Come, Lord Jesus!

What a joy it was to write this book! I grew spiritually as I learned more and more about God's providential grace and love, and the hope we have in the advents of our Lord, Jesus Christ. It was a worshipful experience for me as I reflected upon God's Word and wrote these words to honor our Lord and this season we refer to as Advent. I hope you too will discover an atmosphere of worship in these pages; I pray God will use this devotional to draw you closer to himself.

Each day's devotion provides a Scripture lesson, opening prayer, quotation from an early Church Father, a prayer of confession, and a brief reflection on God's Word. In addition to offering what I hope will be a worshipful experience for you, my desire is that this resource will also equip you in putting the deeps truths of Scripture into practice in your daily life. Thus, each day's devotion concludes with questions for reflection and action steps, that I call, Walking Points. These are designed to encourage and help you walk more faithfully with Christ, not only during the Advent season, but for the whole year.

May this devotional increase our desire for Christ's return, even as we celebrate and live in light of his first advent, in which he took on human flesh and dwelt among us in grace and truth. Let us give thanks for that baby born in a manger, who was named Jesus, for he would save his people from their sins. And let us declare with the Apostle John, "Come, Lord Jesus!"

Dale Tedder is a pastor at Southside Methodist Church in Jacksonville, Florida.