Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Our Lord Comes
Isaiah 11: 1 - 10 

Mathew Jojin Thomas
Bethany MTC, NY

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

We constantly say and hear that this world is filled with hatred, darkness, ego, pride and all sorts of negativities; but, one thing that we do not usually say or think is that we are the contributors to these not so great qualities. This prideful nature of ours can lead us into destruction just like it did for Israel and Assyria. Even though God made Israel a great nation and gave them everything that they needed, pride made people put their trust in themselves rather than in God. This is very common with us even in this day and age. It is OK to be proud of our accomplishments but we should not forget that it is God who has given us our every success, resource and ability. We need to always remember that we are tools in His hand and no tool accomplishes its purpose without a greater power, its master. The moment that the tool starts boasting about its own power than the one who uses it, it is in danger of being discarded. We cannot be like Assyria, a cut down tree at the height of its power, never to rise again.
We all have those moments where we feel like those cut down trees, who struggle to rise up and lose hope without even giving a hope a fighting chance. That is where Isaiah 11 comes in. This chapter is about hope. You might feel like a cut down stump but from that stump a new shoot will grow and bear fruit. As we are in the Christmas season, this is the season of hope. In the time of darkness, our God promises us the light, our Lord Jesus Christ, who will shine forever and on everyone living in the shadow of death. The message of Hope was fulfilled through Christ and the establishment of His eternal Kingdom. He would bear much fruit and He would deliver all people from their slavery to sin.
The better days are yet to come. As it is said in V 10: “In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.” There will be a day when wolf will live with the lamb, leopard will lie down with the goat, the cow will feed with the bear and our children could play safely with formerly dangerous animals. In order to make this world a better place, it must start with us. When we long for fair treatment from others, we must do the same to others. This is the season of hope. Let us make this world a better place.

PRAYER

O, Lord, Heavenly Father, awaken our souls and help us to understand that You alone are our hope. Guide us in Your light and enable us to be a light in this world. Help us to not grow weary and give up when we are surrounded by darkness. We submit all this unto Your safe and secure hands. In Your heavenly name we pray. Amen!

 


THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Why do we decorate our houses with Christmas lights during Christmas season? Because Jesus is the light of the world. Next time when we see those lights of Christmas, let it remind us that they recall Christ, our true light.

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