5011 Liberty Road; Greensboro, NC
Office 336-674-6538; FAX 336-676-0505
sebc@gosoutheast.org 
Home  |  Interactive Map

2004 Advent Daily Devotional Guide 

Anticipating Our Lord Through ...

 

Southeast Home Page  |  2004 Advent Introduction  | Children's Pictures  |  Acknowledgments

Advent I Advent II Advent III Advent IV Epiphany
Nov 28 - Dec 4 Dec 5-11 Dec 12-18 Dec 19-25 Dec 26 - Jan 1

 

Epiphany - Purpose The Savior- Layman Cash
Sunday December 26 Allie Shepherd
Monday December 27 Josh Cobb
Tuesday December 28 Mia Hatley
Wednesday December 29 Wayne Morrison
Thursday December 30 Carolyn Hooker
Friday December 31 Gail Ledbetter
Saturday January 1 Liza Triplett
..



Return to Top
 
PURPOSE  -  Sunday  December 26, 2004

"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."  - Matthew 28:19-20

Everyone has been, is in the middle of, or will be in the situation of deciding what they will do in their life. I personally am in the middle of it. There are so many decisions to make. Things like where to go to college, and what to study. I've been struggling, trying to figure out what I should do. I prayed to God every day to show me what my purpose is in this world, until one day I realized I already knew my purpose. My purpose is to love everyone no matter what and to lead them to Christ. I'm supposed to help my fellow believers in their walks and give glory to God. We worry too much about what we think we are supposed to be doing to realize that all we have to do is trust in God and He will give us who or what we need to do, what He wants us to do. Give God your purpose. Pray that He will give you what you need to fulfill your purpose.

 God, give me the knowledge, the power, the patience, and whatever else I may need to carry out your will for me. Let everything I do be pleasing to you.

Allie Shepherd

Return to Top
 
PURPOSE  -  Monday  December 27, 2004

Purpose, to me, is something everyone wants. People also want to know what their purpose in life is. Well, everyone has a purpose, whether they know it or not. We are all meant to live for so much more. Some people "think" they have found their purpose in life, and some people have. That purpose is to serve God, and to be everything that God wishes of us. That is the real purpose of life.
Purpose was something I had always struggled with. I was always depressed, I was always picked on, and I once thought that my life meant nothing, I thought that I was useless. I did not think I had a purpose at that time. My Father in Heaven made me realize my purpose through a few very special people. They gave me hope, they helped me realize my purpose. I am very grateful for everyone who has helped me. They have done so much for me.
When I was little, my social life was not that great. While I was living in Texas, my parents were fighting all the time, I felt as if no one wanted to talk to me in school, and I was too shy to start a conversation with anyone. It did not make it any better when my parents divorced either, but that was what caused me to start drawing. God gave me a gift, and that gift was to be used for His glory. My artistic abilities will help me fulfill my purpose, my purpose for God.

Josh Cobb

Return to Top
 
PURPOSE  -  Tuesday  December 28, 2004

"Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?" -  Romans 9:21

Purpose!  This is a difficult subject for me, but I felt drawn to this topic.  All my life I have put a premium on the level of achievements.  If I couldn't do things to the utmost or of great value according to what I believed was the popular view, then I quit for fear of failure.  I thought everything had to be close to perfect.  The irony of this type of behavior is that the withdrawal, fearing failure only secured failure.

Recently, through the guidance of a wonderful Christian counselor and my own spiritual God-search I have come to a new understanding.  Although still in the works I am encouraged that I am on the right track and I feel that finally I am allowing God to be the guiding force.  In the past I would ignore or override the feelings I was receiving from the Holy Spirit if I thought I wasn't good enough or if I thought I wouldn't get public recognition for my efforts.  My first mistake was considering my own feelings and insecurities before the inspirations given to me by God.  After a while I lost touch with the ability to see these things which led to giving up and not looking anymore.  I never stopped believing entirely, but I stopped being for God.  I was existing, only going through the day-to-day motions.  I had no purpose!

The good news is that God never gave up.  He continued to reach out to me even when I continued to pull away.  His love is so great and I am ashamed of my behavior, but He forgives me and we are moving forward.  I am learning and working on giving the control to God and trusting in Him.  I believe that God's purpose is not always being a missionary or pastor.  It's the purpose God determines for us.  We have to trust in Him that what He has planned is grand even in the little things we do.  Purpose comes in all sizes and in multiple packages.  I am not trying to say that the big things don't deserve praise, but don't forget that little things grow into bigger things and they matter too.  So don't question your purpose if you aren't doing the hardest or grandest action possible, maybe your action is making a hard or grand action possible.  Just remember that God has the master plan and all action through Him has a purpose no matter how trivial it may seem to us.  The important thing is to invite the Holy Spirit in to guide you, listen and trust in the guidance God shows you.

 Dear God thank you for always being there and never giving up on my purpose in your plan.  Grant me the courage to surrender to your purpose.  Give me trust in the role that I play in your plan without worry of recognition or achievement level.  Help me to understand that all the things you present for me, big and small are for your grand purpose.  Bless me with the joy of knowing that everything matters when I follow your will.   ~ Amen

 Mia Hatley

Return to Top
 

 PURPOSE  -  Wednesday  December 29, 2004

Read Matthew 2:1-12     

I  have known about Jesus Christ since I was about seven years old, but from the time when I was seven years old to about thirteen years old I never really knew Jesus Christ, meaning I didn't accept him into my heart till about the age of thirteen.  In middle school I struggled a whole lot with a lot of things like friends, grades and family.  Pretty much when you're in middle school it seems like every thing just happens to you and every thing is a big deal. 
Also around that time my parents were not Christian and neither was I, until the seventh grade a friend asked me to go to church with him to see a Billy Wayne concert.  And when I went to the concert I wasn't expecting  anything until I heard him speak about his life as a child and how he became the great person and singer he is now. So that day I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.  A part of me being saved was Billy Wayne's PURPOSE to worship God by telling other people about Jesus Christ through his music. 
In verses one through twelve of Matthew, chapter two the wise men came to see the new born king, WORSHIP him, which is one of our main purposes.  What I mean by worship is by getting up every morning and saying thank you to God for letting me get up in the morning and letting me start all over again, saying thank you to God for his son dying on the cross, and going out and telling others about Jesus like Billy Wayne through his music or Dr. Wayne through his preaching. 
So pray today that we live up to our purpose by worshiping him in everything we do and thank God for whatever purpose he gives us, because if we truly love him with all of our hearts, the right purpose will be given to us and we will be rewarded.   

Wayne Morrison

Return to Top
 
PURPOSE  -  Thursday  December 30, 2004 

Knowing the purpose of my Christian journey has been an unending quest because I have said that my spiritual gifts are hidden so deep within me that they haven't surfaced yet.

It seemed strange, then, that I felt drawn to the topic of Purpose for my Advent Daily Devotional.  But, in all my preparation for writing my devotional, God has taught me that I do have a purpose and I have been fulfilling it without even knowing it.  You see, I have been searching for a way to serve God that was "important" and I didn't feel that anything I was doing really mattered.  How wrong I was.  In studying God's word and meditating and praying I have been shown that my Purpose is quite simply to LOVE.  God has equipped me to do this, because I have a heart full of love and compassion.  I LOVE to love people and it is just an added bonus when they love me back. God didn't tell me to pick out the people that I wanted to love and love them.  Instead He told me to love all people.  And I do love all people, from the little babies that I can rock to sleep to the senior citizens in the nursing home whose hands I can hold while they sleep, and all the people in between.  The Love that I refer to is the way that Jesus instructed us to Love when He said: "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." John 15:12.  What an awesome responsibility. God sent His Son Jesus to earth with a purpose - to Love us - and didn't He do just that!  Jesus loved us so much that He lived and died for us.  I know that I will never be able to Love as He loves, but I have purposed to strive to do so.  Please know that you are loved. 

"And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." - 1 Corinthians 13:13

"For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."  - Philippians 2:13

 Heavenly Father, thank you for showing me my Purpose.  Help me each day to fulfill that purpose by loving others as you have loved me


Carolyn Hooker

Return to Top
 

PURPOSE  -  Friday  December 31, 2004 

"New Beginnings"

First steps…. First day of school…A wedding day… The birth of a child…

Today is the day we think about new beginnings… a day of looking ahead and making resolutions with ourselves.  It's usually the time that we renew our resolution to eat less, get in shape more, or try to rid our life of a habit we are unhappy with.  Unfortunately that resolution fades as the days of the new year unfold and we are discouraged by our lack of resolve in the annual promise we made.

In the passage for the week, Matthew 2:1-12, we are witnesses with the magi as they reveal to the world the divine nature of Jesus and His right to be honored and worshiped.  The reality that this Jesus was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy and the Savior of all humankind was experienced by the Wise Men and shared with us through the scriptures. 

As a people of faith, we need to shift our focus of new beginnings from once a year to daily beginnings.  Each and every day we need to renew our hearts to following Him.  Just as the magi did those thousands of years ago, we need to worship Him… with our thoughts, our words, and our actions.  All that we do each day should bring honor, glory and worship to our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

"Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship.  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing, and perfect will."   - Romans 12:1-2 

May this be the guide for our DAILY "new beginnings".

Gail Ledbetter

Return to Top
 
...


Return to Top
 

Southeast Home Page  |  2004 Advent Introduction  | Children's Pictures  |  Acknowledgments

Advent I Advent II Advent III Advent IV Epiphany
Nov 28 - Dec 4 Dec 5-11 Dec 12-18 Dec 19-25 Dec 26 - Jan 1