3 Tell Me A Story: Mountains Made Low

Tell Me A Story:  Mountains Made Low

#13 in the Series: Daddy, It's Me--Conversations of an Ordinary Person with an Extraordinary Heavenly Father

 

I grabbed the handles of the wheel barrel and shoved them forward.  The wheels reluctantly straggled off limping over the ridges and ruts left by the trucks after a rain.  What was easier, wheeling the load over the rough terrain or fixing the geography so that every other load in the future would be easier? 
Recollecting my horsemanship mentor, Pat Parelli, I decided to "take the time it took, so it would take less time" and effort. 

I hunted down the shovel and the rake and set about smoothing the ground:  knocking down the hard ridges and filling in the ruts.  It did not take all that long and every load ever after, the job was easier.  I had myself a little highway...No bumps, clear direction, ease, speed, and safety.

The process reminded me of Isaiah 40:3-54:

3 A voice of one calling:

“In the wilderness prepare

the way for the Lord;

make straight in the desert

a highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be raised up,

every mountain and hill made low;

the rough ground shall become level,

the rugged places a plain.

5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,

and all people will see it together.

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

From <https://www.bible.com/bible/111/ISA.40.NIV>

There is a way to prepare a highway for the Lord.  It will remove barriers and and give people direction for living a new life.   When I allow the love of God to guide me, the glory of the Lord will shine into people's lives…and their way to the Savior will be a highway--direct, smooth, quick, and safe. 

11 I will turn all my mountains into roads,

and my highways will be raised up.

12 See, they will come from afar—

some from the north, some from the west,

some from the region of Aswan.”

From <https://www.bible.com/bible/111/ISA.49.NIV>

How do I prepare the way? 

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

From <https://www.bible.com/bible/111/1PE.3.NIV>

Does the way you live provoke people to ask about why you have hope?  Is your life different enough that people want to know why you live the way you do?  (Refer back to "Chew, Chew, Chew.")  I know I want that to be a part of my life.  As I move closer to the Savior he brings opportunities to share the gospel and smooth the road for others.

I have a list of people for whom I pray and for whom I have a plan for sharing whenever and however I can.  How about you?  For whom can you consciously create opportunities to share the Good News, not as a way to "beat them over the head with a Bible" but in "gentleness and respect."

Why is it called GOOD NEWS anyway?

It is pretty clear that the world we live in is broken.  This happened because--given the choice between life and relationship with God or knowledge and death--Adam and Eve chose knowledge and death.  God knew they would but he gave them the choice anyway.  But he had a plan to make things right again.  When the time was right, he sent his son, Jesus, to be born as a man, live a human life but without sin, suffer ridicule and rejection, and die a cruel death to pay the penalty for all the wrong choices of all mankind.  He was then buried and took the keys of Hell from Satan (because he was the instigator of the trouble).  On the third day he was resurrected from the tomb and gave anyone who believes in Him, the right to be a child of God…to have that relationship that was lost, restored...To once again enjoy intimate and personal conversation and the tender love of the Father.

What have you chosen?  

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  

If you want to know more about how you can accept Jesus' gift, email me.  Or just talk to him like you would a friend.  He is waiting for you with arms open and saying, "Come into my arms, my child.  I love you!"

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