Mark 1:1, Isaiah 40:9 (NRSV)
Devotion
Mark's story of Jesus begins with the good news of Jesus Christ, not "the story of" Jesus Christ, or "information about" Jesus Christ, or some sort of "doctrinal evidence for" Jesus Christ. Rather, Mark calls his account of the life and death of Jesus the active, dynamic proclamation of God's salvation. What God is up to now in Jesus is nothing other than to say, "Here is your God!" Our text from II Isaiah reminds us that God has been about good news all along and that the good news, or gospel, is at the very heart of who God is and what God calls us to be.
Prayer
God of good news, thank you for your ongoing gospel in our lives. Give us the power to speak into our lives and into the lives of others, "Here is our God." Amen.