25 Fulfilled Promises of Christmas: Advent Reflections for those who Wait, Watch, and Wonder Once More Compiled and composed by Stephen A. Macchia Promise #6 – the Messiah will be a prophet like Moses (Deut. 18: 15-19 and Matthew 13:57; Luke 24: 19). God used Moses as a mouthpiece of
25 Fulfilled Promises of Christmas: Advent Reflections for those who Wait, Watch, and Wonder Once More Compiled and composed by Stephen A. Macchia Promise #5 – the Messiah will be the star coming out of Jacob (Numbers 24:17 and Matthew 2:2). The brightest light in the starry sky would one
25 Fulfilled Promises of Christmas: Advent Reflections for those who Wait, Watch, and Wonder Once More Compiled and composed by Stephen A. Macchia Promise #4 – the Messiah will be the passover lamb (Exodus 12: 1-51 and John 1: 29, 36). Moses’ instructions to the people of God on the
25 Fulfilled Promises of Christmas: Advent Reflections for those who Wait, Watch, and Wonder Once More Compiled and composed by Stephen A. Macchia Promise #3 – the Messiah will be a willing sacrifice (Genesis 22: 1-18 and John 3:16). Take a few moments and sit with Genesis 22, which recounts
25 Fulfilled Promises of Christmas: Advent Reflections for those who Wait, Watch, and Wonder Once More Compiled and composed by Stephen A. Macchia Promise #2 – the Messiah will be the descendant of Abraham through whom all nations will be blessed (Genesis 12:3; 22:18 and Acts 3: 24-26). Abraham embodies
25 Fulfilled Promises of Christmas: Advent Reflections for those who Wait, Watch, and Wonder Once More Compiled and composed by Stephen A. Macchia For the next 25 days we will journey to the manger by way of prophetic promises declared in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the coming
A Table Blessing for Thanksgiving By Stephen A. Macchia Dear Lord, As we gather around this table of gratitude, we thank you for giving us the blessings of: Life…abundantly offered in Jesus Freedom…sacrificially attained by others Family…imperfectly bonded in love Friends…lovingly upheld by grace Work…meaningfully fulfilled in service Community…compassionately provided
“Let every day, therefore, be a day of humility; condescend to all the weaknesses and infirmities of your fellow-creatures, cover their frailties, love their excellencies, encourage their virtues, relieve their wants, rejoice in their prosperities, compassionate their distress, receive their friendship, overlook their unkindness, forgive their malice, be a servant
A blessed Reformation Day to all…October 31, 1517 was a turning point in Church history. On this day Martin Luther posted 95 revolutionary opinions on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany that commenced the Protestant Reformation. To this day, the most radical of his ideas is captured
“It may be that when we no longer know what to do we have come to our real work, and that when we no longer know which way to go we have come to our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is
Steve is a graduate of Northwestern College (IA) and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (M.Div. and D.Min.). His prior ministry includes serving on the pastoral staff at Grace Chapel (Lexington, MA) and as president of Vision New England. Since July 1, 2003 Steve has served as founder and president of Leadership Transformations, director of the Pierce Center for Disciple-Building, and adjunct faculty in the Doctor of Ministry department at Gordon-Conwell. He is the author of sixteen books, including The Discerning Life (Zondervan Reflective), Baker bestseller Becoming a Healthy Church, and Crafting a Rule of Life (IVP). He lives in the Boston area with his wife Ruth and is the proud father of two grown children, Rebekah and Nathan, daughter in-love Ashley, and papa to his beloved granddaughter, Brenna Lynn and twin grandsons, Aiden Joseph and Carson Stephen. “My soul comes alive singing the great hymns of the church and enjoying the beauty of God’s creation. I’m in awe of God for fulfilling the dream for LTI that he birthed in my heart, for the team he has assembled, and the transformational impact experienced in the leaders and teams we serve.”
Detailed Biography
Articles by Stephen Macchia
Author Website
Schedule a one-on-one with Steve
Mitzi started her professional life as a high school social studies teacher. She and her husband Jerry then served cross-culturally for ten+ years, living abroad first in India and then Kurdistan, N. Iraq. In addition to being a Spiritual Director, she now serves as a Formation and Care pastor in her local church in Houston, TX. She has graduated from LTI’s Selah Spiritual Direction training as well as LTI’s Emmaus Formational Leadership Program.
Mitzi enjoys engaging conversation, reading fiction, doing jigsaw/crossword puzzles, ocean gazing and exploring the world with Jerry through food and travel.
God has two main callings in Mitzi’s life: to care for those who care for others and to be a guide in helping others have a healthy relationship with the Trinity – recognizing God’s loving presence and activity in their lives and how to faithfully respond.
“Selah was a transformative experience for me – allowing the contemplative within to emerge and to beautifully co-exist with my extraverted personality.“
