Jesus' First Message

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  Matthew 4:17

Fred lifted the heavy ring of ancient keys and tried another, but the rusty gate held fast. Jorge pointed to a shiny new key marked Gate. “Why don’t you try that one?” Fred chuckled. “Nah, I think one of these’ll do it. This is the way I open everything. This gate is rusted shut and that key looks too new.” Thirty minutes passed while Fred struggled with the gate until finally Jorge jerked the set of keys from Fred's hand, grabbed the shiny silver one and jammed it into the lock. With a loud click, the gate opened. Fred’s eyes widened, then he shook his head. “Wow. I didn’t think it would be that simple."

We are like Fred when it comes to entering the kingdom of God. We can't imagine it is that simple, so we continue through our ring of keys, trying to open the door into God’s presence with Excuses, Justifications, Denials, or Bargains. God offers us the only key that will open the door. It’s called Repentance and it was the first sermon Jesus preached. Repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of direction. We must agree with God about how bad our sin is and purpose to work with Him to change it. We cannot enter the presence of a holy God while defending the very things He hates. 

Defended Sin is a rusty key that keeps us away from God's presence, blessing, and favor. Defended Sin won’t unlock anything but regrets; Repented Sin opens the door to forgiveness and restoration. Repentance prepares us for becoming all God created us to be.

A Christian is a person who constantly prepares for the next season by living in a state of ongoing repentance.

Prepare to Meet with God

Joshua said to the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you. Josh 3:5

Sanctify means “to set apart.” Before God would do wonderous things among the Israelites, they had to sanctify themselves. In Old Testament times, that meant fasting, ritual washings, and putting clean clothes on clean bodies. They were to present their very best if they expected God to do great things in their lives. Preparing for the Lord’s arrival required setting aside the familiar: routines, habits, private sins, dirty hands. The LORD was worthy of the best a human being could offer and would not settle for casual, disrespectful attempts to meet with Him. They prepared the way for the Lord by actively ridding themselves of anything offensive to God. That hasn’t changed. We still must approach God with humility and a desire to be rid of sin. 

But Bennie didn’t think so. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, kicked the remains of last night’s party out of the way, and staggered to the bathroom to throw up the rest of his hangover. He brushed an assortment of pills off his mother’s Bible and stumbled out the door, late for church again. Maybe God would speak to him today. Hadn’t worked so far, even after giving God 30 whole minutes every week. Why couldn’t he connect with God like other people seemed to? Linda felt the same way. She had tried for years to grow spiritually, but every time a new guy came along, she threw her morals to the wind and moved in with him. 

Do you think Bennie and Linda were sanctifying themselves? 

Were they preparing to meet with God?

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Preparing Others

He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival.  Luke 9:52

“Shake out that rug, David, and then mop the floors!” shouted Mom from the laundry room. “Ella, pick up the living room and dust the furniture. Shane, check the cake in the oven. See if it’s done, then sweep the front porch and sidewalk.” Mom flew through the kitchen, a pile of laundry in her arms. “Make the house look like nobody lives here. Hurry up! They’re almost here!”

Have you ever had a scene like that at your house? Important guests are coming and your house suddenly looks like the city dump. We let things slide until we realize someone important is going to see it. Then we fly into action, trying to transform six months’ worth of sloppy into House Beautiful in under 30 minutes. When we value the one we are about to greet, we prepare for their arrival. 

It works the same way with Jesus. Before He entered a new village, He sent His disciples ahead to prepare the people before He got there. They did that by explaining who Jesus was and what He was about to say. They created anticipation, found places to stay, and gave everyone a glimpse of what Jesus was like by the way they represented Him. That’s our job too. He tells us to prepare the world to meet Him. By living as ambassadors of heaven, we create anticipation, find hearts where He can stay, and give everyone a glimpse of what Jesus is like by the way we represent Him. Those of us who know Him should live in such a way that we are always preparing people to meet Jesus.

Are you preparing the people you know to meet Jesus by the way you represent Him?

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Prepare the Way

“Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”  Luke 3:4

The motorcade was still miles away, but the Secret Service had already scouted the small town, positioned snipers in strategic locations, and barricaded every intersecting street. Potholes had been filled, store windows polished, and shops closed for the afternoon. The President was coming. People lined the sidewalks waving flags and posters. No one wanted to be caught unprepared in case the President stopped for a photo op. Business as usual was canceled as everyone prepared the way.

That’s a physical picture of what John the Baptist preached before Jesus began His earthly ministry. “Prepare the way!” he cried. “The Messiah is coming! Get your hearts ready.” And they did. In droves, the people came confessing their sins and asking to be baptized. No one wanted to be caught unprepared by the Son of God. No one wanted to meet Him still cloaked in sin.

If we expect to have fellowship with God, we must do the same thing. We cannot barge into God’s presence dressed in unrepentant sin, expecting to continue business as usual. We prepare for God to work in our lives when we agree with Him about what needs to change. We ask Him to forgive us and clear our lives of sinful actions, attitudes, and habits we’ve accumulated. Business as usual is canceled and life takes on new purpose when we prepare the way of the Lord. 

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New Book!

Just in time for Christmas, the second year of cedar point devotionals is now available as an e-book from Amazon.com. You can enjoy the first two years of devotionals published as Power Pack I and Power Pack II by downloading either or both to any of your digital devices. Search the titles or Lea Ann McCombs and start reading today!
Power Pack II