Scripture On Sundays - Get Yourself Ready For Him

The main message during the Advent season is....getting yourself mentally and spiritually in the right mindset, so you can be ready for the arrival of Christ.  We do this by reflecting, commemorating and rejoicing in His birth, while continuing to learn and abide by what He taught us, knowing He will return again.

Philippians 1:9-11

9 And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and depth of insight and perception,

10 to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,

11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—for the glory and praise of God.

Luke 3:2b-6

....the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.

3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

4 As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.

5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.
6 And all mankind will see God's salvation.' "

We all need to work on 'straightening' out whatever is wrong in our lives.... and make it right.  We'll be much better off in the long run, and Our Lord and Creator deserves it too.  Just as a loving parent wants all of their children to do what is right and good because it is a reflection of us and our parenting skills....God our Father wants and expects the same from us also.  It is because we are told we are all His children and we are created in His image and likeness.  So shouldn't we want to make Him proud of us?    
To do this we need to be reminded of His message, which is to respect and love Him, respect and love yourself, and respect and love others.  It's that simple.  So why is this so hard to do sometimes?  Why do some want to reject this message?  All of His laws and commandments are summed up by using one word....LOVE.     

I'd also like to use some other encouraging, but non-biblical slogans too, such as the U.S. Army's "Be all you can be" and Nike's "Just do it"!

If we strive for excellence, we need to make sure of one thing....that we're doing it for the right reasons.  Those grounded in faith will know how to make their path straight and they will be rewarded for their efforts.  Many have become successful, only to be caught up in the fame and glory which makes their path 'crooked' and ends up destroying their lives.  How many celebrities and politicians can I mention that fall into this category?  Unfortunately, the list is quite long. 

There's also another saying that is "We need to learn from other people's mistakes, because we're not going to make them all ourselves".  Those people, especially religious conservatives who originally spoke of morals, values and ethics, but then have an incident where they have "fallen from grace", shouldn't necessarily be called hypocrits.  We're all human, and we all make mistakes.  At least they had the right ideas and the best of intentions to begin with, but unfortunately may have ended up falling short of those lofty ideals.  I think it's still better that they made the effort to promote these values, even if they fell short, instead of the opposite.  I'm speaking of the ones who condone, and may even promote unethical and/or immoral behavior and/or tactics right from the start.  Then when they have a 'fall from grace' the rational you often hear is, their private life is none of our business.  We shouldn't care.  But I do not accept that, especially if this person is supposed to be a role model, or is in a position of leadership and influence. 

We should all be responsible for our actions.  We should have some high standards set for ourselves, especially the ones in the public eye.  May God Our Father, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, which is three manifested into One God, continue to be our guide, our salvation and our inspiration, so that we can be the best that we can be.  Living by what's taught in the Bible will make our lives here on earth better.  He would never steer us wrong!  And it will also help to prepare us for when we meet Him again.