Advent at Ararat 2024 Day 23: Act on the Good News!

“When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Sometimes, when it seems we can’t get direction from the Lord, or a word from the Lord, we will find that the reason is that we have not acted on the last word we heard from Him. Of course, this starts with the general instruction given throughout the word of God. If we have not acted on what God has said in His word, how can we expect any “special” word from Him addressing our personal concerns?

I remember that at the end of one of my father’s prayers a couple of years before he passed away, he asked the people, “Do you believe the Lord will do this?” And of course, everyone said, “Yes!” Then he responded, “Act on it! Act on it! Act on it!” You see, there’s the key: If we believe what God has said, our actions, thoughts, etc., should reflect our belief. “Belief,” without corresponding action, is just an idea, or even a whim.

Indeed, one of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming Savior, came at a time when the Lord had told Ahaz (king of Judah) that he did not need to fear the king of Assyria and the king of Israel who were colluding to come against him. It seems that when the Lord asked him to name any sign to be given in order to confirm that it would be well with him, he refused to ask for a sign from the Lord.

“But the king refused. “No,” he said, “I will not test the Lord like that.” Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).“

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭7‬:‭12‬-‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Most likely, Ahaz was too afraid to believe that the Lord would keep Judah from being destroyed; perhaps he didn’t want a sign, requiring action on his part.

In our opening scripture today we see that the shepherds, having been told about the Good News, immediately went to find the announced Savior. They acted on what they had heard!

If we believe that the Lord came down that day in Bethlehem all those years ago, if we believe that He lived a spotless life, died a sinner’s death, and was resurrected to Heaven where He sits at the right of the Father, then our life should reflect our belief. We should look to Him as Savior and serve Him as Lord.

Additionally, we are told that our Lord will return again and take us to be with Him. Certainly, our lives should be informed by that glorious expectation.

For today let us meditate on the ways in which our lifestyles might contradict what we say we believe concerning the word of God. Then, rather than becoming condemned or guilty, let us repent and ask the Lord to help us align our lives with what He has said, reflecting what we profess. As well, let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us live lives illustrative of an expectation of His soon return.

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!