Pray:
Ask God to orient or reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.
His Name shall be Jesus
Acts 4:5-12
The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is “ ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
Hebrews 4:3-10
Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,
“So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”
And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.” And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”
Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.
God, we praise you because you are the God who saves. You planned to save all of us through Jesus, whom the angel spoke about so long ago. We pray now in Jesus’s name. Amen.
Questions for Reflection
- What do I learn about God? Look for God’s character, conduct, concerns.
- What do I learn about people? Think through what the passage reveals about your identity as an image-bearer. Think about our fallen condition. Look for how we should live.
- What do we learn about relating to God? Look for things to praise and thank Him for. Look for promises and truths to believe.
- What do I learn about relating to others? Look for how we should interact with and treat others. Look for ways to pursue reconciliation with others. Look for specific ways to love, serve, and care for others.
Application:
As you look to the advent of Christ Jesus, what does God want you to understand and think?