I've often thought that one of the big disadvantages of not being raised in a liturgical denomination is having no idea how to do Advent. Every year I hear and read so many complaints about the commercialization of Christmas, and the absence of Christ Himself from the celebration of His incarnation. But every year I also hear of the blessings received by those who have a planned devotional period leading up to Christmas through the celebration of Advent. Some do this because of participation in liturgical church traditions; some by personal choice. Every year I say to myself that I need to do something like this to get more out of the Christmas season, and every year Christmas just seems to sneak up on me and I miss out on a season of spiritual preparation. I want to do this. I need to do this.
When I saw Why Christ Came on the list of books available for review from Cross Focused Reviews, I immediately decided to read it with the hope that this might be a way to actually do spiritual preparation this year. The book consists of 31 individual meditations on the reasons for the incarnation of the Son of God. Chapter titles include "To Do the Will of the Father," "To Seek and Save the Lost," "To Reveal God's Love for Sinners,""To Bring Great Joy," "To Bind Up Broken Hearts," and "To Reveal God's Glory." Each chapter is full of Scripture references, drawn from the entirety of the Bible. I've enjoyed reading it, and plan to read a chapter every day beginning at Thanksgiving as my first attempt at keeping Advent. I also plan to spend time praying and being thankful each day for the Lord's coming to save me, to save us. I'm really looking forward to this!
On Amazon I gave the book four stars in recognition of the excellence of its subject matter and its usefulness for Advent/Christmas devotions. I did not give five stars only because it is not outstanding literature. However, for its purpose it does not need to be. This book is highly worth having and reading.
(I received a free copy of this book for review- See book review policy)
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