PREPARE THE WAY

“A voice cries out: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’”  (Isaiah 40:3-5 NRSV)

As you begin this journey through Advent, how do you prepare to welcome God? You prepare your welcome of God when you exercise welcome toward others. You prepare your welcome of God when you empty your life of the sin that crowds out all that is good and gracious. You prepare your welcome of God when you comfort the afflicted with compassion.  

-- John Indermark in “Setting the Christmas Stage”

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ROOM FOR CHRIST

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare Him room and heaven and nature sing.”

One response was given by the innkeeper when Mary and Joseph wanted to find a room where the Child could be born. The innkeeper was not hostile; he was not opposed to them, but his inn was crowded; his hands were full; his mind was preoccupied. This is the answer that millions are giving today. Like a Bethlehem innkeeper, they cannot find room for Christ. All the accommodations in their hearts are already taken up by other crowding interests. Their response is not atheism. It is not defiance. It is preoccupation and the feeling of being able to get on reasonably well without [Christ in their lives].

-- Billy Graham

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