DEVOTION FOR SATURDAY IN THE WEEK OF ADVENT II (12/11/10)

GOD’S WORD—Matthew 3:11
“I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

MEDITATION
The person and work of John the Baptist is at the forefront of meditation this week. The great preacher of Advent somehow drew a massive crowd out to the Judean desert and along the Jordan River. If they had a Time magazine in Jerusalem back then, he may have been named “Person of the Year”! He’s certainly quite a character – clad in camel’s hair and lunching on locusts and wild honey.

But don’t let appearances fool you. It was his message that packed all the punch. People wanted something – or someone – to believe in again. God seemed A.W.O.L.; a foreign government was in control; their “religion” had become a conglomeration of hundreds of rules that were impossible to keep. The opportunity to confess their sins, to change their mind and redirect their hearts, and to enjoy a sense of belonging again (through John’s baptism) must have been quite a drawing card.

But John wasn’t finished. He told them of One far more powerful who was on the way. If God could be so good to give such blessing through the John the Baptist, what more could possibly be in store? The excitement was palpable. Their joy is linked to the anticipation of more joy to come! This all adds up to a wonderful way to live: the Gospel way!

PRAYER
Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of your only-begotten Son, so that by His advent we may be enabled to serve you with purified minds; through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

VERSE
Zion hears the watchmen singing, and all her heart with joy is springing.
She wakes, she rises from her gloom.
For her Lord comes down all glorious, the strong in grace, in truth victorious.
Her star is risen, her light is come.
O come, awaited One.
Lord Jesus, God’s own Son. Alleluia!
We follow ‘til the halls we view where You have bid us dine with You