God Our Promise Keeper: A 5-Day Devotional Journey Through AdventНамуна

Jesus requires one thing from you.

A response.

He doesn’t leave room for you to believe that He was just a good teacher or a prophet. He claimed, numerous times, to be God.

So, is He? Or is He not?

When the shepherds received news of His birth, it lit a fire in their bellies. There was no Great Commission yet, directing them to share that news. They simply did. Because they properly recognized its significance.

People responded in all sorts of ways to Jesus. Some followed Him. Some didn’t really care. Others hated Him.

But, the question remains: “Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15 NIV)

Our answer to that question determines how we live our lives. It also has eternal consequences.

The reality is–and this is heavy stuff–that Jesus will return soon and bring just judgment on all people who do not know Him. This is how it was always going to work out. Sin, injustice, evil, it all incurs a debt against us and–because God is just–that debt must be paid.

This truth is sobering, but it makes the good news all the more glorious.

Jesus paid that debt for us, fulfilling God’s promise to save any who calls on Him (Romans 10:13).

We do not know the day or hour when Jesus will return. So, here and now, we are to respond to this fulfilled promise by living with holy urgency.

“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6 NIV).

And share the news with others so they may do the same.

A Question to Ponder: If you truly believed Jesus could return at any moment, what would you stop putting off? What are you clinging to that keeps you from responding urgently to Christ and His mission?

A Prayer to Pray: Lord God, thank you that you made a way for us to be close again through Jesus. Everything about you compels me to respond. I believe you are who you say you are and that your death on the cross, burial, and resurrection paid the full debt that I owed you. Thank you, Lord Jesus. All I can say is thank you. Please help me to live with a heart that is broken for those who don’t know you. Please show me the next step for me to take in sharing the good news that they too can have eternal life with you. And please keep me close to you throughout all of it. In Jesus’s name and power, I pray, amen.