Produce fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father. For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." "What should we do then?" the crowd asked.

John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same." -- Luke 3: 8-11. Recently I was reading about a famous entertainer who has health issues. She was recently hospitalized because she had a flare-up of a previously suffered condition, lupus. This debilitating condition causes the immune system to attack healthy cells, tissue and organs.

In addition to this condition, the 45-year-old singer was also diagnosed with pericarditis, an inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart. Also, after being diagnosed with heart disease, the entertainer discovered that she had hypertension, commonly known as blood pressure. In an interview with a major television network, she said: "When I found out I was disappointed. I didn't get it. But I soon learnt I had to make lifestyle changes." I have a close relative who loved distance running.

However, when he was diagnosed with high blood pressure, he had to give up running. His doctor suggested that his condition made it unsafe for him to continue distance running. He had to make lifestyle changes. The above text talks about lifestyle changes. John the Baptist went before Jesus preaching repentance. He was telling the people to make some lifestyle changes -- to go in another direction. The road to heaven calls for us to go in another direction.

Sin draws us in a direction away from God. Therefore, through repentance, like a person who discoverers that he is traveling in the wrong direction, we make an about turn and head in the right direction, towards God. In the text, John warned the people about using the excuse that they were Abraham's children. That was not an option. If they really were Abraham's children, then, they would have lived like Abraham, who was a God-fearing man. To really be the children of Abraham is to fear and serve God.

The entertainer in the illustration realized that if she wanted to have a healthier life, she had to make some lifestyle changes. That is the message of John the Baptist to the people around the Jordan. That is also the message to the people of The Bahamas and the people of the world. Regrettably, that entertainer, like many, is concerned only with life here on this planet. However, that is not the real life that she needs. She needs the life after this life, which is found in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Through making some lifestyle changes in the way you live, you might live a little longer. However, by making the right lifestyle changes, you can live forever. That is the change which John spoke about to the people. That is the change our Lord calls you to make. My humble prayer this Advent, is firstly for our nation and secondly, for the peoples of the world. I pray that we see more in Advent than just the material things associated with Christmas.

May we all see Advent for what it really is, the coming of a Savior, the greatest gift to mankind. He is the light of the world. He came that all people would make lifestyle changes for life. He will come again to gather his church. Amen. o Rev. Samuel M. Boodle, pastor at The Lutheran Church of Nassau, can be reached at P.O. Box N 4794, Nassau, Bahamas, or telephone: 323-4107; E-mail: lutheranchurch@coralwave.com, Website: www.Nassaulutheranchurch.org.

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