It was too nice to stay inside yesterday (today too!), so we went on a picnic in beautiful Vesuvius.
It took preparation to go on a picnic (parents and anyone who spends time with kids can relate I’m sure!). Lunches had to be packed, car seats situated, kids buckled in, etc.
We’ve also gone hiking in those mountains (Crabtree Falls!), and hitting the trail also takes prep…but all of that prep is worth it.
Luke 3:3-5 tells how John the Baptist helped prepare people for Jesus: “And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth.”
To be ready for a king to come in Bible times, roads were prepared. To be ready to follow Jesus, hearts need to be prepared. Mountains of pride can stop us from even realizing we need Jesus for salvation (and for everything else too!). Valleys of difficulty can distract and consume us, stopping us from coming to the One Who offers genuine hope. As Christians, if we are going to fully follow Jesus, we need to allow Him to deal with everything that is crooked and rough (maybe sins, maybe bad habits or anything that holds us back). Are you prepared to follow Jesus today?
Extra Bible Reading I Try to Do Each Day:
Psalm 38:1 O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. 2 For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore. 3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. 4 For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. 5 My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness. 6 I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. 7 For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh. 8 I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart. 9 Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee. 10 My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me. 11 My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off. 12 They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long. 13 But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth. 14 Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs. 15 For in thee, O Lord, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God. 16 For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me. 17 For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me. 18 For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin. 19 But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied. 20 They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is. 21 Forsake me not, O Lord: O my God, be not far from me. 22 Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.