I feel honored to be writing the first reflection of Advent 2024. As many of you know, I’ve been fighting a knee replacement gone bad which has had me viewing the world from my reclining sofa. The closer I’ve come to Advent the more like a child I feel deep within me. As I sat and waited on Advent, the King and Country version of “Little Drummer Boy” played in my head. I’m going to ask you to click on the link below and listen to that song. I’ve included a second link which is Pentatonix version of the song. Listen to one or both. May this fill your spirit.
As we move into and proceed through Advent, I pray we may all do so in a new way to meet the baby Jesus. How can we do this? I think I will look for ways to do so in this song.
The little drummer boy is called/drawn to find the baby king and to honor him somehow. He doesn’t feel prepared to offer anything worthy of a baby king. Maybe, our mythical drummer boy, was feeling like the child we find we read about in John 6:9 who offers up a couple fish and five loafs of bread. A drop in the bucket when you have a crowd of 5,000 plus. We read that Jesus took that gift from the heart and multiplied it until there was more than enough to feed that large crowd,
Now, let’s talk gifts. Some folks are musical, some like doing things for others, some love Bible studies, and some like to run the list goes on. Each and every one of us has a gift package. A set of gifts that God places in us. This Advent can you seek what the Spirit calls you to do OR MAYBE not do to prepare us to see the Baby Jesus in a new way.
I am struggling with what I can do to honor a king who was born in a manger.
A king that offers eternal life to all who welcome him as their savior. As I write this, I’m getting the call to write notes, make calls to those I’ve not been able to see. I also feel called to listen to Christmas Hymns and Christmas praise music to keep my spirit focused. I wonder, is this enough?
All I know is that when I offer my time, talents, funds, and my heart, He works in my life. So, I will follow the call to prepare for and honor the new born king.
Do you feel stirring inside you?
If you ask the Lord to guide you to help you offer a gift that will honor him, the Spirit will guide you. If you have been so busy that you haven’t been in scripture, you might be called to spend time in the Bible. You might be called to bake or make a meal or two, to spend time outside and just be.
My prayer will be that in this Advent season those who are willing and have the heart to honor the king, will do so. Take a step. Go!