"Where' you Headin'?"

     “And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’”

Isaiah 30:21
    

      The prophet Isaiah is painting a picture, offering a word of hope, a word of restoration and redemption to Jerusalem. It is not only a day when God will restore their land, but also their hearts. The prophet envisions a day when sinful practices will be discarded, and false idols destroyed.
 

      And the children of Israel will chart a new course, a righteous and faithful course, in response to the gracious mercy of God. And God will help them!

    “This is the way; walk in it.” God will be gently nudging, guiding, directing, paving the way, whispering “This is the way; walk in it.”

    The word of the Lord spoken through the prophet to the people is a comforting word to me, because it reminds me of my day-to-day, moment-by-moment need for the efficacy of the blood of Christ to wash away my sins, and my continual need for Christ’s intercession on my behalf.  And I am reminded, yet again, that I cannot walk the road of faith without God’s help, without the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

     So I need to diligently work at opening my ears, my heart and mind to God’s gentle, guiding voice. And I do that best through searching the Scriptures, through prayer, through Christian community and conversation, through receiving Holy Communion, participating in the worship life of the Church, and engaging in acts of mercy, justice and kindness.

    The good Methodists among us will recognize that I’m suggesting we can best hear the guiding voice of God, and experience the nudging touch of God through the Means of Grace, those “ordinary channels” to which John Wesley referred, that God uses to pour out upon us God’s preventing, justifying and sanctifying grace.
 

      Here’s hoping you’re able to gather with a church community tomorrow, and that you seek to worship God in truth and spirit. Here’s hoping that you have a holy encounter on the 2^nd Sunday of Advent.

      And if we open our hearts and minds, and come with expectation and wonder, then perhaps through Scripture or sermon or singing or in some other way we may hear the Lord whisper to us, something like – “This is the way; walk in it.”

 Peace!

 

Pastor Randy