This week’s devotions are based on the Week 2 “A Savior Born for You! (WATCH HERE)
Make a U-turn.
Has your electronic map ever told you to make a U-turn? Before Google Maps was the predominant mapping app, stand alone GPS units would have various voices help you navigate your route. When they sensed you were going the wrong way, the command was, “Make a U-turn as soon as possible.” Whether you heeded that advice was your choice. The newer mapping apps seem to just “reroute” you if you missed a turn. The distance may get longer, but the alternate route is suggested.
This parallels how we can deal with sin in our lives. It’s not easy to admit we have made a mistake and take measures to make a U-turn. It’s easier just to move past it and find an alternate route around the sin. As a result the action that was wrong is minimized with the thinking, “No big deal. I’ll just take an alternate route.”
Repentance is God’s call to make “U-turn.” The option isn’t just “alternate routes” that accommodate the sins we want to commit, rather the commitment is to turn away from the route that involves the sin we love to commit.
In this Advent season, John the Baptist, is a key figure as he preceded the public ministry of Jesus and was tasked with preparing hearts for his teaching and work. The call wasn’t just to take an alternate route in Jesus, but rather confronting head on the sin that was in people’s hearts and warning them to “Make a U-turn!” “Repent!”
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matthew 3:1–2).
The people around John were dealing with sin, just like you and I do. Perhaps the ones that were visible to John were sins of the heart that came out in actions. The Pharisees thought they were good with God because of their performance with religious laws and ceremonies. They were wrong and needed to turn from their dependence on self to dependence on the LORD. People of the Jewish lineage claimed that they were good with God because they had the genetic code of Abraham. This too was a false security that John calls them to turn from and realize that children of God are not by blood descent but by faith decent. Others came who were cheaters and thieves that John called out to turn from their sin.
If John were speaking to you directly this morning, what U-turn would he be calling you to make? Is it a sin of pride and ego that makes you more important than others? Is it the sin of laziness and sloth that keeps you from using your days and potential to the glory of God? Is it a sin of anger and bitterness that harbors ill-will toward someone? Is it sins in the closet of your life that have not been exposed publicly, but God knows? Is it an addiction that needs to be overcome? We all have sins lurking within and need the GPS “God’s Positioning System” to redirect us away from sin to a life that walks with him and fights vehemently against sin. There is not just “alternate routes” that allow sin to exist, but rather a loving, yet stern “Make a U-turn!” call from a God who loves us and people who love us enough to warn us that the path we are on is not going to end well, but a path walking with the Lord is where we want to be.
Consider this a call to make a U-turn…and I hope you will do the same for me!
Apply: What sin is God calling you to make a U-turn and turn from today? Ask the Lord to overcome the temptation and walk more closely with him!
Prayer: Lord thank you for putting people like John the Baptist in my life to warn me of the danger of my sin and turn me back to you. AMEN.