Good morning everyone and welcome back to another morning with the masters where we devote ourselves to the Lord daily with you. Good morning you guys. Good morning indeed because we are picking up with the new devotional in the Bible lab titled

anticipating Christmas. There's a link to it in the description of the podcast you guys want to follow along with us and speaking of description of the podcast don't forget to enter our 12 days of Christmas giveaway where you can select up to two things to potentially win we're going to be announcing a winner every single day starting today up until Christmas but in Tori nice fashion we're going to be announcing today's winner of a gift at the end of the podcast because honestly truly we need to put what's first first

which is the Lord Amen. So I'm going to start I'm going to read the the scripture in Tori's going to pick up the diva let's do it. The scripture is Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6 and it says this for a child is born to us a son is given to us the government will rest on his shoulders and he will be called wonderful counselor mighty God ever lasting father prince of peace the devotional is titled anticipating Christmas and it says

what are you looking for this Christmas maybe you're trying to process a difficult decision and you're in need of a wonderful counselor perhaps you're feeling like you've reached the end of yourself and you're looking for a mighty God maybe you aren't able to be with your family this Christmas and you need an everlasting father or maybe your thoughts are waging war and you're in desperate need of the prince of peace so often the holidays come and go before we

thought a chance to focus on the true reason for Christmas but it doesn't have to be this way Advent serves as a season of anticipation and reflection leading up to Christmas translated from the original Latin Advent means important arrival approach or coming it's a

time marked with remembrance for all God has done and anticipation for all he is going to do Advent is our way of remembering that God came to be with us is still with us and will come again we have

access to God's mighty everlasting counsel and peace because he sent his son to become Emmanuel God with us we wait in prayerful expectation for the return of our Savior the same way that Israelites eagerly awaited the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah

yeah this devotional says something that really kind of got to me a little bit it said so often the holidays come and go before we've had a chance to focus on the true reason for Christmas

but it doesn't have to be this way yeah and I feel like what I've been doing for the past few years because I feel like I've just had my mind everywhere and I'm trying to do everything and all these

different feelings and I feel like I've been trying to cover all my bases and then like low key celebrate the reason for the

season at the end yeah like trying to build traditions with you trying to focus on closing out the year business wise yeah trying to focus on making sure we sent out

enough gifts to people and you know and more stuff and I feel like it just takes up so much time that I mean it's all sweet stuff right like who doesn't love to

sing gifts to their loved ones and be generous and who doesn't love to follow through with traditions Torrin I still have not done a family

Christmas card no I know so but there's other traditions we have I'll look through it on but it's just it gets to this point where like I feel like

personally and I don't know if this is too personal for me to share for everyone because they're just like it on with a

devotional chat but I personally feel convicted that I'm making Christ the last reason for the season instead of the first

reason for the season yeah and I need to start with him and then as we have access to do other traditions like I need to

start with him and once I have reminded myself and not just like oh yeah I know I know he's a reason for season but no no

do I know it yeah am I living with that just like with that that paragraph it said like based on what I'm experiencing

am I pressing into Christ on what I need to remember about what he's already accomplished and what I need to know of what

he's going to continue to accomplish yeah so good I mean it reminds me of how we need to do this in our daily life as well

like we talk so often on this devotional about how so it just happens where we wake up and we get so caught up

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