November 18, 2012 Prepared

Prepared Luke 1:16-17 Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous — to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. ON THE first day my twin granddaughters walked into school, they were in new surroundings and had a new “authority” person in their life. Their teacher began to guide them through lessons and habits to help them engage with her, with learning and with their classmates. It was a big change for them, or was it? Really, it wasn’t. Essentially for the prior 6 years of their lives, their mom, dad, grandparents, siblings, Sunday school teachers and pre-school teachers had prepared them for that day. They had learned about authority and learned it really is fun to learn! They had been prepared. And as they entered school, they found learning to be a joyful experience under the authority of their teacher. God wants you to joyfully learn about him and from him. He prepared his people for his Messiah through centuries of prophecies and his authority in the Law. Then God sent John the Baptist to make final preparations for Jesus. Those who believed God, the prophets and John expected the Messiah. As a result, they were ready for Jesus’ authority to teach, to heal, and to transform lives into salvation. And those who accepted his authority experienced salvation’s joy. They found learning of Jesus’ love and forgiveness to be a joyful experience under the authority of their Master. Are you prepared to follow Jesus? I hope so. He is Lord, and his authority is to save you into an incredibly joyful life. It’s True! A heart prepared for Jesus will live in faith in Jesus.