DECK YOUR HEARTS – PREPARE THE WAY FOR HIM – 12/03/18

DECK YOUR HEARTS – PREPARE THE WAY FOR HIM
December 03, 2018

Prayer:  Pray we will all know how to honor the Lord in the month of His birthday. 

Scripture:  And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him, to give His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace        Luke 1:76- 79 NIV

Today’s Scriptures are a part of the song Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, sang when his tongue was loosened at the circumcision of John. The angel Gabriel had told Zechariah that he would be blessed with a son who would “make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” And John did just that.

My halls are already decked for Christmas. I know it sounds absurd but it has become a recent tradition in our home to decorate prior to Thanksgiving. It allows us to take our time and truly focus as a family on “preparing the way for the Lord.”

We all know the month of December can become chaotic and our lives can too easily become distracted from the true meaning and attitude of Christmas. Crowded stores can lead to unholy attitudes as we chase down everything from parking places to presents. Full calendars with parties and programs can lead to stress instead of holiday cheer.  Just one trip to the post office in late December is enough to make you forget peace and good-will towards men! Stringing lights, decorating trees and all that we do is enough to make us crazy. Christmas crazy does not help us to live out the spirit of Christmas. Remember that during this time, it is through our actions and behaviors that those who do not know Christ as their Savior may see the joy, peace and love that He brought to earth that first Christmas.

So now we deck our halls early so that we might spend Thanksgiving to Christmas “decking our hearts.” It gives us time to help others, to share God’s love, to be hospitable without making us hostile. It gives us time to play and spend time with our family during the Christmas break and to show others the joy of Christ’s arrival for our salvation.

Many of you will not get out of school until just a couple of days before Christmas. Start your to-do list now and then start now. Buy some gifts early, write and mail your cards early, decorate, do whatever you can do so that you can enjoy and rejoice during your Christmas break. My prayer for you is that you would make ready a home – and heart – prepared for the Lord.

Copyright Kathy Branzell.  Email [email protected]