This exhortation was given at King’s Cross Church (Moscow, ID) on December 18, AD 2022.

Before the coming of our Lord, God sent John the Baptist, to ready His people for the great arrival of their Messiah. He was a forerunner, a herald whose cry of repentance was to prepare the Bride to meet her Bridegroom.

As it was written in the Book of Isaiah,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
Prepare the way of the Lord,
Make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
And every mountain and hill shall be made low,
And the crooked shall become straight,
And the rough places shall become level ways,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

The way to get ready for the arrival of Christ, both at the first Christmas and now, is to remove every obstacle in the way of receiving Him. Every valley is to be lifted up and filled and every mountain flattened in order to make a level highway for the Lord’s coming.

Isaiah is of course not speaking of the literal landscape surrounding Jerusalem, but rather the metaphorical terrains of the hearts of those who shall see their King. In order to receive Him rightly, in order for His coming to be a joy and not a terror, hearts must be readied. Whatever is crooked must be put straight and the rough places sanded smooth.

So what are the obstacles in the way of the Lord in your own life right now? What sins are keeping you in the joyless dark? Advent is a time to take inventory, a time to repent, remembering the gospel and welcoming the light of Christ in your homes.

So in all your preparation this week involving gift wrapping and cookie baking, do not neglect your own hearts and the hearts of your children. Humble yourselves before the Lord’s appearing. Anticipate His arrival. Tell the story again and again to your family, increasing their joy and wonder in Him.

For the Lord is near, the Lord is coming, the darkness is fleeing and the light of Christ is dawning. So lift up your heads and receive Your King.