Tuesday after Ad te levavi, The First Sunday in Advent

Scripture: Acts 3:22-26 (NKJV)

22 “For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ 24 Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. 25 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ 26 To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”

Devotion

God raised up Jesus Christ and sent Him to bless the Jews and all nations in turning them away from their sins and iniquities. Instead many Jews and many other people of the nations turned away from God. They chose rebellion against Jesus Christ. To this day they seek after blessings and peace, yet refuse to see that Jesus was the One Who brought real blessings, and showed people real peace.

The holy prophets of God had been bringing this message of the Savior for many generations, but so many people chose to ignore it. It is our nature to disregard such messages. Man’s broken, sinful nature is turned in on itself and actively listens for those things that glorify itself, while discounting other important truths. We don’t want to hear that we have iniquities from which we need to turn. We don’t want to hear that we ought to be grateful and humble servants of One Who is rightly over us.

But God’s mercy is manifest in the fact that He continued sending prophets. He kept sending men to proclaim His Word of life and blessing to the Israelites and any others who would hear. And even after He sent His own begotten Son to proclaim, and accomplish, this Word of life in the cross and His resurrection, God still keeps sending men to proclaim these Words and blessings!

We pray: God continue to show us Your mercy, and use us to be part of that proclamation that shows all nations life and forgiveness in Your Son Jesus Christ. Amen!