by Desiree Bustamante

Prepare your heart for the coming King.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,
‘Clear the way through the wilderness
    for the Lord!
Make a straight highway through the wasteland
    for our God!’
Isaiah 40:3 New Living Translation

If you’ve ever traveled through eastern Colorado, you’ve seen many wind turbines generating power. The number of these has been growing over the years and it’s now a common sight. Yet among the new technology of wind turbines exists the old technology of power lines attached to log poles. To see them side by side reminds us that everything hasn’t been made new.

Of course, there isn’t much out there to begin with, just miles and miles of open pasture and long straight highways between small towns. When traveling such a remote highway you might listen to a book or tell stories to your family to pass the time. Israel had listened to stories for years, waiting and waiting for their long road to end with a Savior who would rescue them from their enemies and set up His kingdom on earth.

But when John the Baptist announced that the Messiah had arrived, many had misinterpreted what the Scriptures meant for the Savior to come and release them from their bondage. They weren’t prepared for His coming, and many rejected Him when He did not live up to their expectations. In Israel’s hearts, the new declaration that their Savior was born hadn’t replaced their old beliefs.

Advent begins soon. Prepare your heart to reflect on the promise of Christ’s coming as a child born years ago in Bethlehem, and as King who will return for us soon to give us a new life in Him.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado