One of my favorite times of the year is my family’s Black Friday tradition. Rather than going shopping, we take the day to prepare the house for Christmas. We set up lights outside, decorate inside, and spend the evening finding and decorating our Christmas tree. We make sure everything is ready to welcome the new season of Celebration! As we dive in to December, I want to challenge you to prepare your household for Christmas. But not just with a tree and fancy lights. Rather, how can you decorate your house this year to glorify God? Maybe it is a physical reminder like a nativity scene right when you walk in the door like it was in my family. Maybe it is a change of focus for you and those in your home from the news and craziness of this world and onto Christ. Maybe it is welcoming others into your home in the spirit of Christmas. This year decorate your home to welcome the “Christ” in Christmas. And check in for the next 25 days for some great thoughts on this advent season.
Tuesday, December 1 st
“A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” – Isaiah 40:3 (NIV)
This passage from Isaiah shows up in Matthew’s account of the Gospel. John the Baptist’s job was to prepare the people of Israel for the coming of the Messiah. After hundreds of years of silence fromGod, their prayers were about to be answered… but not in the way they expected! Although our situation is very different today, it is easy for us to approach Christmas with the wrong heart. So what is it you are waiting for today in this season? is it the deliverance of Jesus… or the deliverance of/from something else?
As we begin to “prepare the house” contemplate what you are hoping for this season. and “make straight in the desert a highway for the Lord”
Every day, we will have a new devotion for you to read with your family and each week there is a new challenge for you to join us in. We invite you to share your journey through these challenges with the Westside Family. Lastly, we invite you to check in each Saturday for a new spiritual discipline. Our hope and prayer is that you will join us as we prepare our hearts for the celebration of the birth of Christ.
Author Ian Jeffries
Editor Thomas Hartung
Truth.