Category: Advent 2021 – Preparation

Tomorrow my children will be arriving to celebrate with me. I am eager to hug each grandchild. But let’s pause for another Advent devotional on “preparation.”

Have you ever received the red carpet treatment? I used to speak at conferences and retreats and schools hundreds of times each year. Sometimes the person introducing me would give me a big build up, saying what a wonderful person I was. (You can fool a few people some of the time, right?) But after I was introduced, I would often ask the people seated in the audience to all stand up. “Now raise your hands high, high in the air.” And they did. “Now take all your expectations of me off that top shelf, lean over, bend down and put them on the lowest shelf.” I didn’t want to have to live up to all the hype.

I wonder if John the Baptist ever felt the same way. In Malachi 3:1, the Lord said, “Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming.”

No doubt John the Baptist did not exactly fit the expectations of the people as a forerunner of the Messiah. With his camel hair robe and leather belt, he looked more like a wild animal than a holy prophet. But that didn’t stop him from proclaiming that Jesus, someone far greater than John, would soon be coming. And Jesus lived up to every bit of hype!

The messenger of the covenant, Christ himself, was eagerly awaited by the people. They looked forward to his arrival more than we look forward to Christmas. And we know he is surely coming again. Do you anticipate his coming eagerly as they did? Are you prepared?

We are almost there! Christmas is just around the corner! Hang on for the last three of these Advent devotionals on the theme of preparation.

Most everyone reading these devotionals has attended a wedding. Many of the women have been brides, walking down the aisle, dressed in a beautiful gown. Many of the men have been grooms, standing nervously at the front of the church, awaiting the first glimpse of their bride. And some of us have been parents and friends gazing with pride as the young woman approached. I remember the inexpressible joy of seeing my daughter and daughters-in-law walk down the aisle.

My father was a pastor. He loved standing at the front of the altar and watching the bride draw near. When he came home after performing a wedding, I remember as a child asking him how the bride looked. Dad would beam and say, “She was the most beautiful bride I’veever seen.” And he said the same thing every time!

In Rev. 21:2, the apostle John tells us of a similar vision: “And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully prepared, adorned for her husband.”

Her Husband is eager but he is not nervous. For thousands of years, he has anticipated this special day. He himself replaced her filthy rags (Is. 64:6) and instead offered her clothes of the finest linen, bright and clean (Rev. 19:8).

The bride could have refused to wear those clothes and opted for comfy jeans or even pjs, but instead, she chose to make herself ready for the wedding. Can you imagine the joy we will one day feel seeing our Lord waiting for us at the far end of the aisle?

Looking forward to learning about some of the other joys of having a prepared heart? Here’s another Advent thought for my faithful readers.

When I worked as an adoption agency counselor, one of my tasks was to help with post-adoption support groups. These families had prepared a home for a child but often the parents struggled when their best intentions were met with outright defiance. Nor were the parents the only ones who struggled. One night I led the support group for biological children of the parents. “What was hardest about having your adoptive sibling join your family?” I asked.

Their answers surprised me. “He tried to steal my friends.” “I had to share my bedroom.” “She took my place sitting next to Mom at the dining table.” There was real grief and sadness at being displaced.

Mt. 25:31-34 speaks of the final Day of Judgment. The Son of Man will sit on his throne and separate the people like a shepherd separating his sheep from his goats. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.”

The twelve disciples argued on more than one occasion about who would get to sit next to Jesus on his right and left. But not one of us will feel displaced when our time comes. We all will enjoy the blessings God has prepared for us. We will be heirs in his kingdom! And, imagine this, we are the adoptees!

After all these days of Advent, we can finally shift our focus and look forward to some of the rewards of our preparation. Read on to see a portion of all God has prepared ahead for us!

When my husband Gene and I sold our home and moved to our retirement community, we did an immense amount of preparation. We painted walls of our house, replaced the carpet on the stairs, cleared out closets, and sorted through years of accumulated “stuff.” It was hard work and we felt exhausted.

But while we were busy at our end, the staff at the village was just as busy getting our apartment ready for our arrival. They too painted walls. Workers replaced a dark gray carpet with a lighter tone of beige. They hung curtains. The staff removed a pink, blue and gray kitchen vinyl that looked like an argyle sock and put down the simpler marble tile we had selected. An electrician moved a light switch. When we arrived, we reaped the pleasure resulting from all their work.

In John 14:2,3, Jesus explained to his bemused disciples that he was leaving, but with a purpose. He told them, “There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”

God made an amazing world for Adam and Eve, but Jesus has prepared an even more amazing world for us after we leave this life. His promises are assured. He will come and get us. We will live with him forever!

Take a moment today and look around your living space. One day it will all be gone. Your collection of animated solar sun catchers, your massage recliner, your 4th – grade penmanship award hanging on the wall, even your Christmas stockings hung by the chimney with care. All of it will be gone. But none of it will matter if you have a place prepared for you in heaven!

In less than a week, Christmas will arrive! I love the Advent season, but we all know that it is only the precursor of Christ’s birthday celebration.

From January 1st, we can count the exact number of days until December 25th. And if we forget, mall merchants are more than happy to remind us exactly how many shopping days remain before the holiday.

Sometimes we forget how long the nation of Israel waited for its Messiah to arrive. Over thousands of years, prophets spoke of the coming King. The prophecies of Malachi closed the Old Testament canon. Four hundred years passed before an angel appeared to Zecharias, announcing the birth of John the Baptist. Six more months passed before Mary learned she would give birth to Jesus. Three decades followed before Jesus began his ministry. It must have seemed to the nation of Israel that God was taking his time about getting to his destination.

God has given plenty of warning about his plans for judgment. He is already prepared with a specific date and plan for that day. Rev. 9:15 says, “Then the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were turned loose.” The next verse says that those angels will lead an army of 200 million troops! Imagine! God has everything planned right down to the hour!

The Lord is ready. Are we prepared to meet him? Take time today to look at your calendar and consider setting aside a specific hour, or even a whole day, to spend sitting in God’s presence.

Only one week remains before Christmas arrives at our doorstep. My prayer is that these Advent devotional thoughts are helping you to get ready for that happy event.

My husband’s birthday arrived again in November. That morning, I looked at his photo and assured him that I loved him and wished him a joy-full day, his second birthday in heaven. I miss Gene but am convinced that he is far happier there in heaven than he ever could be here on earth. Since his death last year, the veil that hangs between this world and the spiritual world seems thinner than ever. I feel the reality of the spiritual world is just a breath away.

Romans 9:22 tells us that God has every right to exercise his judgment and his power. He is, after all, God, and we have all failed miserably in achieving his holy standards. But in his mercy, he has prepared a place in heaven for each of us who have chosen to follow Christ. Romans 9:23 tells us, “He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory.”

Thus far during this season, we have focused on what we need to do to get our hearts ready for Christmas. But today we see another of the blessings of being prepared. When Jesus left heaven for earth, he exchanged his divine glory for swaddling cloths. After he died and rose again, Jesus received back his glory. So too, we who are prepared in advance will shed our earthly clothes and don glorified bodies in heaven. That is something to look forward to! A prepared heart is full of hope.

What films do you and your family watch each year as Christmas approaches? Before you sit down in front of the TV, take a moment to read another Advent devotional.

If you have ever watched a Star Wars movie or been a Star Trek fan, the films may have amazed you with their visual effects created by the animation experts. You may look forward to even better graphics with the release of “Moonfall” next year. At the same time, you know all of this is fiction. When you walk out of the theater, life will go on the same as before.

The wrath of God is nothing like the “Wrath of Khan.” When we read the book of Revelation and hear about God’s judgments, the images within those pages seem like something from a sci-fi film. We have never seen events on the vast scale like those described in the book of Revelation. God’s judgment will be on full display as seven seals break, seven trumpets blow, and seven bowls of wrath pour out on mankind. These affect not merely Earth but involve cosmic events: The sun and the moon and stars will darken. And life will never be the same.

Heb. 11:7 tells us, “It was by faith that Noah prepared a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith.”

Noah had never seen rain. He’d never seen a boat of the dimensions of the ark. He probably had never before seen even half of all the animals that soon walked onto the ark. Yet by faith, he prepared for future events he had never imagined.

As you get your heart ready for Christ’s arrival, remember that the most basic step is to cultivate faith in our powerful God.

As we get ready for Christ’s arrival in another week, we also need to remember to prepare for the second advent of Christ. Welcome back as we expand on that idea with another Advent thought.

As a child, did you ever make a paper chain to count down the days until Christmas? Each day, you tore off one more link. You waited with great anticipation, knowing something special and exciting would be coming soon.

Isaiah 64:4 tells us that “since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who prepares a path for those who wait for him!” In the next chapter (65:17), the Lord says “Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth – so wonderful that no one will even think about the old ones anymore.”

And again in 1 Cor. 2:9, Paul quotes Isaiah saying, “That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.’” We can’t even imagine what God has planned on the road ahead of us!

Did you notice two small words in these verses that give us a hint about examining our own hearts as we get ready for Christ’s return? Isaiah says that God prepares a path for those who wait for him. And Paul uses the word love. As you go about your activities this day, examine your soul and ask if you are truly waiting for that special day when Jesus comes again. Then, prepare your heart by filling it with love for our Savior and others who cross your path today.

Was yesterday’s Advent thought harder to accept? I am glad you came back. Stick with us as we learn more about preparing our hearts for Christmas.

The angels sang in Bethlehem, “Peace on Earth and good will towards men,” but yesterday we saw that God prepares a feast for us in the presence of our enemies. No one likes the idea of facing conflict.

Jonah knew the Lord was gracious and merciful, but he also knew a thing or two about enemies. Jonah had seen people from Nineveh murder Hebrew women and children and burn their towns to the ground. The people of Nineveh were Israel’s archenemies. Thus, when God ordered Jonah to preach in Nineveh, Jonah ran in the opposite direction. The last thing Jonah wanted was to see Jehovah offer mercy to these ruthless people.

Yet there is plenty of evidence that God was at work preparing a path for Jonah. In Jonah 1:17, we learn, “Now the Lord had arranged for (prepared) a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.” God had no intention of letting Jonah drown.

And in 4:6-8, “And the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant. But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. ‘Death is certainly better than living like this!’ he exclaimed.”

Note how God prepared a whale, a plant, a worm and a wind to teach Jonah. What circumstances are you facing that appear to be negative? Could it be that God has a purpose behind them? Preparing our hearts for Christmas includes cultivating a teachable spirit.

Back for more? Today we can add another helping to our plate as we celebrate our Advent theme of “Preparation.”

Who doesn’t like a Christmas feast with all the trimmings? Ham or turkey, stuffing, cranberry relish, mashed potatoes swimming in gravy, and pies for dessert. And someone pushing it at us, saying, “Have some more!”

We have already seen God’s example of preparing this world for us, and we have learned that our own hearts should respond with humility, gratitude and praise. Today’s thought is a little harder to swallow.

Ps. 23:5 says, “You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.” Actually, this entire psalm is about God preparing a path for us. He leads us beside still waters, he restores us, he anoints us. But preparing a feast before our enemies? Does the Lord really prepare hard times for us?

Read the verse again. The Lord knows we will face conflicts and hard times. His contribution is a feast to sustain us in the midst of those difficult circumstances.

Think back to Jesus when he slept on Peter’s boat during the violent storm on the Sea of Galilee. Mark’s gospel says Jesus was asleep with his head on a pillow. Cushions were not the norm on fishing boats. They would get soggy, mildewed and stink of dead fish. But God, knowing Jesus was tired after a full day of preaching, provided his Son with a pillow before the storm ever hit.

Are you facing difficult circumstances this holiday season? Look around for the pillow God has prepared for you. And after you respond with gratitude and praise, add rest in his care to the preparations of your own heart.