Damascus
An Advent Journey Through the Life and Letters of Paul
I’ve read the same Advent devotional for nine years in a row. I’m not telling you this to try to convince you to read this devotional year after year (though I would be honored if you did). I’m telling you this because I believe there is so much unrealized power in the season of Advent.
In early 2025, when I got the offer from Hosanna Revival to write their first-ever Advent devotional, I knew exactly what direction I wanted to take it in: one in which people could see how Christmas was so much more than a story of the past or a holiday tradition, on par with hanging stockings and baking cookies. For Christmas has the power to give us hope not just for today, but for eternity as well.
Paul’s story was the perfect backdrop for this—a man who knew the rules and religious rituals, but lacked a real relationship with Jesus until his transformation on the road to Damascus. How many of us approach Advent as something to check off a list (or maybe we don’t even make time for it at all) rather than with great expectations of what God wants to teach us?
This year, let’s change that. May we all have our own road-to-Damascus moment this December, one in which Christmas moves from stressful to sacred and from performative to transformative.
What to Expect from Damascus
Damascus: An Advent Journey Through the Life and Letters of Paul invites readers to connect the holy dots between the miracle of Christ’s birth and the gift of their salvation. Inspired by Paul’s dramatic transformation on the road to Damascus in Acts 9, this devotional offers a fresh approach to the ancient practice of Advent.
Beginning in late November and continuing through the end of the year, Damascus journeys through the four traditional Advent themes of hope, peace, joy, and love. Each section begins with an introduction and prayer, followed by five daily readings offering Scripture, a reflection, guiding questions, and space for journaling. A Christmas morning prayer and a final epilogue for the week after Christmas invite you to carry the truths of Advent into the new year.
The hope behind the book is that you would not simply survive the holiday season this year, but experience the renewed hope of Christmas and discover how its story can transform your story. Because Christmas changed everything, and it can still change everything.
Including us.