God's Courageous Soldier (A New You #6) - Monday Morning Devotion
In this season of resolutions and "becoming a new person," we invite you to join us on a journey in the seven weeks leading to Lent. Come and discover more about the baby we celebrated in the manger.
Just like you, this baby is more than what he seems. And as mysterious as that sounds, it is all expained and laid out for us in God's Word.
You can become a new person this year - a child of God and a citizen of His Kingdom, dedicated to seeking His will every day and in every action.
Need to start at the beginning? Read Week 1 Here
Read:
Isaiah 7:14
Isaiah 9:6
Isaiah 53:5
Isaiah 53:7
It was winter in Palestine, shortly after the Second World War. A 15-year-old boy named Muhammed and his cousin, Jum’a, were herding livestock on the north shore of the Dead Sea.
Jum’a noticed some holes in the sides of the hills nearby. He threw in a rock to see how big the holes were and called Muhammed over to see. It was a cave and inside they found jars with ancient scrolls inside.
Excited with their strange discovery, they took the jars back to show their families. Other Bedouin men began to explore the caves and eventually discovered 11 caves hiding similar ancient scrolls. Now called the Dead Sea Scrolls, these are the oldest versions of the Bible we have.
One of the scrolls contained the Book of Isaiah where we find countless clues that point us to the coming birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The prophecies of Isaiah tell us who the Messiah is and who He came to save. In the end, Isaiah suffered a martyr's death, being sawn in two by the Jewish king, Manasseh. But thankfully, for us, his words have been saved.
Fast forward to the years after Jesus, and we find more stories and lessons saved for us. The books of the Gospel and the letters of the Apostles, through the work of the Holy Spirit, provide us with the Words of God so we may learn and grow. And like Isaiah, many of those authors suffered martyrs deaths.
Following Jesus and proclaiming His Word is not easy.
Though most of us reading this do not have to fear death based on our beliefs, we do still come face to face with scary situations that test our faith and our courage.
The late evangelist Myles Munroe once said, “The wealthiest place in the world is the graveyard because there sits the dreams that were never released and the desires that never came forth that have been buried into the ground... Things that people were called to do, but they sat scared and lazy on the sidelines watching everybody else do it.”
You were not born to sit on the sidelines.
You are called to be part of God's courageous army, carrying on His Word without fear. We ask God today for the courage and wisdom to follow His path as we bring His grace and love to the world.