Are You Ready for Some Football?

Isaiah 40:3-5

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2040%3A3-5&version=NIV;NLT

  

Football is in the air. High school, college and NFL teams are all preparing for the beginning of their fall season. But preparations began much earlier. The same is true for the Big Ten Network (BTN). They began preparing for the first game of the fall a long time ago.

 

For example, during the month of April each school’s spring game is televised. Then in late July, the two-day Big Ten Media Days are on the air for hours at a time. Once the Media Days are over, programming is peppered with previous years’ regular season games, bowl games and special programs. Finally, for three weeks in August, BTN airs their Bus Tour of fall practices for every school.

 

All of this is to prepare us, the fans, for the season to begin; to get us hyped up! Are you ready for some football?

 

³ Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland
    for our God! ⁴ Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places.          NLT

 

In ancient times, when eastern monarchs would set out on an expedition, they deployed

advanced workers who would prepare the way for the monarch. Like Isaiah describes, they would build a road that was worthy of their king.

 

When he wrote this, Isaiah likely had in mind the return of the exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem. For us, we normally think of it as a reference to John the Baptist preparing people for the Messiah to arrive.

 

The bigger picture is that God is always at work in our lives. He is always “clearing the way through the wilderness for the Lord”.  He is constantly at work preparing our hearts, our circumstances, our relationships and our experiences to bring us closer to Him and to serve Him with a devoted heart.

 

When I say “always”… I mean “ALWAYS”! You think BTN spends a lot of time and money to prepare you for football season? God does eternally more to prepare you for Him!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1st Sunday of Advent

YOUR DAILY ADVENT DEVOTION

November 27
Isaiah 40:12-15 

• Write out the Isaiah passage
• What images came to mind when you heard these words? How does this passage stretch your understanding of God?

• Have someone close in a simple prayer.

• Conclude together by saying “We go now in peace, ending this time in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.” Blow out the candle.

Enjoying a simple pattern like this for even as few as 5-10 minutes a day can make a significant impact on how you experience Christmas. Take turns with the different roles of reading and praying. Make it as brief or expanded as you like. There are many meaningful variations your family can try to make it your own. Enjoy this time of slowing down, receiving God’s peace and celebrating the birth of Christ!

Here are some other ways you can put your faith into practice with this week’s focus of “Beyond.”

For Adults

What is the massive boulder in your life that feels immovable? What feels completely unmanageable? Whether it’s a task at work, a relationship struggle, finances, or something else, remember that to God, it’s easily manageable. Give space this week to voice your concerns and hopes to God.

For Teens

Use social media to post a picture of something you have experienced where you saw God as larger than life, the ultimate Creator. Then, in your comment section, post some of the lyrics from Our God by Chris Tomlin. #ualcgodwithus

For Kids

Have your child build a tower with blocks or Legos as tall as they can. Help them use a step stool, so that it is even taller than they are. Once they think it is as tall as it possibly can be, start a conversation about God’s greatness by asking “Who is taller, this tower or God? Is there a tower on earth bigger than God?” On any other given day help your child notice the greatness and awesomeness of God. Examples: the number of stars in the sky, the design of a remaining leaf or barren tree, or your fingerprint.

—Catherine Scurria & David White

Jesus Again Predicts His Death

Matthew 20:17-19

700-680 BC Isaiah, often referred to as the greatest of Israel’s prophets predicted the type of treatment Jesus would receive from the Roman soldiers. 

Isaiah 50:6 “I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.”

In Matthew 20:17-19 Jesus predicted his death for the second time. “The Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified.”

What a horrendous visual, and to think Jesus walked the earth for years with this in his heart. Knowing the people he came to save would treat him with such cruelty. The last part of Jesus' prediction though, is the best part;

"ON THE THIRD DAY HE WILL BE RAISED TO LIFE!" Alleluia!

In the many quotes we use to encourage one another today the spirit of Jesus suffering is present:

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. (Friedrich Nietzsche)

In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity. (Albert Einstein)

God uses suffering as a whetstone, to make men sharp with. (Henry Beecher)

God brings men into deep waters, not to drown them, but to cleanse them. (John Aughey)

The darkest night is often the bridge to the brightest tomorrow. (Jonathan Lockwood Huie)

As we struggle through our sometimes challenging and difficult existence, may we remember to go to the foot of the cross, where our life and hope truly began.

It Starts at the Cross

John 1:34 (NIV)
 ^" I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God." 

John the Baptist's job was to point people to Jesus, the long awaited Messiah. This is our job also. I never really made this connect before. John, Jesus's cousin, was the first to be charged with telling the world the good news and then pointing right at him and saying, "Make straight the way for the Lord." John was preparing the hearts of man to receive the Savior into their midst.

The prophet Isaiah foretold John the Baptist, who would come into the world proclaiming a Messiah would soon appear. Isaiah's people had been exiled for their sin, they had been in captivity for 70 years as a result of their evil and wicked ways. They spend 70 years living in a foreign land as a way to atone for their sin.

Isaiah and John were preparing their people, their world, for a long awaited Savior, one who would forgive sins and cleanse hearts the moment repentance took place. It sounds so easy, doesn't it? It seems like a free pass.  To think we can simply change our behavior and turn to God for forgiveness and it is done. But anyone who has ever attempted to change a behavior knows it isn't easy.

We struggle daily to do the next right thing. We fight temptations, addictions, resentments, and many days we have to start over again. But the wonderful thing is, we can start over. We have a God who loves us and wants us to keep trying and He will be at our side.

Our flesh is weak and we need help, lots of help. We need forgiveness and understanding. We need grace to get through each day.  We need the love of Jesus even give us the desire and then the fortitude to continue through each day, battling Satan. For that is what we do every day. Temptations abound.

Our world is filled with pain and suffering and sin.  But Jesus has overcome the world.

 John 1:19-34

Luke 19:28-44

Palm Sunday a Prophecy

According to http://bibleistrue.net/prophecy/ the Bible contains 1,817 individual predictions (prophesies) concerning 737 separate subjects found in 8,352 verses.

As Zechariah said the Lord would come some 500 years earlier, “humble and mounted on a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). This prophesy came to be in Luke 19.

Isaiah 35:4-6 …say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come with vengeance; with divine retribution He will save you. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like deer and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and stream in the desert.” 

This prophesy from approximately 700 BC came true as well. Jesus performed a multitude of miracles during his time on earth making it clear he was not of this world.

In Isaiah 40 the coming of Our God was proclaimed and in Luke 3 John the Baptist humbly spoke of Jesus making himself known; “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” Jesus did indeed come, and you know the rest.

While the crowd (referred to in scripture as disciples) shouted for joy as He was carried into Jerusalem on the colt, Jesus wept over the city and its impending destruction. Those who lined the street knew who Jesus really was and what his coming meant to the world.

Though we read about the second coming of our Lord in many books of the Bible, we cannot understand just what it will be like. We can trust however, that it is right and true, just as all of the other predetermined events of this world. Rest in the words and deeds of Jesus, for He came to sacrifice His life so WE may live. 

 Read/Listen to Luke 19:28-44

Palm Sunday

Luke 19: 28-44

Though we may be familiar with the story of Jesus mounting a donkey and making his way through the streets of Jerusalem, have we truly considered the condition of his heart? As I read the words in Luke 19, I paused for a long time on the phrase, “he wept over it.” Though Jesus knew his ultimate destiny, the human piece of him likely could not be somewhat hopeful that the world would realize what they were doing and rest in the peace of the Lord.

The vision I have of Jesus weeping as he journeyed through the city is hard on the heart. His strength, grace, and peace were immeasurable, and his love for man unreasonable considering how they behaved, yet He

wept for them, knowing what they were missing. Jesus knew what was to come, but he rode into Jerusalem anyway.

According to: www.thisisyourbible.com, it is recorded specifically in the bible that Jesus wept twice, once when Lazarus died in John 11, and again in Jerusalem as he entered the city in Luke 19. Consider however, Hebrews 5: 7: “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.” His prayers were so sincere and intense that it would have been impossible to hold back tears. Isaiah 53:3 illustrates Jesus as “….a man of sorrows, familiar with suffering.” Deep sorrow and suffering accompanied with heartache bring forth genuine, heartfelt tears. So even though there are only two times Jesus is recorded publicly weeping in the bible, understanding his heart clearly reveals frequent cries to God for the love, grace, and forgiveness of his people….that’s us.

Jesus prayed, pleaded, begged, and mourned for us. “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

Read/Listen to Luke 19: 28-44

Watch Music Video “By His Wounds” by Third Day     -It is intense, but real!

Light to the Peoples - Isaiah 51:1-8

These verses in Isaiah read like poetry with the musical flow and melodious words.  "Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD;"   Read the rest of that verse, "Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn;". The prophet is reminding those who are listening to him that their ancestor was Abraham, the Father of Nations.  He is reminding them that God made promises to his servant, Abraham and his decedents and they can be watching for that promise.

"My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm." (Isaiah 51:5)


Isaiah was reminding people that God promised a Savior and He will be a light to the all the peoples. We are reminded as well that God makes good on His promises.  Jesus died for us; our sins are forgiven before we even commit them.  Jesus loves us even though we are sinful.  Unconditional love in a world filled with so many conditions seems unbelievable.

When the world or life is pressing in on all sides and darkness pervades, I can read lines like, "Lift up your eyes to the heavens," and I can look up and pray and cry out and know for sure that our God hears, loves, cares and acts on our behalf.

Read the Isaiah 51:1-8 text here.