How are your preparations for Christmas coming? Are gifts bought and wrapped? Today we are looking at one more way to prepare our hearts for the holiday.
Early in our marriage, my husband and I had many friends who enjoyed decoupage, applying multiple layers of glue to paper or fabric on wood. That first Christmas, Gene and I received a large number of these wall plaques. The problem was that we had a very small apartment with even less space for decorations. We finally designated a special spot on one wall where we displayed the “Decoupage of the Month” plaque.
These days, I live in an apartment again. I do not have lots of things sitting around that I need to polish or dust. Most everything serves a purpose.
In 2 Chron. 29:18,19, King Hezekiah rededicated the Temple and its utensils for the service of the Lord. The Levites carefully followed all God’s instructions and cleansed the Temple, tossing out anything that did not belong there. Everything that remained had a purpose.
Then the Levites went to King Hezekiah and gave him this report: “We have cleansed the entire Temple of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table of the Bread of the Presence with all its utensils…They are now in front of the altar of the Lord, purified and ready for use (prepared).”
When God purifies us, his goal is not just to have us sit around on display but for us to be used. Freshly washed diapers smell sweet and clean, but they are not meant to sit in a drawer or display on a wall. They are ready to be used. In a similar way, Advent is a time for preparation so that we may be ready for God to use us for his purposes. Take time today and ask God to cleanse you but also to show you where he can use you.
