There Shone a Holy Light
The Release of My Latest Book—In Time for Christmas!
I love Christmas, and I look forward to the weeks of Advent each year. If you enjoy meditating on the wonder of Christ’s incarnation, and if you’re interested in doing so from some Old Testament types and shadows, I’ve written an Advent devotional called There Shone a Holy Light, and I want you to know about it.
The full title is There Shone a Holy Light: Beholding Christ and Christmas in the Old Testament. The book’s publisher is Christian Focus, and its focus (see what I did there?) is a devotional exploration in 25 readings of how the Old Testament points to Christ. The publisher did a great job with the design and layout of the book. It’s lovely to see!
The title is drawn from the first verse of the hymn “Go Tell It On the Mountain.” The lyric says:
While shepherds kept their watching
o’er silent flocks by night,
behold throughout the heavens
there shone a holy light
Exploring Scripture from the days of Adam to the reign of Solomon, I take the reader down the paths of Old Testament stories, where different characters and things and events form christological patterns which Jesus fulfills.
The advent of Christ shines a holy light on the Old Testament, illuminating the promises and covenants and people more clearly. Jesus loved the Old Testament, and he taught that it bears witness to who he is and what he came to accomplish.
At this point you might be thinking, “A Christmas book…in JULY?” I know, I know. But hear me out. Given the marketing and distribution that are involved with Christmas products, publishers have to plan for publication on a date long before Christmas.
So here we are. Today is release day for There Shone a Holy Light: Beholding Christ and Christmas in the Old Testament. The truth of the content is meaningful during any season of the year. By all means, then, take up and read now, if you’d like. But I hope you’ll at least plan to use this Advent book for the twenty-five days leading up to Christmas in 2025.
If you belong to a church that enjoys distributing Advent material, I hope you’ll consider getting copies of There Shone a Holy Light for your church members. Together we will behold the good news of Christ’s advent and the great hope of salvation it brings!
I was honored to receive these endorsements from Matt Smethurst and Dan Darling.
And here’s a snapshot of the book’s Introduction:
If you’d like copies of There Shone a Holy Light: Beholding Christ and Christmas in the Old Testament, you can get them from any of these sites:
Thanks for your support, and I hope the book is an encouragement to you all!