Creation of the Cosmos
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Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Psalm 24:1

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;

Colossians 1:16

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

Today’s Reading:

        In God’s grace, he has given us a history through the writings of his people about our world to show us who created everything and why. The Bible says that God created the heavens and the earth, everything we see and experience. He made the sun, moon, stars, plants, birds, fish… all things. This is written in Genesis 1. 

        Let’s begin Advent by remembering our God as Creator, because it has huge implications for us as people. To start, let’s think about this: how easy is it to say something like, “can you hand me my bat?” or “that’s my glove over there.” It’s second nature, right? These example statements may be a little trivial, but our posture toward the true owner of “our things” helps us remember who God is. 

        We are selfish people. The more we live day-to-day life in our world, it is so easy to forget God as the rightful owner of all things on earth and in heaven. No, God isn’t frowning every time we use the word “my,” but we believe that there is so much to be gained in our walk with Christ by remembering God in this way and taking care of of the things that he has lent us. Colossians 1:16 says, “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” Since everything was made through him, everything is his, and the Bible continues from there to say that everything is for him as well. Then, it follows, that we are also made for him too – although we have the ability (and overwhelmingly choose) to love and serve ourselves with his good creation much more often than him and others. 

        This is sin. 

        However, God is still so, so good to us. Everything is his, and he willfully choses to give to his children abundantly. Jesus chose to come to earth to live, love, serve, suffer, die, and rise - atoning for sinful man. He is a humble and selfless Lord. Through the work of the Holy Spirit now, Jesus is redeeming us from our selfishness into his selfless image-bearers.

Today’s Prayer Guide:

Praise – Acknowledge Jesus as the rightful owner of all created things and thank him for the things he has allowed us to use on his behalf for the kingdom.

Confession – Ask God to forgive us for our selfish mentality – misusing his created things and denying the purpose for which we were created.

Ask – Ask God to help us do what we were created to do: to glorify and rejoice in him as created beings. Ask him to give us wisdom as we navigate a world created by him and for him.

Dec 1 | Jesus Redeems Our Selfishness | Creation of the Cosmos

Creation of Man
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Genesis 1:26-28

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Psalm 2:1-3

Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
“Let us break their chains
and throw off their shackles.”

Matthew 28:18-20

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Today’s Reading:

        Imagine that you are one out away from a perfect game. You make the decision – you wave your hand and put the ball into the mitt of your twelve year old son. Think about this. The God of the universe created a good and perfect creation, and in a sense gave it over to us through the first man, Adam, to rule over it (Genesis 1:26,27). Do you think the angels were perplexed at this proclamation – that God would hand His prized possession over to created, earthly beings (not even considering the heavenly beings)? It’s not exactly hard to show how inadequate we have been as ‘kings’ on this earth. There isn’t anything on earth that hasn’t suffered because of our dominion-ship. Thank God for sending His Son, a fully adequate king worthy to rule. Jesus said, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.” He is the beginning of making all things new. Our mission as men and women under the kingship of Christ now is to make disciples, because as John the Baptist proclaims, “the Kingdom of God is at hand!” He promises that he is with us as we build his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

Today’s Prayer Guide:

Praise – Tell God that he is a good Father and acknowledge Jesus as a great king.

Confession – Share with him your faults as an unworthy leader.

Ask – Ask him to help you submit to his kingship and let him guide you through the Holy Spirit as you lead others by word and deed.

Dec 2 | Jesus Redeems Our Inadequacy | Creation of Man

Temptation from the Serpent
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Genesis 3:1-6

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Psalm 73:1-2

Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.

Hebrews 4:15

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

Today’s Reading:

A good changeup is one of the best pitches in baseball. What makes a great changeup is when a pitcher can make his arm speed the same as his fastball but also change the speed of the pitch. How does he do that? He changes his grip. If a batter is fooled with a good changeup, he begins his swing earlier and the batter mishits or even whiffs at the ball. Good deception on the pitcher’s part can result in a strike, an out, and ultimately with enough good pitches, a win. Satan, the king of deception, threw Adam and Eve a great changeup. He changed the “grip” on God’s commandment and said, “(If you eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil) you will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Yesterday, we talked about Adam’s (and our) inadequacy to rule over the creation. Maybe Adam and Eve thought “knowledge of good and evil” would give them greater insight into leading and nurturing creation. The Bible does say that Eve saw that the fruit was “desirable for gaining wisdom.” Anyways, we know now that the decision to disobey God and follow the words of the serpent set humankind on a devastating course that was in desperate need of redemption. We don’t deserve redemption, but it came anyways. We look at Jesus’ life through the gospel accounts, and he triumphed over temptation at every turn – even at his physically and spiritually weakest times. Hebrews 4:15-16 says that Jesus was tempted in every way. He can empathize with our weaknesses, and we are encouraged to go to him in prayer when we are in need of overcoming temptation in dealing with Satan’s changeups.

Today’s Prayer Guide:

Praise – Praise the Father for his holiness and the Son for his perfect life in triumphing over temptation.

Confession – Tell him what sins you’ve been struggling with lately.

Ask – Ask him to help you overcome those temptations.

Dec 3 | Jesus Redeems Our Failure | Temptation from the Serpent

The Fall

Genesis 3:11-13

And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Psalm 32:5

Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave
the guilt of my sin.

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Today’s Reading:

        Walking back to the dugout after a strikeout is a pretty shameful thing for most, especially when you first start playing. It’s awkward for the guys in the dugout too. As a batter that just struck out, I didn’t want to be told “you’ll get him next time” accompanied by that fist-bump or pat on the bottom. I just wish I wouldn’t have swung at that curveball in the dirt or high and inside fastball… and your teammates probably wish you hadn’t either. It’s inevitable though. When you become a batter, you automatically become a failure. It’s known that great hitters are successful about 3 out of 10 times, and stats show that the average ball player will strike out about 1 out of 5 times. The harsh reality is that when you’re born into this world, you have been born into a world of sin and failures – and the shame can be overwhelming. Imagine Adam and Eve’s shame in the garden before a holy God. They hid from God because they were so ashamed of their sin. Thank God that Jesus came to undo our shame and walk with us through it. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” We often feel shame because we let our team, family, or friends down. Know that most importantly, all sin is a sin against God. That is an overwhelming thought. Though we may never forget our wrongs on this earth, God (who we really have sinned against and should be most concerned about) remembers them no longer when we confess and repent (Isaiah 43:25). His mercies are new every day.

Today’s Prayer Guide:

Praise – Tell God how gracious he is in mercy and thank him for undoing our shameful acts through his Son.

Confession – Confess any sins that are holding you back from relationship with him and others.

Ask – Ask God to forgive you and help you have the courage to reconcile relationships.

Dec 4 | Jesus Redeems Our Shame | The Fall

The Father’s Promise

Genesis 3:14-15

So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Psalm 68:21

Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins.

Romans 16:20

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Today’s Reading:

        Baseball is a sport full of superstition and even some supposed “curses.” The Curse of the Billy Goat is a funny story, at least for other-than-Cubs fans. An alleged “curse” was placed on the Cubs in 1945 by Billy Goat Tavern owner William Sianis. The story goes that Sianis approached Wrigley Field with Murphy his goat before game 4 of the 1945 World Series, and Murphy was denied entry because of his odor. Sianis wasn’t happy... He dispatched a telegram to team owner Philip K. Wrigley that read, “You are going to lose this World Series and you are never going to win another World Series again. You are never going to win a World Series again because you insulted my goat.” The Cubs lost to Detroit that year and didn’t win until 2016. This story and others like it give the game of baseball some sort of mysticism to many baseball fans – but in reality, these stories are very far from the seriousness of the curses that come from an Almighty God, especially after the sin of Adam and Eve. Adam, Eve, and the serpent all received different curses from God. The serpent (most attributed to the embodied Satan and the one who deceived man in Genesis 3), gets the curse that secures his demise – a crushing blow to the head in the future through the seed of the woman. This prophecy has begun to be fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Yes, it has “begun” because Paul states in Romans 16:20 that, “the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” We have hope that Satan and his demons will be forever put away in the coming days. The tangible glimpse of the end of the curse on us and hope of redemption of all creation began at the birth of our one and only Savior named Jesus.

Today’s Prayer Guide:

Praise – Praise God for dealing with sin with justice but also with grace. Praise him for power over all evil - that Satan’s fate has been sealed through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus.

Confession – Tell him you’re sorry for not believing at times and for losing hope.

Ask – Ask him for unwavering faith in his plan in destroying all evil forever.

Dec 5 | Jesus Redeems Our Curse | The Father's Promise

Cast Out of Paradise

Genesis 3:21-24

The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Psalm 16:9-10

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

Colossians 1:21-22

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation…

Today’s Reading:

        If you think about the Biblical account, it’s been a long, long time since we’ve played at home. Games away from home can be pretty tough. You don’t get to sleep in your own bed, most of your fans won’t come with you, and travel isn’t easy. We are traveling through this world today away from our original home with God. We lived in the garden with access to our biggest fan, our Father, and now we’re on the road. At times, it feels like there is way more cheering for the home team than us, the visitor. We are in a period of separation. I think it’s deep within us to get back home, but we can’t walk back into God’s presence without transformation. Colossians 1:21-22 says, “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation...” We are being prepared to enter into our new home with Jesus in the coming days. Through Jesus Christ, he is renewing minds and hearts for that day when we are welcomed back home to him.

Today’s Prayer Guide:

Praise – Praise God as your biggest fan and Father.

Confession – Confess that you have loved the world more than time with him and have not expressed longings for heaven.

Ask – Ask him to prepare you for a better home with him.

Dec 6 | Jesus Redeems Our Waywardness | Cast Out of Paradise

Increased Corruption

Genesis 6:5

The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.

Psalm 5:4

For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness;
with you, evil people are not welcome.

Matthew 5:43-48

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Today’s Reading:

        A baseball purist would say that the game that they love has been tainted. Through time, things have changed in the game. Purists don’t want to see designated hitters, short term big money contracts, any rule changes, and definitely not automated strike calls. They want to see long term team loyalty from players and raw, unfiltered baseball like in the old days. With these changes, you could argue that it is for the better or for worse. In the time after “The Fall,” the Bible states that things changed dramatically in the generations after Adam and Eve and it was not good. Genesis 6:5 says, “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” It must have been a fearful world to live in. How do you deal with sin in the world - all of the sins against you? Our world tells us how to deal with people. We’re told to fight, abandon, and judge. Jesus tells us to do the opposite. In Matthew 5:43-44, he says, “‘You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…’’” More hatred toward an enemy is not the way of Christ. Only love overcomes the darkness.

Today’s Prayer Guide:

Praise – Praise Jesus for leading by example.

Confession – Confess that you have hated others in words and deeds. Ask God to forgive you for putting yourself in his place as a judge.

Ask – Ask him to give you a loving heart like Jesus.

Dec 7 | Jesus Redeems Our Depravity | Increased Corruption

The Flood

Genesis 7:1-5

The Lord then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth. Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.”

And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.

Psalm 68:20

Our God is a God who saves;
from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.

Matthew 5:43-48

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.

Today’s Reading:

        Performance dictates decisions that a coach should make about his team. By experience, good coaches won’t punish their team or individual players for playing their best and losing to a better team, but they will sometimes correct their teams with poles, bear crawls, or pushups for boneheaded mistakes and terrible effort that costs the team. For sure expect a coach to punish a team or player for any and all lackadaisical effort. Coaches hate when their team or an individual doesn’t come to play. The patience of a coach only goes so far. It’s a coach’s objective to win, to make you a better player, teammate, and man, but sometimes they do mistakenly do the opposite. Coaches can and will make mistakes on how they manage their team and players. They are only human. God, on the other hand, is perfect. His grace overflows to us before giving punishment, even when we don’t feel or see it. He creates perfect punishment of sin. God was patient before the flood with many generations. When God saw that mankind was incredibly deep into sin in the days of Noah, God decided to do something huge. He decided to flood the whole world and wipe away mankind along with most of the earth. He waited patiently until the right time. He gave sinful man years and years to repent even in Noah’s lifetime.  In his grace, he saved Noah, his family, and pairs of animals through the door of a wooden boat constructed by Noah (that God told him to build in preparation) that would float above the flood waters. In this story, we may miss the gospel connection. Jesus reveals it to us in John 6:38. He says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.” Thank God we are in a period of much grace and there is a door, like the door to Noah’s ark, to enter to save us from the punishment of sin even into the other side of death – that door being Jesus Christ. God, our coach, is making the church, our team, into something much greater than we can even dream.

Today’s Prayer Guide:

Praise – Praise God for his perfect grace, patience, justice, and correction.

Confession – Confess to God that you sometimes doubt his ways to set things right and his timetable to do so.

Ask – Ask God to steer you and your influence through the door of his forgiveness, Jesus Christ, as you continue to seek his ways.

Dec 8 | Jesus Redeems Our Punishment | The Flood

Tower of Babel

Genesis 11:1-4

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

Psalm 5:5

The arrogant cannot stand in your presence.
You hate all who do wrong;

John 6:38

For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.

Today’s Reading:

        Every year, 64 college baseball teams chase hopes to become the year’s NCAA champions. Just imagine, what kind of tournament would it be if no one could win? That defeats the purpose of the tournament and the entire season, right? It probably wouldn’t be worth all the practice and effort. That is maybe a taste of how the people might have felt after the destruction of the flood. What’s the purpose of all this? All of the cities and dwellings of the old world vanished. All that work was gone. After the Biblical flood, surely Noah’s family and descendants felt the grace of God, but even though they were saved through the flood waters, they probably still had a hard time trying to figure out what they were doing and why. What can we do? There’s no doubt they were hearing stories of the old world before the flood, from Noah and his sons, and specifically of the Garden of Eden. The time when man walked with God in that perfect paradise seemed so out of reach now to them. By reading the story, it seems like they were tired of waiting on God and wanted the dog pile moment on the mound, or a taste of heaven, before the season was close to being over. In history, there is no other time that compares to Noah’s descendants trying to take back what they had lost and building their own version of a skyscraper. In this crazy story in Genesis, humankind sought heaven on their own by building a huge tower to reach up to God; probably unknown to them though, it was in complete and utter vanity. What is so amazing about this story is not that they were doing something that was in fact impossible, but that years later, at the right time, God would send glory to us when they were trying to reach for glory of their own. No, there would be no need to reach for glory on our own, but we just needed to wait on the glory of the Lord to come down to us in the person of Jesus Christ. Our works to get to heaven are worthless apart from God. It’s our pride that he hates. However, our purpose and the fruit of our work in Christ through the Holy Spirit is of eternal value. There is a huge difference. Be patient, because we win with Jesus, and there is no other way to get in on this dog pile without the Lord leading the charge.

Today’s Prayer Guide:

Praise – Praise God for sharing his glory in Jesus. Thank him for working for our good and for his glory.

Confession – Confess to God that you spend too much time on worthless works and your pride gets in the way of things that will actually last before him.

Ask – Ask God to invite you into purposeful work that will last into eternity and that he will give you a fire and passion to do it.

Dec 9 | Jesus Redeems Our Vanity | Tower of Babel

Nations Created 

Genesis 11:5-9

But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Psalm 86:9

All the nations you have made
will come and worship before you, Lord;
they will bring glory to your name.

Revelation 7:9

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

Today’s Reading:

        Smart coaches create an easy, efficient language that only their own team understands. They’re called signs. A common sign for hitters, for example, from a third base coach could be a belt swipe with the hand to tell the batter to lay down a bunt. It’s easy to remember because belt and bunt start with the letter “b.” Signs also let catchers communicate to pitchers too so that they can trust that the pitcher is going to throw the right pitch. Mixing up signs with your catcher or missing a sign from a coach on the base path can have consequences. Obviously, a coach from another team cannot (and should not if he has good signs) communicate anything to the opposing players with his own signs. That defeats the purpose. At one time, the Bible says that there was only one way of communication on earth between people. There was only one language on earth up to the time of the Tower of Babel. God saw what man was doing and didn’t want them to proceed in building their tower – a structure that they wanted to make, they said, so that they could reach heaven to make a name for themselves. The way that God stopped their work on the Tower of Babel was by confusing the people’s unifying language. In an instant, he created completely new languages and people couldn’t understand each other, surely throwing them into a chaotic mess. We don’t know exactly how many languages were created that day, maybe hundreds, but God consequently made respective people groups too and entire nations that spread out all over the world. This is what we see today, thousands of years later. We are still separated by languages all over the map. However, this won’t be the case in the end. A new people is being created under our Lord from every tongue, tribe, and nation. In John’s vision in Revelation 7:9, the Bible says, “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.” One day, believers in all different nations will no longer be scattered, but they will be gathered in understanding of each other, praising God forever thanks to the saving work of Jesus Christ.

Today’s Prayer Guide:

Praise – Praise God for creating great diversity of language and culture even in our great sin.

Confession – Tell him that you have not valued your brothers and sisters from different languages and cultures.

Ask – Ask God to bring his kingdom to earth, ending confusion and miscommunication between nations under the banner of his kingdom.

Full Count Ministries