Welcome to Redeem the Commute. I’m Ryan, your host for this daily challenge. It’s Thursday, the day we try to apply and live out what we’ve learned this week from the Bible. This week we’ve been studying Old Testament prophecies about the coming of a king, or Messiah, to set the world right.
Those who read those prophecies had a promise, and their faith was about looking back at what God had done before, and anticipating what was coming.
We have the privilege of looking backwards, and forwards in history as well. We look back at how God fulfilled his promises in Jesus. HE was faithful, doing what he promised, sending the good king who would set people free. It was better than the people anticipated, as he didn’t just set them free from Roman military occupation, but instead set them free from what really ailed them – oppression by the forces of sin and death.
Now, has that happened? Yes, as people like to say, it’s happened already but not yet. Jesus has set us free from sin and death. He’s evicted them from God’s world, and they are on the run. They are not yet completely destroyed – we still struggle with sin and death and evil int his world. But, their time is nearly done. Someday he will return to reign over a world completely free of sin’s power.
How can we have confidence this will happen? We can look back at God’s record. At the Red Sea, at the Jordan River, and throughout this series, we’ve seen God promise to be faithful to his people. Again and again, we’ve seen God’s people acting unfaithfully toward him. And again and again we see God follow through on his promises regardless of whether they deserve it.
Long ago, God chose to prepare the hearts of his people with the news that a Savior would come. As you prepare for Christmas, take some time to allow God’s message of hope and salvation to sink in for you. Choose to believe God’s promises—and allow the wonder of Jesus’ incarnation to overwhelm you.
Take some time to focus on his promise to return, through this season of Advent hat prepares us for Christmas. Pray about your heart’s desire to live this Christmas season immersed in the promises of Jesus returning to complete the transformation of this world, and your life, that he set in motion so long ago.
Challenge: What are some ways we can live differently knowing that Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise of God’s presence? If you truly seek to live in the promise of God’s presence with you through Jesus, how will your life this week look different from last week? How will you prepare for Christmas in a way that keeps the focus on Jesus