God spent centuries preparing mankind for his entrance into his creation. He started with one man, Abram, and grew him into a nation he would teach and work among. He gave his new nation his law, teaching the people about sin and holiness. He preformed miracles in their midst and gave them a land of their own. He rebuked and punished them when they strayed and rebelled. When the Jewish remnant returned to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity, they no longer worshipped false gods; they were dedicated to God alone, studying his word and straining to obey his laws. On the one hand they became overzealous for the law, adding many man-made rules; yet some of these man-made rules also weakened God's laws. They still didn't understand the heart of God that seemed hidden behind the law.
For any king who travelled through the ancient near east, workers were sent out to make the road safe and sound ahead of his trip. Jesus needed a spiritual road-preparer to go before him to prepare his people for his coming. The Messiah was expected, but Jesus did not quite fit the image of the Messiah the first century Jews anticipated. A man in the zealous spirit of Elijah was needed to fill the role and prepare the people's hearts and minds for a different kind of Messiah.
As we prepare to spend time in quite devotion to our Lord in this devotional series, how can we clear out the road before us and create a space where we can meet with our God and consider the marvelous event that Christmas celebrates? December is a month of decorating and cooking, shopping and travel, parties and fun with friends and family. In all the hustle and bustle that comes with the holidays, we need a daily visit to the true reason for the holiday: the God who humbled himself to live among us, teach us by word and example and demonstrate his incredible unconditional love. May this become the main focus of our Christmas joy!
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Holy God, you are my glorious and sovereign Lord; you alone deserve all praise. Thank you for making yourself known and preparing me for your presence. Please help me to live in your presence throughout this holiday season; I desire for you to be my greatest joy. To God be the glory! Amen
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Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
Sandy, thank you for taking the time, to help remind us of how God has made a way for us in our many deserts -emotional and physical ones. And you are so right- He alone deserves all our praise.
I will prepare for Messiah by focusing on the reason for this season. This devotional helped!
Thank you Sandy for this wonderful reminder. God is helping me daily with clearing the road to my heart; by showing me the things that need to be removed. My pride, my selfishyness,my insecurities and laziness. The great part is He doesn’t expect me to do this overnight like I think I should. He also doesn’t expect me to do it alone! I’m so very grateful for the women like you in my life to help me clear my path. One second, one minute one day at a time. I see EVERY DAY! How God is working for my good as I try to change and Obey Him even if it’s Not always easy.❤️
I need to prepare, my heart..not all the food, decorations,etc!