In anticipation of the Lord’s soon return, believers everywhere are called to “wake from sleep.” Because our salvation is nearer to us today than when we first believed, we affirm that the day of Christ’s glorious coming is close at hand, and the night of sin and sadness is on its way out forever. In light of this certain prospect, we are to cast off the works of darkness, putting on God’s armor of light, and to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us make no room for fleshly desire or practice, not gratifying our flesh but seeking to please the Lord in all things. The Lord is coming soon; let us do all we can to live resonant with that belief. The day of our deliverance is near!

As children of the day, we are to cast off the works of darkness, put on God’s armor of light, and put on Christ. The distinguishing mark of waiting in hope for Christ’s return is a life focused on the person and work of Christ, concentrating on living a life that honors and pleases him in all things.

Father, help me to put on Christ, to make him the center and the heart of all I do and all I seek. For Christ’s sake, amen.

“Worship is the supreme and only indispensable activity of the Christian Church. It alone will endure, like the love for God which it expresses, into heaven, when all other activities of the Church will have passed away. It must therefore, even more strictly than any of the less essential doings of the Church, come under the criticism and control of the revelation on which the Church is founded. Considering the outpouring of books on worship in recent years, it is obviously a subject of great interest and importance for contemporary Christians. Yet, sadly, worship is an issue that continues to divide us, both across the denominations and within particular congregations.”

~ David G. Peterson, Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992. p. 15.

Let God Arise! Seasonal Focus
Emmanuel, God with Us, Matthew 1.18-25

Book Reading
Peterson, Engaging with God