Let’s Get Ready

It seems like everywhere I’ve gone lately people ask the same question.  When at the grocery checkout counter – “Are you ready for Christmas?” At the bank drive-through window – “Are you ready for Christmas?” At the post office – “Are you ready for Christmas?” I think the answer to that question depends on how you define “ready.” Actually a good response would have been to ask the question:  “Are you ready for Jesus?” Now that puts the idea of being ready in a whole different Christmas light, doesn’t it?

John the Baptist was sent by God to get the people ready to meet Jesus. He travelled throughout the Desert of Judea saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” This caused people to come out of the woodworks, eager to confess their sins, and be baptized by him in the Jordan River. The world is not very fond of the words “repent” or “repentance” but they really are good words. They mean “to make a radical change in one’s life, to turn and go in the opposite direction from sin toward God. This is God’s way of preparing us for Christ’s arrival. So, let me ask you…Are you ready?

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before.

Acts 3:19-20 (NIV)

From the Heart of Selina Lee