Advent Devotional - December 3, 2014

”Joy to the world! The Lord is come / Let earth receive her King! / Let every heart prepare Him room / And heaven and nature sing!”

-Joy to the World

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” These are the words of John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus of Nazareth, in Matthew 3:2. One chapter later, in Matthew 4:17, they become the words of Jesus, as He makes an identical proclamation at the beginning of His own ministry. The call is for all to turn from their sin, to turn from the selfish and hopeless pursuits, and to embrace the King and the Kingdom that is coming into the world.

The call is the same for us today: repent. Repentance is encapsulated in the call to “let every heart prepare Him room.” Repentance involves the total renovation and realignment of our hearts. Our hearts are filled with idols and sinful desires. And repentance, by the Spirit, is the way to destroy those things, that we might receive the coming Lord. Repentance is the way into this Kingdom. Repentance is the way to continually embrace this King. And when embraced in this way, this King brings joy to the world.

So let us proclaim this King and His Kingdom to the world this Advent season. Let us call to hearts, and plead with them to prepare room, that the King of Glory may come in (Psalm 24:7).

Let us search our own hearts in order to de-clutter them, to destroy every idol, that we might prepare Him room. And as we do, let us join in with heaven and nature, and sing.