Thought of the Day !!

...during the time of high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'"
Luke 3:2-4 (NRSV)

John was called by God to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord Jesus. Preparation is needed for the important things of our lives. We prepare for careers by going to college or training in some sort of way. Athletes prepare for games by practicing. A young man may ask the question over and over in his mind and in many different ways before he pops the question and proposes to someone.

And then there’s Christmas. We prepare for Christmas now with shopping, baking, decorating, etc. But how should we prepare for what lies at the center of Christmas? How must we prepare for Jesus? We do it the same way that John taught the people of his day…by repenting…or turning away from sin and turning to God.

Billy Graham once said, "We're suffering from only one disease in the world. Our basic problem is not a race problem. Our basic problem is not a poverty problem. Our basic problem is not a war problem. Our basic problem is a heart problem. We need to get the heart changed, the heart transformed." This is repentance...a changed heart.

Repentance is our way of preparing for Jesus this holiday season. Repentance means literally to turn around. We’ve discussed repentance before. You’ve learned about it in Sunday School and church. But knowing what repentance means and actually living it out in our lives are two totally different things.

Let's give the gift of repentance to God this year for Christmas.

In the love of Christ,
greg