Christian Reflection and Prayer

Read Isaiah 2:3-5.

"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house
of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us His ways and that
we may walk in His paths..." Isaiah 2:3B

Several years ago I was scheduled to preach at a church in
central Illinois. I had planned out my path along I-70 and left early
enough to arrive a half-hour early. But after about two hours I
discovered I had missed the I-70 exit sixty miles back and was
driving north toward Chicago on I-55! By the time I realized my
mistake and got turned around I ended up arriving at the church
30 minutes after the service was supposed to have started!
Thankfully, my Christian brothers and sisters had a sense of
humor!

Whenever you are driving, especially on a long and unfamiliar
trip, you want to be sure you are on the right path! When I was
a kid we relied on maps, but again, you could end up on the
wrong road for hours without realizing you were on the wrong
path. But today one of the best ways to travel is to have a GPS,
a Global Positioning System.

The guiding voice from this little box gives you turn-by-turn
instructions and tracks your progress. If you get off the right
path, it patiently tells you the best way to get back on the right
path again. But that's not all a GPS can do for you. If you get
tired and need a rest area or a motel along the way, a GPS can
find one for you. If you get hungry, a GPS will give you a choice
of restaurants and guide you to the one you want.

If we want to complete our Advent journey and reach the heavenly
"house of the Lord," we need a sort of spiritual GPS. At our
 Baptism God washed away our sins, made us His own children,
filled us with His Spirit, and set us on the right path for Jesus' sake.
To keep us on that path He gave us His Word and Sacraments.
Through the Law the Holy Spirit alerts us when we have wandered
off the path into sin, and through the Gospel He guides us back to
the right road by turning us in repentance and faith to Jesus Christ
who saved us from our sins through His death on the cross.

That is why it is so important to read, hear, and study the Word of
God in our home devotions and to gather together at church. For as
Jesus speaks to us through His Word, and feeds us with His body
and blood, He keeps us on our heavenward path. This provides us
spiritual rest and nourishment along our way as we journey up to
the house of the Lord!

THE PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us Your holy Word to guide
us along our path. Open our ears to hear our Savior's voice and
follow His ways. In Jesus' Name, we pray. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)