Advent Devotional December 11, 2025

Scripture

Amos 9:1-10

1 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said:

Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake
and shatter them on the heads of all the people,
and those who are left I will kill with the sword;
not one of them shall flee away,
not one of them shall escape.

2 Though they dig into Sheol,
from there shall my hand take them;
though they climb up to heaven,
from there I will bring them down.
3 Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,
from there I will search out and take them;
and though they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea,
there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.
4 And though they go into captivity in front of their enemies,
there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them;
and I will fix my eyes on them
for harm and not for good.

5 The Lord, God of hosts,
he who touches the earth and it melts,
and all who live in it mourn,
and all of it rises like the Nile
and sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt,
6 who builds his upper chambers in the heavens
and founds his vault upon the earth,
who calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out upon the surface of the earth—
the Lord is his name.

7 Are you not like the Cushites to me,
O people of Israel? says the Lord.
Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt
and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir?
8 The eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom,
and I will destroy it from the face of the earth
—except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,
says the Lord.

9 For I will command
and shake the house of Israel among all the nations,
as one shakes with a sieve
but no pebble shall fall to the ground.
10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword,
who say, “Evil shall not overtake or meet us.”

Devotion

The Rev. Dr. Gloria Renee Bland ’24

My little brother wrote a song, the lyrics of which I believe speak to this time in the life of the church:

This is my season of advent
Watching and waiting
Anticipating what God will do
After my season of advent
I’m coming forth then
Stronger and better
Lord of my advent come

Each of us struggles with the effect of free will on humanity. It would be wonderful if everyone demonstrated unconditional love for one another. Yet, because we are human, we can find ourselves following our own selfish desires, sometimes at the expense of others. It makes you wonder “Where is God?” as we experience calamities.

The prophet Amos reminds us troubles are inevitable. He declares God will eventually address the adversaries in our lives. Then, in verse 7, he speaks of God’s love for God’s people—from Ethiopia to Palestine.

In the season of Advent, as we watch, wait, and anticipate what God will do within us, our families, our communities, our country, and globally, I encourage you to take the posture spoken in the words of the song.

It is like my little sister and brother on Christmas Eve, running around the house, anticipating what would be under the tree. They operated out of a spirit of expectation, of seeing the fulfillment of their Christmas lists the next morning!

It is the same anticipation the world experienced while awaiting the promised birth of the Messiah, knowing His arrival would give a renewed hope for change and transformation. He showed us a level of unconditional love for humanity which we can seek to reignite today! What a wonderful gift this will be to the world!

Prayer

Creator of all,

We seek and anticipate what You will do in our lives. Give us the courage to actively position ourselves for Your fulfilled promises. Give us the strength to live in hope, knowing Your love will carry us through the ebbs and flows of our lives. Amen.

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