I really love The God Who Is with Us : 25-Day Devotional for Advent by Ronnie Martin! Ronnie Martin approaches The God Who Is with Us : 25-Day Devotional for Advent from the beginning of the Bible with Adam and Eve. The 25-Day Devotional really made you think about Christmas season through the Bible verses mentioned each day and the thoughts the author wrote about. There is also a "Pause, Ponder, and Pray" section at the end of the devotion entry with lines to write your thoughts on the devotion. I believe The God Who Is with Us : 25-Day Devotional for Advent is a great way to help you remember the true meaning of the season and get you in the right mode for the Season. I highly recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this book. My review is also on Goodreads.

A great read to help slow us down and think intentionally about the season before us, where we are and how God meets us there. Through hardship, trials, joy and celebrations. Starting of with the verse, "In the beginning, God..." and has us pause there to really think about what that means and why and then moves us through twenty five days of highlighting the God who is with us. Fantastic read and thought provoking.
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my own opinion*

Christmas/Advent devotionals make me really happy. Reeeally happy. They're like Advent calendars, lol--counting down to one of my favorite holidays. "What treat will be on the spiritual quiet-time docket today?"

This book is an excellent addition to the Advent-devotional collection. Martin is a new-to-me author (and musician, for that matter), and I really appreciated his fresh but no-less-biblical take on the Christmas season and all that entails ... the struggles on all the levels, and yet also the magic of anticipation, the real "why" of our celebrations and "what"--Who, truly--we celebrate.

Each devotional includes a Bible verse(s), stories, and poignant questions to inspire the imagination and reflect on Christ, the true reason for the season. Well done.

4/5 stars.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Remembering Our Lord

This is such a great 25-Day Advent devotional. It is so well written and the daily topic are so pertinent during the season when God’s son faced His greatest assignment. This season of Advent, we are reminded of how much God loves all His children, no matter where we are on our spiritual journey or not.

I highly recommend this book for to remember our Lord, Jesus, during the upcoming days of Advent, and the sacrifice God made to show us, how great His love is for us.

A devotional to prepare you for Christmas-time and celebrating the birth of our Lord. Good overall, and I like that it challenges us to repent of sin and make things right. There were a couple of spots that weren't quite clear, and one that seemed off in what the author was saying, but may be cleared up in the final version.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance e-copy of this book. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

The biggest thing that comes to mind about The God Who is With Us is the word “reflective.” Through this advent devotional, Ronnie Martin walks through 25 passages of scripture and gives the reader an opportunity to be comforted by many of the attributes of God. He reminds us of the gospel at every turn. The devotionals are not overly long, yet are still wise. This is definitely one I would consider more for personal reading than a family or group read.

This was such a lovely Advent read. It’s 25 days of reading were thought provoking, encouraging, and challenging. There’s no fluff in this book. It was an enjoyable read for the season leading up to the birth of our Lord that gets you in the Word each day and points you to the One has been wanting to dwell with us, to have an intimate relationship with us, since creation.

I quickly realised that Ronnie Martin's advent book was written for people like me. People for whom the shine of Christmas is somewhat tarnished by the hardship and loss of the year that was. But it's also written for people like me because in ordinary and glorious ways it points me to the God who came to share in my suffering; to comfort my sadness; and to give me undying hope. The God Who is with Us reminds me in real and wonderful ways that Christmas shines brightest of all.

This is a refreshing take on advent devotionals. Yes it has your typical 25 readings to count down your advent, but the verses chosen and the context draws the reader to a different focus for the holidays. Author Ronnie Martin calls the reader to reflect and to realign themselves by utilizing a daily Scripture of truth. I love how he writes. It is so easy to apply the verse he chooses because reading the daily devotional is so effortless, it flows. I found myself applying the verse to my life easily and it’s a book that I would pick up again even if it isn’t Advent. It’s just so applicable throughout the year and if you wanted to get back on track or need something encouraging to read—this would be a great book to get you refreshed and encouraged anytime of year. I found the chapters challenging me to actively make a decision in the right direction. I liked being challenged! The verse seemed to have more Velcro to stick because of what Author Martin writes for each day. Some days it’s for me to consider and ponder what my part is, or remembering Who and what God has done. Quite often there’s a call to take action to change or be or to remember.

It seems overall this book is a great tool to reflect on the year. I enjoyed how it encourages us if we’ve messed up. It’s a very different advent book in that it teaches the reader how to begin anew and to get back in step with God for the day and essentially begin the new year geared up and on the right path.

I like the journaling section his book has. It is labeled “Pause, Ponder, and Pray.”Instead of finding another journal to write thoughts in—it is here readily available for the reader to jot down his own thoughts.

I would definitely pick up this book in physical form in order to take advantage of the journaling section. Yes, I highly recommend this book.

Thank you netgalley for providing an ARC of this book for this review.