The weeks leading up to Christmas have long been called “Advent” on the Christian calendar. While it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season, it’s important to take advantage of these days as a means of preparing your heart for the true meaning of the Christmas season. In the days leading up to the celebration of Christ’s birth, take some practical steps to better prepare yourself to embrace the true power of Christmas.
Preparing for Christmas can be a stressful time. Whether you’re trying to make travel preparations to visit friends and family, or you’re preparing your home to host guests, it can be stressful. Trying to make sure that you’ve purchased gifts for everyone on your list while juggling all of the ordinary requirements of your daily life only adds to the stress. However, preparing for travel, guests, and gifts is only a small part of the preparation process. It’s important that we don’t become so caught up in the chaos that the holiday season can cause that we lose sight of preparing ourselves for the most important part of the season.
As children of God, we understand that the arrival of the Savior into the world is the true meaning of Christmas. While we are blessed to gather with friends and family, carry on traditions, enjoy good food, and celebrate the season, we know that the heart of the season is found in the fact that God loved the world so much that He gave the very best thing that He had so we could become a part of His family.
The weeks leading up to Christmas have been labeled as “Advent” on the Christian calendar for well over 1,000 years. In fact, historians say that the first Advent was celebrated in the fifth century. The early Church designated this time as a season where believers would prepare their hearts for the observance of Christmas.
This Advent season, before you gather with loved ones, open gifts, and have a nice dinner, spend some time preparing your heart for the true power of Christmas. God became a man so man could get to God. There is power in the true heart of this season, and it’s important that God’s people are truly prepared to embrace it.
How can you use Advent as a time of personal preparation? Making a concerted effort to apply some of the same spiritual principles that we recognize all year long can help make Christmas an even more powerful time for you.
Spending Time in Bible Study
Hebrews 4:12 (TPT)
For we have the living Word of God, which is full of energy, like a two-mouthed sword. It will even penetrate to the very core of our being where soul and spirit, bone and marrow meet! It interprets and reveals the true thoughts and secret motives of our hearts.
The author of Hebrews (who we don’t know) probably had no idea that his or her words would one day end up in the Bible that Christians would be reading thousands of years later. However, this unknown author understood the power that was contained in the copy of Scripture that he or she had. The declaration that the Word of God is alive, full of energy, and can penetrate to our very core should always be a reason for us to study Scripture. However, during the Christmas season, Advent provides us with a wonderful chance to study and allow the story of the first Christmas to “penetrate you to the very core of your being where soul and spirit, bone and marrow meet.”
The birth of Christ and the events that surrounded it are covered in two of the four Gospels: Matthew and Luke. Instead of reading the Bible just to see how many chapters you can complete in a day, spend some time slowing down in the days leading up to Christmas and read smaller portions. Take some notes, highlight passages that speak to your spirit, and consult commentaries and other resources that can help you understand the verses even better.
Allow the power of the Gospel accounts of the beginning of Christ’s life to speak to you. Don’t approach it as a story that you’ve heard hundreds of times that you’re just going to skim over. Take some time to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you through the living Word of God.
Spend Time in Prayer
Jeremiah 33:2-3 (ESV)
Thus says the Lord who made hte earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it-the Lord is his name: Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.
We often get a skewed idea of prayer. We get to a point in our lives where we need something, so we tell God what we need and ask Him to do it for us. Take note, there is certainly nothing wrong with that. The Bible tells us in more verses than we could ever list here that we should pray about every need in our lives and that God will hear our prayers and provide for His people. However, prayer isn’t only about asking God to do something for you.
Communication is at the heart of any good relationship, including the one that you have with God. He wants you to bring every need in your life to Him, but that’s not the only time that He wants to hear from you. If you have children, you know how wonderful it is when your child comes up to you simply to say, “I love you.” That’s the kind of relationship that God wants to have with His children.
During Advent, block out some time in your daily prayer routine just to talk to God. Instead of asking Him to meet your physical needs, ask Him to show you the “great and hidden things that you have not known.” For instance, ask Him to bring the story of the first Christmas to life to you in a brand new way.
Spend Time Doing Good Works
James 2:18 (TPT)
But someone might object and say, “One person has faith and another person has works.” Go ahead then and prove to me that you have faith without works and I will show you faith my by works as proof that I believe.
Finally, taking the time during Advent to do something kind for others is a great way to prepare your heart to truly embrace the meaning of the holiday. There are countless opportunities to volunteer around the holidays. Even if you haven’t made doing something for others a normal part of your routine, consider changing that in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
The first Christmas saw God do something for a group of people who could do nothing to pay Him back. There was nothing any of us could do to repay the goodness of God on the day that commemorates His Son coming into this world to take on the form of humanity. However, God didn’t do it so He could one day seek repayment. Instead, He did it because He was motivated by love and compassion for all of us.
Search out opportunities to volunteer in your community in the coming days. It doesn’t have to be every day, but even if you could take a few hours out of your weekend to go to a local charity and volunteer, you would be showing your faith by your works. It won’t take you long to begin to feel a joy that you may have never felt before.
The things that make Advent a time of preparation aren’t exactly new or groundbreaking. Bible study, prayer, and doing good works are a part of the Christian life 365 days a year. However, when you make a concerted effort to focus on them during Advent, you can truly embrace what Christmas is truly about. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you during this period so you can truly embrace the heart of Christmas.
A Closing Prayer:
Father, I thank You for what this time of year is truly about. I know that I am prone to get caught up in everything that has to be done but help me to slow down and truly recognize the things that You want me to see during this time of year. Help me to slow down and truly study the story of the first Christmas. I ask that You bring it to life for me in a brand-new way. Yes, it’s an old story, and I’ve heard it before, but Your Word is alive. Show me opportunities to serve others. In Christ’s name, Amen.