Isaiah 40:3, 5

A voice of one calling: "In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken ~ Isaiah 40:3, 5

Elizabeth, an aged cousin to Mary, became pregnant. This was an impossibility, for she and Zechariah had been married for many years with no children, and Elizabeth was past time for bearing a child. But an angel came to Zechariah in the temple while he was burning incense to the Lord and told him he was to have a son. He would name this son "John", and John would be a great joy to him. This son would bring many back to worship the Lord their God as he was to be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he was born! All of this was very unusual, and hard to believe. Yet, Zechariah was chosen as was his wife to be graciously given the gift of bringing a child into the world which would herald in the coming kingdom of Jesus Christ. John would go "before the Lord" and prepare the way for the ministry of Jesus Christ. Today is the third Sunday of Advent, the Sunday we celebrate Joy. As John was a great joy to his parents, how can we be a great joy in the lives of those who look to us for love, guidance, and community? How can we herald in the coming of the King as we draw closer to Christmas day?
Devotion by Pastor Julia

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comments

Popular posts from this blog

Romans 8:26

Image
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans ~ Romans 8:26 Many days, many times, I have the words for prayer. It comes forth and flows fairly naturally as I converse with my Lord God. I hope in the God I worship to hear me, and to receive my words, as I pray in the name of Jesus and believe in Him, my intercessor. He is my Living Saviour, my High Priest, standing at the right hand of God the Father. But there are times when my pain has been so deep that my words will not come. There are times when my agony is so piercing that what words I may speak would not be enough. And so, in my deep, black moments, I come before my God and let my darkest emotions erupt in sounds that only He can understand. The Holy Spirit within me cries out in my stead, and He becomes my second intercessor. It is not that He is not there with me in all my prayers, but there are times wh...
Read more

Proverbs 18:2

Image
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in sharing their own opinions ~ Proverbs 18:2 If we are going to understand something, we must fully digest it so that when we speak, we speak with wisdom. When we have only half truths in our mind, our words become empty and senseless. We then puff out air rather than understanding when we speak. A wise person will want to improve their mind through learning in various ways from the world around them. A person who delights in spiritual understanding will find peace and enjoyment in reading the Word of God on a daily basis, and in participating with God’s people in a learning and praising environment – the church! We come together in corporate worship with the understanding that not one of us knows all things, but we bend our mind and heart to learn what God has to show and say to us. A foolish person makes a show of what they “know” to please their friends or to save face in front of them. More often a wise person will hold t...
Read more

Isaiah 43:19

Image
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert ~ Isaiah 43:19 When we meet a challenge, we are often found discouraged, lost, even hopeless. Nothing is working, everything seems to be against us. We do not know how to move forward, so we remain curled up in a ball. Then, a glimmer of light shines through! Hope is regained and movement is stirred within. Don’t we become excited when we begin to feel it? God moves like that. We cannot see our way around it, but He can and does. And He makes a way for us out of the calamity of our fears. It is the feeling of springtime after a long winter, or the smell of fresh cut grass. Life stirs within and we move and we see what God saw all the time – the answer to our dilemma. Our desert place becomes an oasis, and we can do what we are called to do. Something totally unexpected happens, something unheard of, but it begins in our life, and we feel the...
Read more