Mindy Lee Hopman

Through the Gates of Thanksgiving

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name. Psalm 100:4 (NASB)

We Enter The Season of Christmas

With grateful hearts, filled with thanksgiving, we enter the season of Christmas to celebrate one special baby. 

We prepare the tree, the home, and the presents.
We prepare our hearts to celebrate His presence.

The presence of a baby sent to our world over 2,000 years ago who brings us together again as ONE in the same Spiritual family tree.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
John 1:1-4 (NASB)

Our hearts rejoice with HOPE as we await one great birthday celebration!

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory,
glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14 (NASB)

During this season of preparation, otherwise known as Advent, we take time to prepare our hearts by looking at our “faith roots” because the reason for the season is embedded in the faith family tree in which every believer is grafted. The faith family tree is where the beautiful legacy of our faith is found. 

With the headlines that surround us today, what else do we have to hold onto tightly? 

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light;
those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them. Isaiah 9:2 (NASB)

We Look Forward with Hope

The Light shines for our eyes to see back to the beginning of time and for our hearts to look forward with everlasting hope.

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6 NASB).

Today, the first Sunday of the Advent season, we light the candle of prophecy, otherwise known as the candle of HOPE.

And again, Isaiah says, ‘The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in him the Gentiles will hope.’ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit’ (Romans 15:12-13 NIV).

With thankful hearts, we begin to understand the depth of the season, and we. slow. down. because if we don’t slow down, we will miss it. When God’s children see hope through His Light which shines in us, we begin to understand.

For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations (Psalm‬ ‭100‬:‭5‬ ESV).

The Spiritual seed passes down from you to the next generation when God passes down the greatest gift through you. 

You don’t want to miss this. 
I don’t want to miss this.
We don’t want to be so distracted by the things of the world that we would miss the true meaning of the season.

It is the greatest story ever told about the greatest gift ever given. 

The story is about the light of HOPE who came down as a baby, who shines in a dark world, and who will come again one day.

Not everyone will slow down.

Not everyone will stop what they are doing.

Not everyone will recognize the Lord of lords and King of kings.

But the called, chosen, and faithful will follow. 

With full, thankful hearts, we prepare to celebrate our Living Hope.

Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God (1 Peter 1:21 NIV).

May we shift our focus from self to Savior and let Him love us as He brings us together as one family this Christmas season and fills our hearts with the gift of His presence and the wonder of His love.

This Advent season, we make the conscious choice to slow down enough to bask in His Light.  We take time to look back at our faith family tree to see snapshots of our roots from the beginning of time as they lead up to the birth of our Savior.

Together, let’s slow down.
Let’s savor the season together.

It is my prayer that our hearts will move from where we are to where God wants us to be for this season and always.

I’m looking forward to traveling with you through our family roots this Christmas season.

Many Blessings,

This devotional comes from Faith Roots: An Advent Family Devotional available for purchase on Amazon.