In Psalm 86, we see David’s prayer of crying out to God for help. He was desperate and sincere in his pleas for the Almighty to move. Since God is sovereign, why would David bother to bring his petitions and needs to Him?

All over Scripture we see evidence of God being moved by the pleas of His people. In Exodus 32 and 33, Moses advocated for the people, and God responded with compassion. In Jonah 3, when the people turned from their evil ways, God did not bring destruction on them. In Matthew 15, a Gentile woman asked for healing for her daughter multiple times, and Jesus provided.

And while we know God is unchanging, we also know Him to be our Father who says we can come to Him at any time, repent freely, and make our petitions known to Him. He tells us to ask, seek, and knock. He tells us to let our requests be made known to Him (Matthew 7:7–8, Philippians 4:6). God responds to His people. He is a God who loves us, and He desires to hear and engage with His children.

LORD, hear my prayer; listen to my cries for mercy. I call on you in the day of my distress, for you will answer me.
—Psalm 86:6–7

We see a confidence in David that He knew His God would respond. Do we believe that truth as well?

This Lenten season, reflect on the fullness of God and His desire to interact, respond, and be in relationship with us. While we may not always receive the answer we want from God, may we recognize that we can stand confident that our God will respond because He loves us. God is unchanging, and He also is moved with compassion. We can hold the tension that both are true. May we embrace this beautiful, wonderful mystery of who God is.

What if I come across as pushy?
Should I avoid talk of God for fear of offending others?
If they were interested, wouldn’t they ask me?

It’s not that I don’t want people to come to know the Lord—I do! The love of Jesus and the joy of spending eternity with Him is what I hope for the whole world. However, when it comes to actually sharing the gospel, intimidation and fear boast loud in my heart and mind.

In Acts 4, we see that Peter and John were taken into custody for preaching the name of Jesus in Solomon’s Colonnade. The two men, along with the other disciples, had recently watched Jesus’s death and resurrection unfold. Now they were beginning to carry the mantle of sharing the good news of Jesus with the world, and that mantle was heavy. Peter had once denied Jesus three times to save his own skin. How could the same man who sank into the sea for lack of faith be the same man who now spoke boldly to thousands?

“Then Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit…” (Peter 4:8).

Fear would have been a natural response for Peter and John after they were arrested for proclaiming Christ. Instead, we see Peter become filled with the Holy Spirit and increase in boldness, preaching the name of Jesus to the rulers and elders. It was not willpower that brought Peter courage; it was his empowerment through the Holy Spirit. Peter and John took the fear and intimidation wielded against them and traded it for Holy Spirit strength.

In a world that finds the message of the gospel irrelevant at best and offensive at worst, we may have many reasons to fear sharing our faith. However, the truth remains: There is no other name by which we are saved. Jesus is the hope of the world. And we are the ones who carry that message.

Jesus calls us to proclaim His name to the world, and He gives us all we need to obey that call. We, too, can share our faith with others when we are empowered by the Holy Spirit. In Peter and John we see two men who did not shrink back but used their voices with God-given power and authority. My prayer for us all is that when our fears are loud, we remember that God has equipped us with His strength, courage, and grace to proclaim one name: Jesus.

In today’s reading in Jeremiah, the surrounding nations were saying the Lord chose Israel and Judah and then abandoned them. These nations were sneering and saying that they were no longer worthy to be counted as a nation. Would they ever be saved? Had God forgotten about them? Throughout the Old Testament, it seemed even Israel and Judah doubted God would fulfill His promises. But the Lord said that He would no more reject His people than He would change His laws that govern the night and day, earth and sky (Jeremiah 33:25–36).

In the book of Jeremiah we see no specific mention of the Messiah’s name, but rest assured, the hope of Jesus is there.

God was unfolding His perfect plan—the hope and future for His people even when it couldn’t be seen. While the people of Judah felt fearful and hopeless, God was preparing for the hope of the world Himself all along. He did not leave His people. He was faithful to His promise and would ensure it was carried through. And as we walk through challenges and hardships, we know that God’s sovereign, good plan will prevail. He has not left us.

His faithfulness is evident as we read Matthew 1. It’s easy to breeze over these names and continue with your daily reading, but I encourage you to stop and take in this truth. Each and every soul carved into the genealogy of Jesus was an ordinary person, used by a mighty God for His good plan. While the people of Judah lamented in the book of Jeremiah, the seed of the Messiah was being carried down through ordinary people also searching for hope. They couldn’t see it, but hope was there. Rather than looking at these verses as merely a list of names, search instead for the character of God woven throughout. It is evidence that He is faithful and will always be faithful.

This Advent season, if you are walking through darkness, hold on to the hope that God is faithful in keeping His promise to you. He will never leave you. Even when you don’t see it, He is working all things out for the good.

“Pick your Hot Wheels up off the floor.”
“Floss your teeth.”
“For the love, please turn out the lights when you leave your room for the day!”

However, because they are often distracted and not fully invested in their own well-being just yet, I often need to offer friendly (and sometimes not-so-friendly) reminders.

Today’s reading brings us to the faithful, enduring prophet Jeremiah, who spent his days (really years) pleading with the people of God to turn from their sin and bow only to the Lord. His warning and direction was given again and again. However, the people did not see the sin in their lifestyle and, even more so, were not expectant of a coming Messiah. They chose to ignore the disaster that would come from ignoring God’s Word. They missed the blessing in being obedient to God and were apathetic to the hope of salvation. Therefore Jeremiah brought this stark warning to the people. He showed God’s grace by giving them a repeated warning rather than abandoning them in silence to their own ways.

Don’t miss this: God spoke to them then, and God still speaks to us now. He is a God who is with us and points a dying world to salvation.

While we didn’t live in Jerusalem in 620 BC, we can draw a parallel to the people of Judah and ourselves. You, too, may have struggled with believing that Jesus has come for you personally. And even if that truth has settled in your heart, does the day-to-day of life distract you from the hope and promise of salvation? Are you apathetic to the goodness that God has placed in your life? Are we living according to the truth that He who has come will come again?

Because Advent means “coming” or “arrival,” this season of reflection and expectation invites us to share the truth of Christ to ourselves and to others. We can prepare our hearts by recalling that Christ came in the flesh to make a way for us.

The fool says in his heart, “There’s no God.” They are corrupt; they do vile deeds. There is no one who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven on the human race to see if there is one who is wise, one who seeks God.
—Psalm 14:1–2

We are seekers of God. And this season, as we acknowledge the truth that He has come, may we also recognize these truths: He will come again, and the world needs to hear the good news.

The prophet Jeremiah pointed to the promise of Jesus as evidence of God’s graciousness on display in his warning. We, too, can share God’s good news and the truth of salvation in Him to a lost world through our words, actions, and love.

As we fall to temptation, we may carry the title of sin through our lives. Let’s take a moment to reflect on times when we have fallen short and although we were repentant, may have rehashed our shortcomings over and over—we may have labeled ourselves as “liar,” “failure,” or “fraud,” and spent time and energy on our grief rather than His goodness.

Yet repentance does not require living in shame.

Repentance brings us restoration with the Lord.

From today’s reading we look at the people gathered at the Water Gate on the first day of the seventh month. The people came as one (Nehemiah 8:1), desiring to hear Scripture (vv.6–7) and wept over the sins they had committed. We see the people displaying pure humility by unifying themselves, attentively listening to the law and bowing and weeping in worship of God. The sorrow of a torn relationship with their Creator was all consuming. Our God responded through Ezra with a comfort: Celebrate this holy day of restoration rather than focus on their sin in mourning.

Repentance is not a spotlight on our shortcomings. Repentance is a restoration of what was lost and can be a celebration of what is now found.

Do not grieve, because the joy of the LORD is your strength. 
—Nehemiah 8:10

God’s response to repentance is to reveal His joy in us. When the law exposed their faults, God saw their humble hearts. Where the people grieved their missteps, God saw their desire to rebuild with Him.

While it is good to grieve our own sin, God gently reminds us to not wear the label of it. Instead of focusing on our failures, God calls us to celebrate and praise His goodness to forgive and rebuild. We are not consumed by sin. We are set free to repent and celebrate who our God is. Today, let this reading of Scripture bring you to stillness, repentance, and unity with our Creator. His joy in us will bring us strength.

Growing up, one of my favorite games at camp was “telephone.” We would gather in a circle, the instructor would give the first person a phrase and, person by person, we would whisper it in the ear of the next. With puzzled looks and laughs, each person would carry it on until the last child would repeat back the phrase they received. Most of the time, it sounded nothing like the original statement (or vaguely, if we were lucky!). I remember one time the first person in the game was given the proverb, “A friend loves at all times” (Proverbs 17:17). The end result? The final person heard…“dentist.” 

Clearly a few things were lost along the way. 

As we study the people of the New Testament, we hear stories of ordinary people turned heroes of the faith, who cradled the message of the gospel to pass on to others. They declared it on large platforms to the thousands and in the intimacy of one other on quaint dirt roads. No matter the way, the message was delivered with accuracy and love. Priscilla and Aquila—the tentmaking couple of our reading today, understood the assignment of carrying the good news with precise accuracy. 

I want to highlight something key about their brief but valuable mention in the Scriptures.

Acts 18:26 tells us that they heard a man, Apollos, preaching the good news and were compelled to explain the fullness of God to him more accurately. They were committed to sharing the gospel in its entirety and to lead others to do the same. They knew that in order to make disciples as Jesus had commanded, they held a holy responsibility to ensure that those who proclaimed it knew it well. 

Just like in the childhood game of telephone, a passed on message may be heard differently than intended by the receiver. While the delivery may have been carried accurately, sometimes the hearer misses details, doesn’t hear the entire message, or has pre-existing filters on that will omit vital truths. The Word of God is inerrant and yet, with much grief, we see this distortion in culture today too. 

We can do our part by being receptive to the wisdom of seasoned believers. We can share the love and truth of Jesus with others around us. Like Prisicilla and Aquila, we can disciple others who are hungry and eager to learn. 

You and I are evidence that discipleship works. We stand here now, two thousand years later, knowing the truth of Christ because of the combined work in discipleship of the apostles and the early church. Priscilla and Aquila understood the sacredness of discipleship. And we, too, must recognize that being a disciple isn’t totally about us but includes continuing the health, vitality, and multiplication of the Church. 

Written by Sarah Wood

If we are honest, there are times in our lives when we need to preach the gospel and its truths to ourselves again, just as Paul did for the Corinthians. Instead of doing the Lord’s work of serving our neighbors in love, we work out of duty, striving, or obligation. Life and its weight drag us down, the world distracts us, and our self-centeredness creeps in. We may labor for selfish reasons or with a bitter heart. God calls us to serve our brothers and sisters in love, but are we able to love well in our own strength? 

Centuries earlier, another man was asked to do the Lord’s work, and it was Moses who shared some wisdom with him. Joshua faced a hard work order, but it was Moses who reminded him who strength and courage comes from (Deuteronomy 31:6–8). This is an encouragement that the work commanded by God wasn’t all up to Joshua—God’s presence was with him, empowering and equipping him. And just as Moses encouraged Joshua to rely on God in a hard calling, God sent Paul to correct and care for the Corinthian church as they strayed from His command. The Corinthian church couldn’t recalibrate their faith and operate in love without God’s influence and leading. Two thousand years later, we are given the same command to do the Lord’s work in love, and we can receive the same wisdom: we need Him to do it.

It is God, not our own will or might, who empowers us to serve others selflessly, love our neighbor, and care for the field we’ve been given. When we abide in Christ, love will overflow from us into the work of our hands as commanded to us (1Thessalonians 4:9–12). 

Don’t miss this truth: we operate in love when we abide in Christ. We can love and serve those around us only when tethered to Christ. We can’t help but produce fruit when we are connected to the true vine. Let’s trade our striving for His strength and our grumbling for gratefulness to Him. Doing all things in love means we do all things with Christ.

“This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1Corinthians 11:25). The Lord’s Supper is a demonstration of the gospel, drenched in rich symbolism and hopeful promise. It is also a call to remembrance of what He has done and a reminder of what He will do. How can we be reminded of something that hasn’t yet happened? We remember His promise for the future: that He will come again.

In today’s reading, Jesus’s two closest disciples gathered the bread, wine, and dishes as they prepared for the Passover meal. They, along with the other ten, probably expected a meal of tradition to celebrate what the great and powerful I AM had done for their ancestors of the exodus. And don’t we often do the same as Christians?  We observe what is happening on the surface, ingesting it at face value, rather than recognizing that God is revealing to us a deeper understanding.

Don’t miss the hope of the promise in the Eucharist (also known as Communion or the Lord’s Supper). What was a tradition of remembering would now be a declaration of what is to come. While the Passover meal was celebrating God having rescued His people from slavery on earth, the new covenant is the declaration that God has forgiven, purified, and rescued His people for eternity.

When you and I hold the bread and cup in our hands, we cannot mistake the richness of it. It is a remembrance of His promise. We must not reduce it to anything less than all that it is. While it was a reminder of the Passover—and a reminder of the Last Supper with Jesus and His twelve disciples—it is also the reminder that we have a future with the Lord. Jesus said, “I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God” (Luke 22:16). These words bring hope for us all. We, who place our faith in Jesus, know His redemptive death and resurrection—that He has cleansed us, saved us, and that we will feast with Him again in eternal life.

When we partake in the Lord’s Supper, we are remembering and declaring His promise of eternal life. He has come. He has died and risen. He will come again.

Written by Sarah Wood