Welcome back for another Advent devotional about preparing our hearts for Christmas!
Can you imagine buying all the boxes and wrapping paper and bows for Christmas but forgetting to buy the gifts to go with them? Or preparing for a huge family gathering and forgetting to send out invitations to guests? Something appears to be out of order.
Recently, I took a flight to Texas to see my son and his family. The cabin crew did the usual announcements about emergency exits and donning life jackets. They reminded us, that in the case of an emergency, oxygen masks would drop down. “In this event, parents should first put on their own masks and only then assist their children with their masks.” Priorities.
In Luke 14:25-33, Jesus challenged the crowds following him to count the full expense of commitment. “Don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if there is enough money to pay the bills?…Or what king would ever dream of going to war without first sitting down with his counselors and discussing whether his army of ten thousand is strong enough to defeat the twenty thousand soldiers who are marching against him?”
Those words are still applicable today. We need to prepare for the high cost of following Christ. Thousands of believers around the world are paying for their faith with their lives.
Get your priorities right…first be prepared to pay the cost and then march forward!
