Focus

Pay attention to the tension in your body. Let go of it and any expectations to do anything other than God’s will today. Prepare yourself to hear God’s word.

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Read

Acts 13:16-25 (NRSV)

So Paul stood up and with a gesture began to speak:

“You Israelites, and others who fear God, listen. The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. For about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. After he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance for about four hundred fifty years. After that he gave them judges until the time of the prophet Samuel. Then they asked for a king; and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years. When he had removed him, he made David their king. In his testimony about him he said, ‘I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart, who will carry out all my wishes.’ Of this man’s posterity God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised; before his coming John had already proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was finishing his work, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but one is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of the sandals on his feet.’

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Reflect

Paul dug deep into the history of his audience, uncovering their story, which went back for generations, to their roots as a nation, to their liberation from Egyptian slavery. He recalled how their ancestors had taken Canaan as their home, their growth into a strong nation, and their golden age under the rule of King David. This, Paul said, was the climactic chapter of their story. “God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised.”

The story of Jesus is connected to a much bigger story, one that snakes back through the ages, in which God has been continually present. The story of God unfolds throughout the generations, throughout history. Even though, as Christians, we believe that Jesus is the promised Savior, it is clear that God is not yet finished, that the story continues to unfold in our present and into the future.

In this season of preparation for the coming of the Savior, we remember that we are a part of God’s story that reaches back through the ages and will continue into the future. We remember that Jesus has come, that Jesus will come again. We remember that God is not finished, and that like the people through the ages, we must be open to what God might do next.

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Pray

Author God, you have invited us into a story of hope for the world, joining characters from all times and places, in the journey towards the hope of your world restored. We give you thanks for those who have gone before us, for those who go with us, and those who will come after us. Prepare us to welcome you again into our world, and give us the courage to follow your Spirit into your future.

Go with God.