Prepare The Way — (and join us this Saturday)

The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way” — “a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.” Mark 1:1-3

Advent is a season of preparation, both personal and corporate. The people of God have always been shaped by what God has already done and by the expectation and anticipation of what he has promised to do in the future. This expectancy gives us hope, joy and the ability to live a life marked by contentment, regardless of your circumstances. It is out of this deep pool that we move can effectively move into our role as restorers and healers in our neighborhoods and our community.

We are called to be light, but so often we are less than that because we believe lies about our worth and who we are in God’s eyes. We often live out of a false identity, misshapen and unaware or unable to right.

Henri Nouwen says of our identity:

“Your true identity is as a child of God. This is the identity you have to accept. Once you have claimed it and settled in it, you can live in a world that gives you much joy as well as pain. You can receive the praise as well as the blame that comes to you as an opportunity for strengthening your basic identity, because the identity that makes you free is anchored beyond all human praise and blame. You belong to God, and it is as a child of God that you are sent into the world.”

You might read that and believe that it is true, but belief is not enough. In order to reshape the ways we have been misshapen so that we find our identity and value in a hundred different things, we need a process, time and others. Creekside has a process. It is called Beyond, and it is the process designed to create missionaries of us all as it helps us to becoming our true selves, the unique person God created each of us to be.

This Saturday we will be hosting the next of our Deep Water’s workshop from 9:00 to 1:00 at Creekside — the topic is identity and belovedness. Consider joining us in what I am sure you will find to be a useful, interactive, fun and engaging process of discovery and growth — the key to preparing the way for the Lord.

Peace, hope and love.

Doug