Advent Devotional by Kathleen Schwartz December 12 – Preparation

“He will be a man with the power and spirit of Elijah, the prophet of old.  He will precede the coming of the Lord, preparing the people for his arrival.  He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will change disobedient minds to accept godly wisdom.”  Luke 1:17

Advent is considered a time of preparation.  Are you preparing?  How are you preparing? 

Here in Zambia, there isn’t much preparing in the bush.  Christmas usually just means having a bit nicer meal on that day – maybe chicken with the n’shema.  You don’t see decorations, fancy lights, Christmas trees, wrapped presents, or snow – the signs of preparation that I am used to.

I’m sure that is the way most people, in most ages have been.  Yet still John was sent to “prepare the way of the Lord.”  Luke emphasizes two things: hearts changed, and disobedience changed.  So if we want to get back to the basics of preparation, it seems to me that we need to look at those two things.

Are there areas where we need to have our hearts changed?  Is there someone that you need to have a change of attitude towards?  Is there someone that you are estranged from and need to be reconciled?  Is there someone that you need to forgive?  Is there someone you are called to serve that you have been avoiding?  All of that has to do with our hearts.

Are there things we know God wants us to do and we have just been procrastinating and avoiding?  Are there areas that we have just said, “I won’t” to God?  Is God calling us to give up something and we keep holding on tightly?  Are there places God is calling us to go, people God is calling us to love, life habits we are called to change?  All of that has to do with obedience.

So I challenge all of us to set aside our usual preparations, and do the preparing that John the Baptist was calling the people to do: the inner work of heart attitudes and obedience to God’s will and call.

Dear Jesus,  Thank you that you give us time to prepare.  Help us to make the right preparations of what is going on inside, rather than what is going on outside.  Only with your grace and help can our hearts be made right, and our wills set to obedience.  Come, Lord Jesus into every area of our being.  Amen.