From the Moderator - Dana McNeil

Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord
As we begin the advent season, looking toward remembering the Bethlehem Story, we are again reminded of God’s word given through the Prophet Isaiah that is later connected with the ministry of John the Baptist.

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight. Every ravine will be filled, And every mountain and hill will be brought low; The crooked will become straight, And the rough roads smooth; And all flesh will see the salvation of God.’” Luke 3:4b-6

What does it mean to make ready the way of the Lord? John links it directly with repentance, the kind of repentance that brings forth fruit (Luke 3:8). As we seek the leading of the Lord through the trials of life, we must continually prepare the way for the Lord to lead us. We must prepare our hearts and our minds with the expectation, the absolute unswayable belief that God is going to do something amazing.

There is a story about two farmers that is shared in the movie “Facing the Giants”. The football coach of a Christian High School is facing struggle and is wondering where God is in the midst of his problems. A man who has been praying for the school shares this story with the coach.

Mr. Bridges: There were two farmers who desperately needed rain, and both of them prayed for rain. But only one of them went out and prepared his fields to receive it. Which one do you think trusted God to send the rain?

Coach Taylor: The one who prepared his fields for it?

Mr. Bridges: Which one are you? God will send the rain when He is ready. You need to prepare your field to receive it.

Are you trusting God to send the rain we need. I know that when I hear that story I am reminded that I need to prepare my field. I need to prepare my heart for the time when God chooses to pour out the rain. I need to prepare ye the way of the Lord so that my heart will be led only by the Savior. Make no mistake the Lord will come and the Lord will answer our prayers.

That is why I am asking each congregation if you will join with me in fervent prayer that our hearts will be open to the Lord’s leading, wherever that might be in the coming year. Will you call a prayer team together to be in prayer for the District, the Denomination and for our sister churches as we seek the will of God? And will you join me in trusting, in believing that God will lead us in miraculous ways as we seek to live into the all the promise of Christmas?