“The voice of one
crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of
the Lord;
A highway for our
God.
Every valley shall be
exalted
And every mountain
and hill brought low;
The crooked places
shall be made straight
And the rough places
smooth;
The glory of the Lord
shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall
see it together;
For the mouth of the
Lord has spoken.’”
Isaiah 40:3-5
(NKJV)
Christmas plans are
in full swing with decorating, baking, gift buying, planning and attending
parties, concerts and special church services. But Scripture speaks of a
more important kind of preparation for Christmas.
John the Baptist
was called to prepare the way for the Lord, to get the people ready to receive
Jesus as their Savior. That kind of preparation is needed today as well.
The hustle and bustle of this season affects just about everyone and yet how
many understand the real meaning of Christmas? How many actually know
Jesus as Immanuel, God with us?
People
may avoid the controversy with a non-offending Happy Holidays or Season's
Greetings, but the fact is that Jesus is the reason we celebrate Christmas.
This past Sunday, our pastor challenged us to ask at least one person during
this Christmas season what Jesus means to him or her. Whatever the
response, it is an opportunity to speak of our gracious Savior and the reason
for the hope and joy we have at this time and all year long.
We can help prepare
the way for the birth of our dear Lord by sharing His light and His love, especially
with those who are in darkness. And pray that their hearts are prepared
to receive Him.