Daily Devotional for December 18, 2014

Isaiah 40:9-11
O crier of good news, shout to Jerusalem from the mountaintops! Shout louder—don’t be afraid—tell the cities of Judah, “Your God is coming!”  Yes, the Lord God is coming with mighty power; he will rule with awesome strength. See, his reward is with him, to each as he has done. He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will carry the lambs in his arms and gently lead the ewes with young.
 
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.  Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO.  All rights reserved.
 
This morning, I shared a video on Facebook of Arkansas Razorbacks defensive end Trey Flowers completing a 55” “box jump”.  A box jump is a plyometric exercise that involves standing in front of a sturdy “box” and vertically jumping atop it in a single motion…with no assistance.  This exercise uses multiple joints and muscles and requires tremendous leg strength.  Flowers swung his arms about 3 times, bent his knees into a quarter-squat, and jumped more than 55” into the air – and landed atop the “box”.  The onlookers cheered and applauded.
 
This video was an “announcement” of sorts. A few days after Christmas, the Arkansas Razorbacks will take on the Texas Longhorns in the Advocare V100 Texas Bowl.  There is a decades-old rivalry between these two universities and their sports programs.  This was one way of announcing to the good people of Texas that “The Razorbacks are coming!  We have mighty power and awesome strength!  We’re coming to Houston to garner a win and carry the trophy home to our fans!”
 
To be clear, I do not mean to compare any of the Arkansas Razorbacks football team members to Jesus.  But my point is that we are all about heralding big events…letting people know who we are and what we plan to accomplish.  Our “bravado” and confidence are never higher than when we anticipate an exciting victory over a lifelong “enemy” in a sporting competition.  Why do we not herald Jesus with equal exuberance?
 
This is the question we must ask today.  Jesus has come…Jesus is coming again.  His strength and power over the devil and his agents are incomparable…and paradoxically, His tender love and care for us are undeniable.
 
We don’t have a “box jump” video of Jesus…but we can use our words and actions to spread His message!  Jesus has come!  Don’t be afraid to shout this to the world and be the crier of this GOOD NEWS!  Jesus has come…victory is ours!  Who will you tell today?
 
©2014 Debbie Robus

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