3 A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Isaiah 40:3-5
When Jesus came the first time, He was heralded by John the Baptist. We can read about it in Mark's gospel, which, incidentally, talks of Jesus as the Son of God as opposed to the Son of Man in other gospels.
1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”—
3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”
4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Mark 1
Now we, awaiting Jesus' second coming, also cry out with "wilderness voices".
Who will listen?
In this "multi-cultural, everyone has their own truth world" - don't we feel like a lone voice at times?
Are we the John the Baptists of our times? We must steer a straight course with a clear mission to get people to turn to Jesus before it's too late.
We don't have to eat locusts and honey or wear camel's hair clothing, but we do have to stand out from the crowd and show that there's only one way to God and that is through Jesus.
As we prepare for another Christmas in this Advent season, now more than ever, the world needs to recognise the Saviour.
Our heartfelt cry is that this Christmas we will be proud to announce that God came down to bring peace on earth, goodwill toward men on whom His favour rests...
Luke 2:14
Indeed - Glory to God in the Highest Heavens!
Remember Christmas without "Christ" is just a mas... a mass of commercialised, man made much ado about nothing.
Prayer: Jesus please let this be a truly "Christ-mas" for many who will come to know You.
Let's lift up our wilderness voices in proclamation of the Good News!
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