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 how John the Baptist was a precursor to the Messiah.  His job was going to be to remind people of the darkness in our world, so they’d recognize the light when it came.

Not an easy job. We have sayings like “Don’t shoot the messenger” because of people like John.  They say and do what’s necessary, but not always popular.

Not everyone recognizes the prophetic – God speaking through people, especially when it’s challenging.  John was here to let the world know we needed help – and that we couldn’t help ourselves.  We needed God’s direct intervention in the world, and in our lives, to deal with the problem of sin.

Zechariah knew that the world needed this help, he’d spent his life waiting for it, and now his son was ushering in the Messiah.  All Zechariah didn’t know was that he’d be named Jesus, but since his pregnant (but elderly) wife had met the pregnant (but virgin) mother of Jesus already, he probably had a sense that God was up to something interesting through his own family.

His world more than 2,000 years ago needed Jesus, and our world today does, too. And we need Jesus.

We need him to save us from sin, to help us relate peacefully with others, to help us serve him, to guide us to holiness and righteousness. We can convince ourselves that we are the solution to life’s problems, but it’s Jesus who really is.  Let’s turn to him with our needs this week, in addition to our usual efforts to solve life’s problems.

We can ask God to help us see the ways that he wants us to live in the full reality of our need for him. When we acknowledge that we need Jesus, we can take action on our need for him in our own lives.

Think about ways you’re in need right now. Ask for Jesus’ help, and trust him to meet your needs. You can write your prayer here.

Challenge: Take a drive or walk around town and notice areas where Jesus’ presence is needed. Pray that God would make his presence known and that people in your town would be drawn to Christ.  Ask Jesus to come soon to your community, your family, and your life.