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)

"Are You Going?"

Read Isaiah 2:1-3a.
Many peoples shall come and say: "Come, let us go up to the
mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob.
" Isaiah 2:3a

Holidays are great fun, especially when brothers and sisters
who are scattered across the country gather together for
Christmas. Imagine getting a message from a family member
in Michigan: "I can't wait to spend Christmas with you at Mom's!"
Then you get an e-mail from a brother in California: "Looking
forward to catching up when we get in for Christmas!" And then
there's a text from a third in North Carolina: "3 1/2 wks & counting-
can't wait ..." Our excitement builds when we realize we will be
together again, and everyone is looking forward to celebrating
together.

In this week's Old Testament Lesson our brothers and sisters in
Christ are excited to share a similar message with us: "Let's go
up to the house of God!" But it isn't a once-a-year invitation just
for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. They need us this weekend
and every weekend. (They would even love to see you this
Wednesday night if there's an Advent service at your church.)
Their joy won't be quite as full unless you are there with them!

But if you take a closer look at the verse above you'll notice it
says "many peoples" will come and call you. The members of
your congregation aren't the only ones calling. All your Christian
brothers and sisters around the world are calling you to come on
up with them to God's holy mountain.

One of the best examples of this is the National Youth Gathering
that was held in San Antonio in July 2013. In the days, weeks,
and months before the event you can bet texts and e-mails were
flying across the country among friends who were looking forward
to spending the week together. And in the weeks after the get-
together many more e-mails, texts, tweets, and posts crisscrossed
the nation and the world: "That was so great! Wish we could do it
again!" Now imagine a worldwide gathering that won't end after a few
days but will last forever! That's heaven.

It took a lot of hard work and planning by dozens of dedicated people
to put the National Youth Gathering together. But to put our heavenly
reunion together it took Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. He
suffered and died to take away our sins so we would be fit to come,
and He is now preparing a place for us to stay eternally. No wonder
your brothers and sisters around the world and in heaven are excited
about the journey and are calling you to join them. "Come, let us go
up to the mountain of the Lord, the house of our God!"

THE PRAYER:

Lord, open my ears to hear my brothers and sisters calling me to join
them, and let me join my voice with theirs. Especially lead me to call
those who have not yet heard Your invitation. In Jesus' Name. Amen

(Lutheran Hour Ministries).

"Homeward Bound"
The First Sunday in Advent

Read Psalm 122.
I was glad when they said, "Let us go up to the house of the
LORD." (Psalm 122:1)

"Come on up for Thanksgiving!" Did you receive a Thanksgiving
invitation this year? I guess all of us who regularly have the
chance to gather with family and friends for the holidays take
it for granted. The wonderful smells of holiday meals, the
laughter filling the house, and everybody catching up with
events in each other's lives are what make the day so special.

But today Thanksgiving weekend comes to an end and all those
happy get-togethers must break up. Roads are packed with
travelers scattering their separate ways. Of course in a few
short weeks, we'll hear a new invitation: "Come on up for
Christmas!"

Your church is sending out its own invitation this Advent. In
the next few weeks many volunteers will be decorating the
church, learning their parts for the Christmas program, and
practicing their anthems for the choir. Your brothers and sisters
in Christ are going to all this effort because they want to invite
you to come on up for Christmas as together we go to worship
and celebrate our Savior's coming.

But there is another come-on-up-for-Christmas invitation unlike
any other. When you reach this home you won't find yourself
sitting at the little kid's table or crammed into a crowded pew.
And the festival won't end too soon like Thanksgiving and
Christmas always do. The Lord Jesus Himself is inviting you to
come up to His heavenly home and stay there with Him--forever.

That's what Advent is all about, and that's what these Advent
devotions are all about. We will recall why the Lord Jesus came
down from heaven so long ago. We will recall that the only way
we can call heaven our home was because Jesus took our guilt
and sin upon Himself and suffered and died in our place. Then,
putting our faith in Christ, we will join our brothers and sisters in
Jesus Christ in joyful expectation as we journey on together.

So light the first Advent candle, and accept our thrilling invitation:
"Let us go up to the house of the Lord!"

THE PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, thank You for calling us home to share Your
eternal celebration through Your Son Jesus Christ. Help us to
truly value Your forgiveness in Jesus and our eternal future, which
He won for us by His life, death, and resurrection. In Jesus'
Name. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)