From Luke's Gospel, Chapter 1:
76And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
Christ is coming. He is coming. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
John's mother was told by an angel that he was coming. His father, likewise, was told the same thing. His mother at once responded in faith accepting the gift of God, and Zechariah, after first questioning, responded in faith. And thus John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, came into being because of God's good purpose.
Rufus M. Jones, in his book The Double Search writes, "He can be received only through appreciation and conscous appropriation. he comes only through doors that are purposely opened for him. A person may live as near God as the bubble is to the ocean and yet not find him. he may be 'closer than breathing, nearer than hands or feet,' and still be missed. Historical Christianity is dry and formal when it lacks the immediate and inward response to our Great Companion; but our spirits are trained to know him, to appreciate him, by the mediation of historical revelation. A person's spiritual life is always dwarfed when cut apart from history. Mysticism is empty unless it is enriched by outward and historical revelation. The supreme education of the soul comes through an intimate acquaintance with Jesus Christ of history."
Are our doors purposely opened to God at the moment? Are we tuning our ears to hear and our eyes to see what it is God is laying before us at the moment. I know that personally, I miss many opportunities because I'm too caught up in the worries of this life to understand that God is moving me to do or say something, and I just skip right over it. It's tough, but the fact is we hear what we have trained ourselves to hear.
If you haven't been attending corporate worship in a local body of believers, this is your invitation to do so. Get in there and train to see and hear how the Lord God wants you prepare for his coming, because he is coming again.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
In XP,
Terry W. Gatwood
P.S. I will not be blogging on Sunday's during Advent. Take that as an opportunity to do some writing for reflection on your own.
