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Lent 2009


A Prophecy of Hope

By Kathy Gorski
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Scripture Verses
 Isaiah 53:1-6

 1 Who has believed our message
       and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
       and like a root out of dry ground.
       He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
       nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
 3 He was despised and rejected by men,
       a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
       Like one from whom men hide their faces
       he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
 4 Surely he took up our infirmities
       and carried our sorrows,
       yet we considered him stricken by God,
       smitten by him, and afflicted.
 5 But 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.
 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
       each of us has turned to his own way;
       and the LORD has laid on him
       the iniquity of us all.

Devotion
In today’s technological world, parents can know within days of conception they are going to have a child, a gift from God. There is great anticipation for what the baby will look like, will it be a girl or a boy, ideas for what the name will be, how they will parent, all the preparation for just the right nursery, and the hopeful plans for their child’s future. Then all the excitement as news of the impending birth is shared with the family and anyone else who will listen!! After that, the amazing ultrasound photos as their little miracle grows. At the birth, the reality of the new babe’s life unfolds as the babe is nurtured and loved even more through the years of joys and challenges that life brings in this world.

This scripture was written sometime between 740BC-681BC, from the time when Isaiah became a prophet until the end of his ministry. He foretold of the coming of this Jesus who would suffer for the sins of all people. Just as we anticipate the arrival of a new baby with all the hopes and dreams for a great future, Jesus was sent as a baby to suffer and die because God knows ahead of time that we, as his children, will be disobedient and stray from him. God created us in his image, sent his son to earth to teach and guide us, and in the torture of Jesus’ death on the cross, dramatically conveys to us that he wants to restore us to him so we will spend eternity with him.

Prayer
Dear Father in Heaven, Thank you for each day to reflect on how you love and guide us, continually calling us back to you. Help us to share this amazing love story. Guide us in telling the truth of hope and peace that only comes through a relationship with you. In the name of your precious son, Jesus Christ, Amen.