Albright Church
The world desperately needs to see the glory of the Lord. We ache for comfort through the experience of His forgiveness. Like Zechariah and Elizabeth we need Him to clear the rubble in our lives and receive the good news of His deliverance.
The world has always looked for a messiah.
The world may not fully realize it but we really need and have always needed, Jesus Messiah.
Read Isaiah 40:1-5, 9
Isaiah 40:1-5, 9 NIV
God’s overwhelming desire is to bring you comfort.
“Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak comfortably to Jerusalem.”
God’s people were refugees living in Babylonian captivity as a result of their sinful ways. And yet the first words of God to these people are words of comfort.
He speaks ‘tenderly’ to their hearts to assure them that He had not forgotten them and that He would bring them back home.
God’s overwhelming desire is to comfort His people. To whisper in our ears. ‘Trust me. It is going to be okay. I am the Messiah. I am the one who can bring triumph out of trial.’
What words of comfort is God speaking into your heart today?
God longs to pardon your sin and bring you freedom.
“Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished and her iniquity is pardoned.”
God doesn’t just comfort and leave us where we are. Not only is help coming. Freedom is coming!
Our God is a forgiving God. He longs to pardon and to lead us into freedom.
God is always planning something better through what He calls us to go through.
What is God asking you to trust Him with in the unknown of this Christmas time?
God wants to make straight paths for Jesus Messiah to rule in your life.
“Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.”
The road to freedom is bumpy at times but it is still the right road.
If God is to make straight paths in our lives for Jesus Messiah to rule then the rubble from years of neglect needs to be removed.
The rubble from past sins, past habits, past regrets, past idols and past loves must be removed.
This is what the Holy Spirit does in our lives as we repent, believe and obey. There is no part of our lives that doesn’t need to be surrendered.
What rubble in your life needs to be removed for God to move in your life?
God’s glory will be revealed and all will see it.
“And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.”
God wants to reveal His glory in our lives so that all will see and know that God is the one true and living God.
People need to know we are on a level with them. That there are no hidden corners. That we are approachable. That we are not out for our own glory. That we humbly serve. That we listen, love and bless. That we speak the truth in love. That we show love in action. All of this reveals the glory of God.
Jesus Messiah is God’s glory revealed.
What is your prayer this week for God’s glory to be seen in you?
Questions for Reflection:
- What words of comfort is God speaking into your heart today?
- What is God asking you to trust Him with in the unknown of this Christmas time?
- What rubble in your life needs to be removed for God to move in your life?
- What is your prayer this week for God’s glory to be seen in you?