John the Baptist Prepares the Way

Prayer Practice

Prayer Journal – To begin your daily worship today, grab a pen and paper and write out a prayer to God. Not sure what to write? Try using ACTS to frame your prayer. Begin with adoration for who God is. Then move on to confession – being real about where you have fallen short in the last day or two. Give thanks to God for all that He gives (including forgiveness for the sin you just confessed!). And then finish with supplication – with your prayer requests to God. When you are done, tuck this away somewhere (so you can read it later and see how God has answered your prayers) and then move into hearing from God through His Word.

Daily Reading 

 Luke 3:1-20

Devotional 

Navigating the Wilderness

by Jennifer Jerrome

One of my favorite things is to walk in the woods. I love the fresh air and scenery. Oftentimes it’s where I feel closest to God. But sometimes, especially when hiking a new trail, I’m afraid of getting lost. One path leads to another that splits in different directions and I’m not sure where to go. What if I take the wrong one? Will I make it back safely? 

This makes me think about John and his call in the wilderness. A voice said, “The crooked road shall become straight, the rough ways smooth” (v. 5). So many times in life we go off on our own and end up on a long path to nowhere. We get lost and lonely and wonder how we’ll ever make it back. We keep trying to take the winding road when God has made the path straight and smooth.

The good news is that no matter how many times we venture off, God is there to put us back on track. We’re never alone on the journey. We take God with us wherever we go, we just don’t always realize it. We cry out for guidance when he’s already there.

The message I hear when reading Luke 3 is that salvation is ours and God will lead the way, but it’s also up to us to be the change. Just as God called out to John, God calls out to us in the “wilderness” of life. He wants us to hear his words as a call to action. To make good decisions…to be content with what we have and share the extras with others. And when we wander away, He’ll be there to set us back on the straight path. 

Thank you, Father, for always keeping an eye on us.  In our humanness we try to venture off, but you know the desires of our heart and will always be there to lead us home.