not fret—it leads only to evil. For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that their day is coming.
The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to kill those who walk uprightly; their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
Better is a little that the righteous person has than the abundance of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.
The Lord knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will abide forever; they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance.
But the wicked perish, and the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.
The wicked borrow and do not pay back, but the righteous are generous and keep giving; surely those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off.
Our steps are made firm by the Lord when he delights in our way; though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds us by the hand.
I have been young and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are ever giving liberally and lending, and their children become a blessing.
Depart from evil, and do good; so you shall abide forever. For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his faithful ones.
The righteous shall be kept safe forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land and live in it forever.
The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak justice. The law of their God is in their hearts; their steps do not slip.
The wicked watch for the righteous and seek to kill them. The Lord will not abandon them to their power or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial.
Wait for the Lord and keep to his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on the destruction of the wicked.
I have seen the wicked oppressing and towering like a cedar of Lebanon. Again I passed by, and they were no more; though I sought them, they could not be found.
Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is posterity for the peaceable. But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.
The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their refuge in the time of trouble. The Lord helps them and rescues them; he rescues them from the wicked and saves them because they take refuge in him."
*
"Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the fuller’s field, and say to him: Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah.
Because Aram—with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah—has plotted evil against you, saying, ‘Let us go up against Judah and terrify it and conquer it for ourselves and make the son of Tabeel king in it’; therefore thus says the Lord God:
It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass."
The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not stand firm in faith, you shall not stand at all.”
*
"As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. Let no one deceive you in any way, for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God."
*
“Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus to death, for they were afraid of the people.
Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve; he went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers of the temple police about how he might betray him to them. They were greatly pleased and agreed to give him money. So he consented and began to look for an opportunity to betray him to them when no crowd was present.”
- Psalm 37; Isaiah 7:3-4a,5-7,9b; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4; Luke 22:1-6
Pray: Psalm 37:3-6
Trust in the Lord and do good; live in the land and enjoy security. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will make your vindication shine like the light and the justice of your cause like the noonday.
What comes to mind as you pray these verses? What emotions stir? Tell God what you are thankful for today, and then listen to God's reply. Take this practice of prayerful gratitude with you throughout the day and week.
Do: Choose an entire Psalm or a portion of a Psalm from one of the daily readings to memorize during Advent.
Spend a few moments each day memorizing and reciting the Psalm. Notice how the verses begin to embed themselves as you go about your day. Thank God for the comfort of His word.
*Sunday Scripture readings are taken from Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary. Daily Scripture readings are taken from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and include both Morning and Evening Psalms (Year 1).