How are your preparations for Christmas going? That question brings to mind  family get-togethers and gift exchanges, putting up lights and decorations and going shopping. In some homes a lot of baking and candy-making is taking place. People are at different stages of preparedness for the celebration of Christmas.

Notice that when I asked about being prepared for Christmas, how natural it was to think  about lights and decorations and shopping and baking. I wonder if that is what John the Baptizer meant when he cried out: “Prepare the way for the Lord?”

All the outward preparation is fine, as long as you make sure that you are also prepared inwardly. That is what this season of Advent is about: preparing your hearts. How? As far as Advent is concerned, “Prepare” and “Believe” are synonyms. If you believe, you are prepared, and you prepare for the coming of Christ with faith. Remember that in Advent, our preparation is not just to remember the first coming of Jesus, but to anticipate His Second Coming as well. Keep this in mind as you read this passage.

2 PETER 3:10-14  But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.  Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed it coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.  So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with him.

Peter speaks of the return of Christ, the day of the Lord, as being something that will take us by surprise. So be prepared in faith. That is what the ministry of John the Baptist was all about, preaching preparation to the people. We also have the example of Mary, who when told she would give birth to the Son of God, believed. Both John and Mary, as well as others, were prepared for the Coming of their Savior with their faith. They trusted the promise of God, and through that trust were saved. The same is true for you and me. Faith that trusts that God sent Christ to pay for sins, faith that knows He died the death you deserve, faith that believes He is risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity is a faith that saves, a faith that is prepared for His return.

More on this tomorrow.