Are you preparing the way for the love of God? In what ways can we prepare ourselves for the love of God?

God’s love often looks differently than we might expect. We must trust God’s purposes and plan and prepare the way for the love of God in our lives.

Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus, prepared the way for God’s love in her life. This preparation for God’s love provided the way for the love of God in our own lives through Jesus’ advent. Because Mary prepared the way for God’s love, we can prepare the way for the love of God in our lives.

The Gospel of Luke tells us of the Angel Gabriel bringing God’s message of purpose and love to Mary. After Gabriel said to Mary, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” He told Mary that God was with her and had chosen her as the vessel of God’s coming love for his people in his son Jesus.

“Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’ And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. …For nothing will be impossible with God.’ And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her.” (Luke 1:34-38, ESV).

Are you experiencing God’s joy in your life? What is preventing you from experiencing the fullness of joy that God has in store for you? How can you prepare for God’s joy in your life?

Our God is a God of joy who desires joy for his children, and who delights to rejoice over his children.

God speaks through the prophet Zephaniah saying, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17, ESV).

Our God is with us, our God saves us, our God rejoices over us with gladness, our God quiets us with his love, and our God rejoices over us with loud singing.

Are you experiencing peace in your life? Are you making any preparations for peace in your life? What would you be doing differently if you were preparing the way for God’s peace in your life? How would peace be ushered in by God as a result of preparing the way?

We often get what we plan, design, or prepare for. It has been said that “If we fail to plan, we plan to fail.” It might also be said, “If we fail to prepare, prepare to fail.”

When we seek God’s peace, we should also prepare ourselves for God’s peace.

In Luke’s Gospel account we see the beginning of the preparation for the peace we are longing for. Luke tells us, “The word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “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.’” (Luke 3:2-6, ESV).

What does it mean that Jesus is our king? If Jesus is our king, what does his kingdom look like and what is our role in his kingdom?

If Jesus is our king, we can trust his rule and reign in our lives. If Jesus is our king, we can serve him and his kingdom and not worry about establishing our own authority or kingdom in the world. If Jesus is our king, then we are called to be subjects of his rule and his kingdom, and we are called to be participators in his kingdom.

In John’s gospel account, Pilate, a Roman ruler in Judea, questioned Jesus’ kingship. Jesus answered, “’My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.’ Then Pilate said to him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.’” (John 18:36-37, ESV).

Where does your confidence reside? What do you place your confidence in? Have you ever neglected or thrown away your confidence?

We all place our hope, trust, and confidence in something or someone. What we place our confidence in gives us assurance of future hope and promise, or it leads us to despair or deficit.

As followers of Jesus, our confidence is in God’s faithfulness, which comes with great promise.

It is possible for us to have confidence in the wrong people or things. We can misdirect or throw away our confidence, and thereby throw away God’s good reward and promise.

The author of Hebrews instructs us in this regard, saying, “Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” (Hebrews 10:35-36, ESV).

What is the significance of the sacrifice of Jesus as our great high priest?

While priests had to offer sacrifices repeatedly for their sin, and for the sins of the people, Jesus’ sacrifice is perfect because he is sinless and offers himself once and for all as the perfect sinless sacrifice for all the world and for all of time.

The author of Hebrews wrote, “For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” (Hebrews 9:24-26, ESV).

How can we be confident in life after death? How do we trust that our loved ones who have died are with Jesus and are living eternally? How do we have confidence in our own eternal life after death?

We can be confident of eternal life, because we have an eternal high priest-Jesus. Because Jesus lives and intercedes on our behalf, we too can have eternal life in him. We can be confident of the eternal life of our loved ones, and our own eternity, because God is eternal.

The author of Hebrews writes, “The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he [Jesus] holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.” (Hebrews 7:23-26, ESV).

Are you growing in maturity in your relationship with Jesus? Are you growing up in the Lord, or are you growing old in the Lord?

It has been said that “Converts grow old in Jesus and disciples grow up in Jesus.”

As followers of Jesus, we are called to grow and to mature in our relationship with God.

The author of Hebrews writes, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” (Hebrews 5:11-14, ESV).

Who is able to best sympathize with you in your struggles? Who sympathizes with you when you are at your lowest and weakest? Who is best able to serve you and help you in your time of need?

When we are struggling and are at our worst, and when we are tempted to sin and are weak, we need grace and mercy. We need help in our time of need. We need someone who understands. We need someone who has been where we are. We need someone who has experienced what we are experiencing and has come out the other side victorious. We need sympathy. We need empathy. We need help in our time of need. We need rescue.

The author of Hebrews teaches us, “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16, ESV).

Have you considered Moses? Have you considered that Jesus is greater than Moses? When was the last time you contemplated Jesus and really considered who Jesus is, what Jesus has done, and what Jesus means to you and for your life?

We are called to consider Jesus who is greater than Moses, who helped free God’s people from slavery in Egypt, who gave God’s people the law, and who helped lead the people of God to the promised land.

The author of Hebrews writes, “Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house.” (Hebrews 3:1-2, ESV).

Where does your salvation come from? Who is greater in your life?

Our salvation comes through Jesus alone. Jesus is greater in our lives, and Jesus is all powerful and perfect in his provision for life, and for our redemption and restoration.

The author of the book of Hebrews teaches us, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” (Hebrews 2:14-15, ESV).

Jesus took on our suffering and death in his own flesh. The death of Jesus, and his resurrection, produced the end of death, the final defeat of the enemy, the devil, and our resurrection life. Because Jesus is greater than death and the evil one, we have no need to fear death, or to be slaves of fear, which is often brought on by evil and death.

How can we avoid the evil in this world and in our lives? What do we need to move away from and what do we need to move towards to experience God and to avoid evil?

Avoiding evil is just a part of the call as a follower of Jesus. We do not simply avoid evil, we also need to move towards God and the good.

The Book of James teaches us, saying, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded... Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” (James 4:7-10, ESV).

What is the wisdom of God? What does God’s wisdom look like in our lives and in this world?

It has been said that, “Wisdom is applied knowledge.” Wisdom is putting God’s word, God’s truth, into practice. There is right knowing, and then there is right doing. Right knowledge without the implementation of truth is folly.

As the saying goes, “Information without application leads to stagnation.”

The Book of James teaches us, “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (James 3:16-18, ESV).

Can someone live in absolute poverty and be filled with the riches of God? Is it possible to have all the money in the world and still be impoverished?

It has been said, “Some people are so poor, all they have is money.” 

We can be impoverished economically and be rich in God—possessing the kingdom of God and all God has for us. 

In his general letter, James says, “Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?” (James 2:5, ESV). 

Are you doing the work that the word of God requires of you? Are you working out the word of God in your life?

The word of God requires work from the follower of Jesus.

We cannot simply listen to God’s word, know God’s word, memorize God’s word, or recite God’s word, without also obeying God’s word. We must do the work of the word of God in our lives.

In his epistle, or general letter, James, the half-brother of Jesus, writes, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” (James 1:22-25, ESV).

Is it possible for our religious acts or rituals to distract us from God? Can our rituals lead us away from a true relationship with Jesus? Is it possible to have our religious acts and rituals in line and right and also have our hearts hardened or distant from God?

It is possible to reject God and his commandments while establishing our religious acts or rituals. We can appear to be devout followers of God by our rituals and religious acts, and our hearts can remain cold and callous and far from God.

Jesus said to the religious leaders of his day, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!” (Mark 7:9, ESV).

God desires love and obedience to his word; not simply the appearance of obedience.

Jesus indicted the religious leaders with Isaiah’s words, saying, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” (Mark 7:6-8, ESV).

Where do you go to hear encouraging words of life? Where, or who, do you go to for life? Is it possible to look for the words of life in the wrong places or from the wrong people?

We all need life and are looking for life in some way or another.

In the bread of life discourse in John’s Gospel, Jesus was telling his disciples that they must feed on him and his word to have life. The disciples and the crowd were bewildered and offended at Jesus’ instruction to feed upon his body and blood.

In John’s gospel, Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” (John 6:63, ESV).

After many in the crowd left Jesus because of his difficult teaching, Jesus asked his disciples if they wanted to leave as well. (John 6:66, ESV).

Have you ever struggled to make progress in life through difficulties and adversity? Have you ever felt alone in your struggles as you journey through life?

Oftentimes life can be challenging and difficult to navigate because of fallen creation and sin. The winds of adversity can blow relentlessly upon us as we journey along our way in life.

When the disciples were traveling across the Sea of Galilee after the feeding of the 5,000, they encountered a great storm on the sea that threatened to undo them. The relentless squall caused the disciples to struggle and to make little headway in the storm and against the wind.

The Gospel of Mark tells us, “Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them.” (Mark 6:45-48, ESV).

What walls has God broken down so that you might come close to him? What dividing walls has God broken down so that he might be closer to you?

God has broken down all sorts of dividing walls of separation to be closer to his children. God has brought down every barrier to our intimacy with him.

The Apostle Paul wrote the church in Ephesus, saying, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.” (Ephesians 2:13-14, ESV).

What is God calling you to do? What is God calling you from? What is God calling you to?

God calls the believer to go and to proclaim his word to his people. We are to share the good news of God, the gospel, with everyone we encounter and in everything that we do.

The Prophet Amos is known as the “just a” prophet, because when God called Amos he was not a descendent of a prophet and was a blue collar worker as a shepherd and a tender of sycamore fig trees. Amos thought that he was “just a” shepherd and a dresser of sycamore figs, but God called him to be a prophet to Israel.

In the Minor Prophet Amos we learn, “Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, ‘I was no prophet, nor a prophet's son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’” (Amos 7:14-15, ESV).