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Read Luke 3:1-20 every day this week. This is the account of the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry. Each day this week, if possible, choose several different translations and ask God to open your eyes to new revelation from His Word.
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Luke 3:4-6
“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. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’”
Do you like puzzles? When I was a lot younger, I used to love doing all sorts of puzzles. These days, I can hardly complete a simple Sudoku! One year when my daughter was very small we went on a day-trip to Margam Park in Swansea. Here they had a garden maze and I just had to have a look around and see how difficult it was to find the centre (and get back of course!). It wasn’t that difficult to be honest but there are many, many such mazes that are incredibly difficult to solve.
The designers deliberately put obstacles in the way and do their best to confuse you, forcing you to take the wrong path and find yet another dead-end. The intention of course is to demoralise you and get you to give up! Only the very best and the most determined get to succeed.
“make straight paths for Him” is a simple statement that needs to be put into context and to be explained a little. Over centuries, as God was promising that the Messiah would indeed come to Israel, Satan was doing his best to confuse and side-track the people. Rules, regulations and religion were placed before God and effectively became huge obstacles to anyone seeking the Almighty God. The Jews became masters of ceremony but lost the most basic, most fundamental faith in their God. They’d forgotten that God was pleased with faith and resorted to ritualism in order to keep themselves in a relationship with Him. It is into this setting that John the Baptist comes ‘calling’.
The message being cried out is a simple one: Get rid of the complications, remove the confusion, stop making things difficult. I’m here to make a straight path to the Messiah. And that’s exactly what he did. His message was heard loud and clear and was a definite pre-cursor or preparation for the arrival of Jesus.
Our mission at Oasis Community Centre is to do whatever we can to make straight paths to Jesus. We’re not saying that we’re going to make it easy for you to become a Christian. We ARE saying that we’ll endeavour to remove the complications and the complexities that so often are presented as being normal church. Your past need not be an obstacle to overcome when you’re seeking God. The Word of God clearly states that when you come to Christ, you are a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come. It is those kind of difficulties that the Church of Jesus Christ is meant to overcome.
Let us strive to make level paths for the Saviour. May God give us wisdom to straighten out the complexities and may He allow us to lead many, on straight roads, to a knowledge of His saving grace.
- Think about how people may consider the road to God a difficult one. Are there any religious habits that are preventing people from seeing Jesus? Seek His face today and ask Him to help you make the road straight.
- Read Luke 3:1-20.
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