Isaiah
Listen to today’s reading:
Isaiah 49:6
He says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
Psalm 112:1-3
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine on us—
so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples with equity
and guide the nations of the earth.
May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
The land yields its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
May God bless us still,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Romans 10:12
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him…
Today’s Reading:
Baseball is such a great way to get a community together. There’s no doubt that the game can start rivalry and bitter relationships, but much more often than not, the game starts and grows good friendships. In communities around the world, not everyone wants to or can play baseball, and in turn, in community we adapt – finding different ways to relate to each other. For Full Count Ministries, we have always known and believed that we are only one small arm of Jesus’s great commission. God uses our passion for the game of baseball to reach a specific group of people – baseball players. In God’s design though, he has made us all unique and diverse. As a ministry we are not going to reach everyone. We rely on all of our brothers and sisters in the church for their unique gifts for God’s work. As a baseball ministry, we strive to reconcile divisions in community that the game might inadvertently create. Almost unbelievably, we’ve encountered culture where people are told baseball and Christianity don’t mix. It is man’s opinions that create this unnecessary exclusivity – to relationship with others and relationship to God. It’s known that we tend to gravitate toward people like us, but even more than that, we tend to like to draw lines where there shouldn’t be any. God created a chosen people separate from the world through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but through time, the people of God began to make some incredibly senseless ethnic and cultural divisions in the world. It seems from the gospels that Jesus crossed every man-made boundary. Jesus identified these so-called barriers, and in his ministry he knowingly and rightfully challenged every cultural boundary of the day in order to love and serve people – even the “worst sinners.” A huge riff in culture was that the Jews had created a deep chasm away from the Gentiles – in a way that was never ever meant to be. After Solomon’s death, there was a rebellion and two kingdoms were created – Israel and Judah. Isaiah the prophet boldly shared the heart of the Lord during the period of the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah through a prophecy in Isaiah 49:6 saying, “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” Salvation was never meant for the few, but is offered to all. Isaiah promised that this light, a man named Immanuel, would come – a name that means “God with us.” Immanuel, what we now know is Jesus Christ, was miraculously born, initiating this stark clash in culture, jolting radical change in relationships with people stuck on the outside. Most importantly, Jesus came to break down the great divide between us and God above. Jesus decided to associate with and befriend sinners, all the while staying perfect and spotless of sin. It is amazing that he would choose to live alongside any of us. Now, he calls us to go and love our neighbor today and mend any unnecessary division (Mark 12:31). Be the church - and use your gifts to glorify God - reaching out to the lost through baseball, or whatever talents God has given you! It doesn’t matter where you come from - God wants you to trust in him today and to point others to himself.
Today’s Prayer Guide:
Praise – Praise God for giving you your uniqueness and the world outside of you with distinct and awesome personality.
Confession – Tell God how you have wrongly put dividers up between people that are unlike yourself.
Ask – Ask God to help you reach out to people different that you are, and also ask him how you can use your unique gifts for kingdom work in loving your neighbor.