Day 4 of our 2018 Advent Contemplations.
Welcome to the Blue Ocean Advent devotional podcast. This is Day four: Wednesday, Dec. 5. I’m Emily, and I’ll be your guide today.
Let’s start with a moment of gratitude. I’ll give you 20 seconds of silence to think about something you’re thankful for, and to thank God for it. Let’s begin now.
[20 seconds of silence]
Now we’ll move on to a petitionary prayer. Today we’ll pray for our community. You can start by praying something like, “God, give me hope for _________ in my community.” And then list various aspects of your city or neighborhood you want to hold before God. Let’s take half a minute of silence to pray.
[30 seconds of silence]
Our Scripture reading today comes from Isaiah 11:1-10. During the first week of Advent we focus on cultivating hope—practicing being wide-eyed, and looking for signs of God in everything. Let’s listen for this in the book of Isaiah.
I’m reading from a translation called The Message. It begins:
“A green Shoot will sprout from Jesse’s stump,
from his roots a budding Branch.
The life-giving Spirit of God will hover over him,
the Spirit that brings wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit that gives direction and builds strength,
the Spirit that instills knowledge and Fear-of-God.
Fear-of-God
will be all his joy and delight.
He won’t judge by appearances,
won’t decide on the basis of hearsay.
He’ll judge the needy by what is right,
render decisions on earth’s poor with justice.
His words will bring everyone to awed attention.
A mere breath from his lips will topple the wicked.
Each morning he’ll pull on sturdy work clothes and boots,
and build righteousness and faithfulness in the land.The wolf will romp with the lamb,
the leopard sleep with the kid.
Calf and lion will eat from the same trough,
and a little child will tend them.
Cow and bear will graze the same pasture,
their calves and cubs grow up together,
and the lion eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child will crawl over rattlesnake dens,
the toddler stick his hand down the hole of a serpent.
Neither animal nor human will hurt or kill
on my holy mountain.
The whole earth will be brimming with knowing God-Alive,
a living knowledge of God ocean-deep, ocean-wide.On that day, Jesse’s Root will be raised high, posted as a rallying banner for the peoples. The nations will all come to him. His headquarters will be glorious.”
____________We’ll close today by meditating on Isaiah 11:1, which says:
“But on this humbled ground, a tiny shoot, hopeful and promising, will sprout from Jesse’s stump; A branch will emerge from his roots to bear fruit.”
Take a few moments now to meditate on what it might look like—and what it might mean—for a tiny shoot of life to grow out of a dead tree stump.
Our Concluding Prayer:
Creator, almighty and everlasting, you have brought me in safety to this new day: Preserve me with your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all I do direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus my Lord. Amen