Prepare the Way
Prepare the Way
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” Matthew 3:1-3
How are you doing in preparing for the coming of the Lord? He IS coming, you know. We just don’t know when. And the fact that we don’t know when is the reason that we always MUST be prepared.
I picture it like this… a prophet cries out to prepare the way for the Promised One… and we all panic. You know how it goes, we start making lists of what all needs to be done, what food will be needed when He gets to the house. Do we have enough toilet paper? Oh, and what gifts will we present to Him. We can’t find the perfect gift anywhere this year, we’re going to have to look online for sure.
After cleaning the house and making sure things are ready, we start to think of how inadequate our space is, should we have rented a hall? In all the hustle and bustle of getting ready, did we even think about the mess in our heart that needs to be cleaned up for our holy visitor?
Then in all the commotion, the Spirit speaks softly to us… we weren’t asked to clean the house. We weren’t asked to get Him a gift. We were simply asked to prepare a room and set a place at the table for the rest of our lives, for the Beloved, the child who already dwells within.
But this message started by saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” One of our most urgent and important daily prayers should be confession. Sincere confession – True repentance. If it is not sincere; it falls short and is meaningless to God. I read that the Jewish term for repentance is TESHUVAH, which more literally means returning. Returning to God demands repentance.
Jesus’ way must come again through you and through me. Each and every day can be a glorious day of Jesus’ coming if we live it in our hearts and lives. We must prepare our hearts, prepare our lives and prepare the way of the Lord. How can we prepare the way of the Lord? Let the Holy Spirit help you. All you have to do is ask.
Let us pray: Gracious Heavenly Father, we do love you very much and we long for the return of Jesus our Christ. We come before you with our love and humbly ask your forgiveness for ALL our sins and shortcomings. Lord we not only ask your forgiveness, but we ask that You help us avoid our sins and to overcome them. We pray in the Name of Your Precious Son and Our Savior Jesus. AMEN
Have a blessed day!
~Bev