Notes to the Lord-Work Where You Can Find It

Mark 1

[1.1-3] The good news of Jesus Christ—the Message!—begins here, following to the letter the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Watch closely: I’m sending my preacher ahead of you; He’ll make the road smooth for you. Thunder in the desert! Prepare for God’s arrival! Make the road smooth and straight!

Lord Jesus--The good news of your coming was centuries in preparation.  Isaiah when he spoke of you often and even in this prophecy he was starting to do the work of preparation for your coming and your message. 

The call still needs to be listened to.  There is the need to watch and listen and obey. You are still preparing hearts to listen to the message of hope, the message of good news.  You want to clear away the rubble and the debris of the past.  You want to make a highway in the desert. It is interesting that it is a highway in the desert that is being prepared.  The Ancient Near East knew a lot about deserts.


As I think of the proclamation of Isaiah and of John the desert that surrounded them was not just a sand with-no-beach kind of desert.  There was the desert wanderings that was a part of the DNA of the soul of Israel.   There was the desert of a long history of disobedience and rejection of the message by God's people.


There are ways that the desert surrounds me at times...even seeps inside of me.  Lord Jesus--You called for a road to be built from heaven gates right straight through all of desert wanderings of your people. 

Up Close and Personal

The preparation that needs to take place for your arrival

is a task that you called your prophets to...and you have called your people to.  Where are the areas that need road work done in my life Lord for your Kingdom message to be effective?  One step builds on the next...so what is the next step?  Continue your leadership, Lord Jesus.

Why is it that I think that you call only to green places?  Here there is dry, hot work that is kingdom work that needs to be done.  It isn't where all the people are and there is a lot of attention, but it is where the Spirit of God is on the move.  More than anything in this coming year, I want to be where the Spirit of God is working with power, grace, thunder with results that last.  Lead on King of Glory...

Peterson, Eugene H. (2006-06-15). The Message Remix 2.0: The Bible In contemporary Language (p. 1791). NavPress.