God is a God who speaks. He wants to be known. He wants His ways to be known. And He wants His merciful plan of salvation through the ages to be known.
The Mystery Hidden for the Ages , a new Advent family devotional, explores what God spoke through the prophets and recounts the many times Christ was foreshadowed in the Old Testament. This “mystery hidden for ages” is then revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ through fifteen devotional meditations. What was hinted at by the Old Testament prophets has been clearly “spoken to us by His Son.” His message of redemption was a message to Israel and to all peoples, including us today.
Read the devotional for the first day below to see what makes The Mystery Hidden for the Ages distinctive from all other Advent resources.
Devotional for December 1st
God, the Most High
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (Psalm 90:2)
What are some of the presents you have gotten in the past for Christmas? Do you still have them? Are you still as excited about them as you were when you got them? Things don’t last—eventually they wear out, go out of style, or we get bored with them.
But God is “from everlasting to everlasting.” He does not wear out; He is always the same; He will always be God, and He will always rule the universe. The Bible tells us all that we need to know about God, and every word of the Bible is true. In the Bible, we can learn many truths about God—that He is the Creator. Savior, and King. It tells us what He is like—that He is powerful, loving, faithful, and just. And it tells us about His mighty acts–like opening the Red Sea and making the walls of Jericho tumble down. What else do you know about God?
Many people know about God, but not so many people truly think the right way about God. They don’t love Him or obey Him. A person can know about God but not truly believe in Him or trust Him. You too can know about God, learn your memory verses and remember Bible stories but not truly believe in God. What do you think about God? Is He important in your life? If so, how do you show this? Do you truly trust Him? Do you depend on Him and ask Him what is right and what is wrong? Can you think of an example of when you did this? Do you think He is truly loving? Do you agree with Him that He must judge sin?
What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. —A.W. Tozer
What you think about God is more important than being good at sports, being smart, being tall, having sisters, or having lots of money to buy whatever you want. What you think about God is most important because your heart will follow what you truly think about God. If you truly think that God is loving, you will love Him. If you truly believe that God is good, you will know that everything He does in your life is for your good. If you truly think deep in your heart that God can be trusted, you will trust Him. You will love Him and obey Hm. You will truly worship Him—you will see His greatness and His worth.
Your Christmas presents will someday be thrown away or forgotten, but if you have the right attitude about God, you will find true joy in knowing Him forever.
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11)
To Discuss (Choose one or more.)
- Read Psalm 103. What does God say about Himself in this psalm? What does the writer of the psalm believe about God?
- What are some wrong ideas people, even some Christian people, think about God?
- Why is what we think about God the most important thing about us?
- How does what we think about God affect us? (You may want to include not only our worship of God, but also the practical effect on our Christian walk. Help your child to see what it means that “our hearts and souls move toward our idea of God.”)
To Think and Pray About
What do you truly think about God—not what do your parents tell you about God or what do you know about God, but what do you truly in your deepest heart believe about God?
Activity
The Mystery Hidden for Ages Gift Cards and Activity Sheets are designed to complement the devotional reading and interaction. See the activity sheets and gift cards packet for instructions. At the end of the month, when your child has filled in all the mystery words on the activity sheets, you will be able to read the mystery message.
Order The Mystery Hidden for Ages
