December 17: John 1:29-23
Key Verse: John 1:23
John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, “Make straight the way for the Lord.”’
Devotion:
As we get closer to Christmas our thoughts continually turn to the live of Jesus and all it means to us. We see all the glitter and decorations and may wonder what it is all about since we should be celebrating the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! But sometimes we need to go forward and do something which will make people stop and take notice.
Some of us may not feel like it is a festive time of year because we don’t seem to have much to celebrate ourselves, or we may be remembering sad times from previous years; John sets us an example for us to stop and think about and check our own lives to see if we are heading in the right direction.
I know many of the things we see around this time of year are commercial bulldozers or even pagan rights or habits; but let us not forget the reason why this holiday is celebrated all the world round. I know it is not on the actual birth of our Saviour, or at least we don’t think it is, but it is a celebration none the less.
John came forward to “Make straight the way of the Lord.” This means he stepped up and obeyed God to do what he had been asked to do. He set aside his own life and did something out of the ordinary. He was not the Messiah, nor was he Elijah, not even a prophets, just a man who listened to God and did what was asked of him...
Points to Ponder:
How often do you do something someone asks you to do?
How often do you do what God asks of you?