Today's Word
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Salisbury PlainClimb a Hill, Look at a Rock Day
Our Lord is so good, He grants us many blessings. We can see Him in the daily course of events, in our homes, our jobs, our lives. I pray that these words help you to grow in your faith and recognize His hand in even the most mundane circumstances.
The picture to the right is of a Celtic Chapel located in Cornwall England. This building is approximately 1700 years old, and contains a holy well known for its healing powers.
(Click for enlarged)
“The heavens declare the glory of God. The expanse shows his handiwork. Day after day they pour out speech, and night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their voice has gone out through all the earth, their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his room, like a strong man rejoicing to run his course. His going out is from the end of the heavens, his circuit to its ends; there is nothing hidden from its heat. Yahweh’s law is perfect, restoring the soul. Yahweh’s testimony is sure, making wise the simple. Yahweh’s precepts are right, rejoicing the heart. Yahweh’s commandment is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of Yahweh is clean, enduring forever. Yahweh’s ordinances are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the extract of the honeycomb. Moreover by them is your servant warned. In keeping them there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Forgive me from hidden errors. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then I will be upright. I will be blameless and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, Yahweh, my rock, and my redeemer.” Psalm 19, WEB
The days leading up to Christmas is full of parties and preparation; it is a time of joy and friendship, of happy times, and pleasant experiences. We are waiting for the coming of the Christ child, but while we wait, we gather with friends and family and attend programs starring our little ones who sing with great passion and gusto even if they are a little out of tune. We light our homes with twinkle lights and fill our kitchens with the most delightful smells of Christmas cookies, cakes, and other goodies. We listen to and hum Christmas songs all day long. I can’t help thinking, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” as I go through my day.
We host an open house for our friends on the second Saturday of December every year. It takes a lot of work: cleaning, decorating, shopping, baking, and cooking. We always give a homemade ornament to our guests, so we’ve had that work to do, too. It is a crazy time. It seems as soon I finish one task I find a dozen more to do. I clean up clutter and discover dust. I clean up the dust and realize I need to vacuum. By the time I finish those tasks, something else pops up to be done. It takes constant vigilance to complete the work. The party is as late as it can be, yet I feel like I’m so far behind. Every year I promise I won’t do too much, but every year I get excited about sharing my blessings with family and friends, so I go overboard.
What does Christmas look like? For me, at least this weekend, it looks like a house filled with laughter and happy bellies filled with good food and great conversation. To the world there are Christmas trees and Santa Clause and perhaps even a nativity scene here or there. It is “Joy to the World” and “Silent Night”. These are wonderful aspects of Christmas.
I have to confess, though, that my preparation for the party and for Christmas keeps my focus on the fun and it is hard to spend time considering the purpose of Advent. See, according to the Church year, the Christmas Season does not even begin until after Advent, but we can’t possibly wait until Christmas Eve to begin to prepare. It takes time to decorate our homes, bake cookies, and buy presents, so we miss Advent by paying so much attention to Christmas and nearly forget that these weeks are meant to be a time of preparing our hearts for the coming of our Savior. In the earliest days of the celebration of Christ’s birth, Advent was a time of repentance. It is hard to remember our need for the Christ when we are so focused on the glitz and glitter of Christmas.
Many people look for happiness and inspiration in Christmas lights and pretty packages. They try to find joy in the celebrations. Those who do not believe in God see the way we spend these weeks and never really understand what it means to the believer that Jesus was born to save us because they see us partying and laughing.
They are looking for something they can’t define, but never realize they will not find it under an evergreen tree. It is true that the psalmist tells us to look toward the heavens and hear God’s voice in His creation. We can see Him in the flowers and know that the Creator designed each one out of love for you. We can look toward the rivers and know that the waters flow endlessly to bring life to the earth. We can see even see God in the laughter of our family and friends as we gather to have fun, but true joy comes to us through the water of life that flows from our Lord Jesus Christ.
The psalmist then reminds us to see God in His Word. His Law is perfect; His Testimony is true. His Word restores our soul. December makes us think of many things; some of it is unselfish, but much is self-centered as we write our wish lists and search for happiness in parties. It is fun to find a piece of chocolate hidden behind a paper door in an advent calendar or add another ornament to a Christmas tree, but Advent is about more than planning parties, baking cookies, and shopping for gifts. It is a time to look toward Jesus Himself, in scripture and revelation, and know that God is not found in glitz and glitter and self-centeredness, but rather in the hearts of those who humble themselves and seek God’s grace.
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Lectionary Scriptures for December 14, 2025, Third Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 35:1-10; Psalm 146; James 5:7-11; Matthew 11:2-15
“Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in Yahweh, his God.” Psalm 146:5, WEB
It is said that there has been no year in recorded human history that there has been no war between nations. There hasn’t been a global war for many years, but there is always some battle waging between neighboring countries or clans or kingdoms. If there isn’t war on our continent, there’s war somewhere. Violence between enemies takes lives every day. Perhaps there have been years when those wars were minor with few deaths, but conflict is always a part of life. Unfortunately, it seems that even individuals these days make it a habit to find a reason to argue. It seems we are constantly looking for an enemy.
It is no wonder that we find great comfort in the words of Isaiah, “Tell those who have a fearful heart, ‘Be strong! Don’t be afraid! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, God’s retribution. He will come and save you.’” We want God to do away with our enemies, to punish them for the harm they have inflicted on us. It is particularly strange, though, when the enemies fighting one another both believe in the same God. Take, for example, the wars in England between the fifteenth and seventeenth century. Those wars were about power and control, mostly between family members, but there was often an underlying question of religion, specifically which type of Christianity would be followed.
People were beheaded because they wanted to follow the ideas of the reformers and people were beheaded because they wanted to follow Rome, it all depended on who was in power. The years during Henry VIII’s reign were particularly difficult because he was so easily swayed by whoever was in his favor. If he liked you, he believed you, and you could convince him to implement policies favorable for your point of view. But the minute you did something to fall out of favor, and it could be the silliest thing, you were out and the next guy moved in to implement the policies favorable to his point of view.
This meant that the average person never knew what was in favor and what was not in favor at any moment. There was confusion not only in the court, but in the streets. It was the death sentence to disagree with the king, but how do you agree when you don’t even know what he believes today?
I read a lot of historical fiction from that time period in English history. I am fascinated by the relationships within the courts of the kingdom. I read a book that centered on Henry VIII’s sixth wife Katherine Parr. While the book was fiction, historical fiction writers try to stay true to the historical evidence of what happened. This particular book showed the constant jockeying between courtesans to be in favor not only with Queen Katherine, but especially with King Henry. After all, if the queen falls out of favor, you better have your foot in the next door. And with King Henry, we know the queens fell out of favor. Katherine did eventually lose favor, but she kept her head because Henry died first.
The passage from Isaiah brings light to the real question: who is my enemy? What is interesting is that the religious wars among the English always quietly disappeared when the county was fighting France. As they say, the enemy of your enemy is your friend. It was easy to love one another as they faced a common enemy. But as soon as one war was settled, the old disagreements rose to the top and the infighting began again.
We are human. The reality is that no matter what we believe, there are always human beings that just can’t get along. We have conflicting personalities. We see the world differently. There are just some people who rub us the wrong way. This happens within the closest groups, even families. As Christmas draws closer, many are dreading the impending gatherings because it is almost certain someone will say something to make someone else angry. There is no way to escape, especially when you are visiting distant family and friends. We are human and even the best of us simply do not get along with all the other humans.
But does that make them our enemy? We might not agree about the issues, the big and the little ones, and we may even get into heated discussions with them, but does that make them an enemy? Sadly, I have to admit that I have cried out to God about those who have hurt me. Did I want Him to hurt them? I wish I could say I didn’t...
But when God says that He will deal with our enemies, He’s not really thinking in terms of those neighbors with whom we do not agree. We have greater enemies about which we should be concerned, i.e. the devil. When we disagree with our neighbors about the silly things, and even the big things, Satan takes advantage of our weaknesses. He makes us think that those people are our enemies. He wants us to hate them. He wants us to divide. He’s done a pretty good job.
In the days when Jesus was born, the people were waiting for a Messiah, a savior or liberator. They wanted someone who would defeat the Romans and return Israel to the Golden Age of David. They wanted God to take vengeance on their enemies. But the Jews faced the same question as we do today: who was the enemy God would destroy? Jesus came to save the people not from the threats in this world but from the threats that keep them from God. Jesus is the Way that will make the desert a land of flowing blessings.
Isaiah says, “The wilderness and the dry land will be glad. The desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose.” Isn’t that a beautiful image? I see these words come to pass happen each year in Texas. If the conditions are perfect, the rains of October and February as well as the cold of December will bring out the Bluebonnets in such numbers that the fields turn to blue. There are other wildflowers, too, and for a time the dry, brown landscape is filled with color. Isaiah says, “It will blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing.”
Isaiah was telling the people that something spectacular was about to happen. This promise was given to the exiles as they waited to be released from captivity. It must have been difficult to wait. We know that God is faithful, but we begin to doubt when things don’t happen in a timely manner. We forget that everything happens in God’s time for a reason. Perhaps they weren’t ready. Perhaps they did not fully understand the depth of God’s grace. Perhaps there were still some that needed to be cleansed of the attitudes that sent them into captivity in the first place. The people were there to be transformed, to remember the God of their forefathers and the power of His Word. The promise would be fulfilled when the time was right, when God was satisfied that all were ready to return into His presence.
God’s people would return home with shouts of praise and song. When it happened, extraordinary things would occur: the blind would see, the deaf would hear, the speechless tongue would sing and the lame would dance. They shall see the glory of God. But this promise was not for all men, it was for God’s people. The highway leads directly to the gate of Zion: the unclean would not walk the Holy Way.
Though the words were spoken to those in exile, these words spoke also to another day, a future time when God would redeem the world and transform His people forever. Can you imagine a world as is pictured in the text from Isaiah? We might catch glimpses today, but there are still those who are blind, deaf, dumb, and lame. The lions and jackals still roam. Was the world really different when the exiles returned to Jerusalem? People still became sick and children were born blind. The unclean were still walking into the gates of Zion.
They were looking for the Messiah in the days of Jesus. John leapt in joy in his mother’s womb and did not want to baptize Jesus because he knew that he was not worthy to even touch His feet, but even he wondered whether Jesus was the One for whom they were waiting. Matthew wrote that John the Baptist heard stories about Jesus. He was imprisoned by Herod and could not go see it for himself, so he sent some of his disciples. “Are you he who comes, or should we look for another?” they asked Jesus. Jesus answered, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see,” and listed the same promises as we hear in Isaiah. Jesus was opening the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf. He was making the lame walk and the mute sing. He was raising the dead. Jesus was fulfilling the promises of the Old Testament in their presence, proving by His works that He was the One for whom they were waiting. Most importantly, Jesus was preaching the Good News of God’s grace.
Jesus was the Messiah, but He wasn’t going to be the Messiah they wanted Him to be. He was going to be what God intended Him to be. Jesus said, “Blessed is he who finds no occasion for stumbling in me.” His true purpose would cause the many people to stumble.
Jesus’ ministry did not make sense to the religious elite of His day. He touched the untouchables. He brought wholeness to the outcast. He gave life to those who were dead to the world. He set the prisoners free, opened the eyes of the blind, and made the lame walk. He did not do good things for the righteous; He did great things for the sinners. It made no sense in Jesus’ day and does not make sense today. Human nature expects reward for goodness, but Jesus gave gifts to the humble. No wonder so many people doubt that He is the Messiah, even today.
The central theme of today’s texts is the fulfillment of God’s promises in the ministry of Jesus. Isaiah tells us that the eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf will be unstopped, the lame man will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing. The psalmist wrote about the same promise. We see these promises being fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus.
After sending John’s disciples back with the good news, Jesus spoke to the people about John. “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. But why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ Most certainly I tell you, among those who are born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptizer; yet he who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.’” Jesus pointed to the Old Testament prophecy to show the fulfillment of God’s promises.
John was truly a great man, how could he be lesser than the least in the Kingdom of Heaven? The point of this verse is that John was of the Old Covenant, a covenant based on a different kind of promise. He was looking for salvation in flesh; the New Covenant promises a greater salvation. The power of the Old Covenant was fire and brimstone; it was destructive and judgmental. Jesus came to bring healing and forgiveness, restoring people and making them whole. His work is complete, but we do not yet see the fulfillment of all His promises. We live in hope, trusting that the day will come when the ills in Isaiah will be gone forever.
We are still waiting for the fulfillment of these promises even now two thousand years after the birth of Jesus. The blind are still blind. The lame are still lame. The wicked still walk in our midst. The day will come when we receive the eternal life where all these things are gone forever. That day will come in God’s time, not in our time. Will it be today? Will it be in a thousand years? We don’t know. What we do know is that God is faithful.
James tells us to be patient. “Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receives the early and late rain.” God knows what He is doing. He is longsuffering. He is forgiving. He wants all to know Him. He wants everyone to walk on the Way. It is all about God’s mercy. He is the One who will make it happen. He has made a plan that will fulfill all His promises, and one day we’ll know what it is like to live in that wilderness that has been transformed into a garden of life. The water will flow.
The water will flow. Actually, the water already flows. While we are still waiting for the promises of God, they were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He is the Living Water that makes the desert bloom, and He is already doing so through His people. Though He never defeated the Romans, He did defeat the real enemy: death. The devil is still wandering around, trying to convince us to hate one another and taking advantage of our faults, but God is still in control.
James wrote, “Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” The language of the New Testament has a sense of immediacy that seems to contradict the reality. Two thousand years is a long time since the first disciples followed Jesus. It is enough to make us doubt what we believe, just like John the Baptist. It makes us ask, “Are you he who comes, or should we look for another?” In this world many people look for salvation in so many places. They cry out to God for all the wrong reasons. They don’t even realize why they need to be saved. They see enemies in every person who disagrees with them but do not see that the real enemy has been defeated by God.
The psalmist wrote of the hope we have in Jesus. “Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in Yahweh, his God.” This is not good news for the righteous; it is good news for the sinner, because it points us beyond ourselves to trust in a higher power. That higher power, by virtue of His greatness, must know better how things should be accomplished. We are still waiting for the fulfillment of the promises two thousand years after the coming of Christ because God still has work to do. There are people that need to be saved and we are called to wait both patiently and expectantly while God finishes what He has started.
What are you waiting for? Does your impatience make you doubt the truth of what God is doing? Do you wonder if Jesus really is the One, or if we should be looking for another? The answer is the same for us today as it was for John. “Go and tell the things which ye hear and see.” The blind see God, the lame go forth in faith, the filthy are cleansed, the deaf hear God’s word, the dead are raised to new life in Christ, and the poor are given the treasures of the Kingdom. This is truly good news.
Now is the time to trust in God, even as we wait. We might be confused, like John, and wonder if we are really seeing the work of God. Despite our doubt we can know that God’s promises are real and He is faithful. That’s what makes us greater than John. We live in the New Covenant; God has redeemed His people and restored us to Him. He will make the world right, in His time and in His way. Jesus is coming, not just as a babe in a manger, but as the King of Glory. One day God’s creation will be as Isaiah imagines. Do not be afraid. He is here now and will be here then. Even now His Spirit is sweeping across the land, transforming the dry land with His Word.
The following links provide some specially chosen scripture that tell the stories of the Birth and Passion of our Lord as Savior Jesus Christ, as well as a fictional perspective of the Crucifixion. Spend time in God's Word, read about His life and learn of the wonderful gifts He has for you. Know Jesus Christ and honor Him today. Thanks be to God.
The Story of our Savior's Passion
The Crucifixion, a fictional perspective
When researching, I use several versions of the bible, including the New International Version and English Standard Version. Due to copyright restrictions, I have not included quotes for the scriptures on some of the archives, but highly encourage you to open your own bibles to read the scripture passages for yourselves. Where scripture is quoted, it is usually the American Standard Version or World English Bible which belong to the public domain. Any other versions used in quotes are identified.
The devotion posted on Wednesday is based on the Lectionary texts used by millions of Christians each Sunday. The Lectionary consists of four texts: an Old Testament passage, a Psalm, a passage from one of the Epistles and a Gospel text and follows the church calendar. Archives for these writings are found at Midweek Oasis.
You are welcome to use these words to share the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. Please remember to give credit to the Author who has given you these gifts, and keep in remembrance the vessel which He used to bring them to you. We pray that this site may be a blessing to you and anyone with whom you've shared it. Peggy Hoppes
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