If you get confused by a question, reach out to a local pastor, or grab a reliable commentary or devotional, for assistance. Once you create a list, just pick one each day to meditate on during your time alone with God, or a small handful of them for your time together with others. Ask a Question Daily throughout the Holiday Season “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you?” ( Luke 6:32)ĥ. “For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?” ( 1 Thessalonians 2:19) “Do you suppose that I have come to give peace on earth?” ( Luke 12:51) “For who hopes for what he sees?” ( Romans 8:24) Here are just a few inspired questions to get you (all) started: Ask Questions about Hope, Peace, Joy, and Loveīeyond examining specific narratives of Christ’s first coming, you could also consider picking inspired questions that connect with Advent themes of hope, peace, joy, and love. Be about the work God has set out for you.Ĥ. Never stop trusting in His love and loving ways. Keep on humbly submitting to Him and His way. Therefore, continue talking to God in prayer this Advent and Christmas season. In fact, your question might even reveal that your faith is more open to and confident in God’s supernatural power (like Mary) than that of a pastor or leader in the church (like Zechariah). You may be trusting God and what He can accomplish through you, but you do still wonder what the process will look like and how God will carry it out through you. You too may be justified in recognizing a very real obstacle in front of you. For instance, upon hearing the news that she would conceive and give birth to a son, Mary asked the angel Gabriel: “ How can this be, since I do not know a man?” ( Luke 1:34) Or perhaps you would prefer to start with the Gospel of Luke, where Jesus’ birth was foretold. Look entirely to Jesus this Advent and Christmas season. What a great start to the life-changing moment of following Jesus and having a relationship with Him! Jesus sees those who follow Him and immediately beckons them onward. This inspired question comprises the first words of Jesus in John’s gospel and clues you into several aspects of discipleship. Or you could pick this question that occurs only a few verses later: Neither is it Jesus, of whom people would go on to ask the same question. Here are some suggestions to get you started on your own list of such questions for personal reflection or small-group discussion:įor example, take this first question in the Gospel of John. One new way to approach Advent and Christmas this year is to ask inspired questions, focusing on the ones that coincide with Advent and Christmas-topically or within the biblical narratives. Indeed, a substantial portion of our Bible is questions. “Why do you question these things in your hearts?” ( Mark 2:8)Īsking questions was a primary teaching method of Jesus. “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” ( Matthew 6:25) They reveal our hearts in ways other questions do not.įor example, recall some of the questions Jesus asked: They can empower us to become more sensitive to the Spirit’s moving. They help us sense the presence of God in our life. These questions in the Bible are the best questions to ponder during Advent and Christmas, because they automatically draw our attention to Christ, the Scriptures, and God’s sovereign work in this world. The New Testament alone contains approximately 980 questions. Inspired questions are the ones already asked in God’s inspired Word. As they draw near, perhaps we should start considering a fresh approach to them for our daily devotions and small-group discussions-asking others and ourselves inspired questions. Advent and Christmas are just around the corner.
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