And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous-to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Luke 1:17
Good morning, dear ones!
In this last talk on Elijah, we get to look at when and how the great man shows up in the New Testament. The angel Gabriel tells John the Baptist's father that John will come in the spirit and power of Elijah, to prepare people for the Lord.
Preparation, in the Lord's scheme of things, is essential. To be prepared to appreciate the gift He has for us we have to repent. Not repenting is like not washing before a feast, but in a much more dramatic way. We cannot receive forgiveness when we're not aware of our need for it. The real glory of what has been sacrificed and gifted to us, the liberty and grace in which we live and breathe, comes after our realization of what were saved from. We should continually be aware that we are in need of a Savior, constantly in need. He constantly washes and cleanses us. All of our sins are washed away. Though they were like scarlet, they're white as wool.
We appreciate this when we see sin for what it is. Even when someone points it out to us. Then our response should be, "Oh thank you for showing me that. I don't want anything between me and the Lord."
A good example of this was an email my husband Randy, a pastor, received the other night from a young woman in Korea. She had been here the year before and had taken part in our lively church-wide discussions about the role of women in leadership. In one class she had said something to Randy that she later regretted. So this humble sweet letter came, months later, recalling the incident and telling Randy how the Lord had reminded her to not speak against His anointed ones who are standing for Him. Randy wrote a beautiful letter back saying her opinions were well grounded and that he hadn't taken offense. But the humility with which she spoke was such an example to us. We wanted to be straight too. We didn't want anything to be between us and the Lord.
So let's repent of anything that is an offense to the Lord while there is still time to correct it. So we can still walk in strength and in vibrancy because of the Spirit of God resting within us. Let's receive all that Jesus has done, continually.
