Wednesday Devo
Scripture:
Acts 3:20-25
20 Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. 21 For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people. Listen carefully to everything he tells you.’ 23 Then Moses said, ‘Anyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from God’s people.’
24 “Starting with Samuel, every prophet spoke about what is happening today. 25 You are the children of those prophets, and you are included in the covenant God promised to your ancestors. For God said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendants all the families on earth will be blessed.
20 Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. 21 For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people. Listen carefully to everything he tells you.’ 23 Then Moses said, ‘Anyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from God’s people.’
24 “Starting with Samuel, every prophet spoke about what is happening today. 25 You are the children of those prophets, and you are included in the covenant God promised to your ancestors. For God said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendants all the families on earth will be blessed.
Commentary:
3:20 Peter promised three results of repentance: (1) The forgiveness of sins (v. 19). (2) Times of refreshing (a mark of the messianic age), as people are “refreshed” in their spirits when the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within them. (This “refreshing” comes also to the world in general as it is affected by believers who are changed by the power of the Spirit.) (3) That he may send the Christ is a clear reference to the second coming of Christ, since the next verse looks forward to that time.
3:21 The time for restoring all the things looks forward to when Christ will return and his kingdom will be established on earth, and the earth itself will be renewed even beyond the more abundant and productive state it had before Adam and Eve’s fall (see note on Rom. 8:20–21).
3:22–23 Peter quoted Deut. 18:15 to establish that Jesus was the prophet like me (i.e., like Moses, a comparison that points to a leader prophet) that God had promised to send. In Acts 3:23 Peter quotes Deut. 18:19 to point out the danger of rejecting the coming prophet (i.e., Jesus).
3:24 Samuel was considered the next prophet after Moses, and Peter declared that he and the rest of the prophets consistently pointed to Christ. All the prophets … proclaimed these days affirms that all of the OT prophets (including Moses, which implies all of the OT from Genesis onward) were predicting the coming of Christ and the new covenant age that had begun at Pentecost.
3:21 The time for restoring all the things looks forward to when Christ will return and his kingdom will be established on earth, and the earth itself will be renewed even beyond the more abundant and productive state it had before Adam and Eve’s fall (see note on Rom. 8:20–21).
3:22–23 Peter quoted Deut. 18:15 to establish that Jesus was the prophet like me (i.e., like Moses, a comparison that points to a leader prophet) that God had promised to send. In Acts 3:23 Peter quotes Deut. 18:19 to point out the danger of rejecting the coming prophet (i.e., Jesus).
3:24 Samuel was considered the next prophet after Moses, and Peter declared that he and the rest of the prophets consistently pointed to Christ. All the prophets … proclaimed these days affirms that all of the OT prophets (including Moses, which implies all of the OT from Genesis onward) were predicting the coming of Christ and the new covenant age that had begun at Pentecost.
Questions:
- Peter was letting everyone know that the events that were now unfolding before their eyes were all things that were predicted long ago. He was telling them they could be sure about Jesus. We can be sure, too! Jesus is worthy of your trust, PERIOD. Always and forever, without wavering. Does Jesus have your full and absolute trust? How do you know for sure?
- The problem is, just like the lame man that was looking for a handout, we are often trusting in an OUTCOME instead of a PERSON. Just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the days of Daniel. When they were threatened with death in the fire, they said that God WILL rescue them, God COULD rescue them, but if he doesn't they still would not bow to an idol. Even if God didn't give them the rescue they wanted, they still chose to trust him. That's what it looks like to trust a person instead of an outcome. How do we develop this "even if" kind of faith? Have you ever chosen to exercise this kind of faith in God when things didn't turn out they way you had hoped and prayed?
Prayer Topics:
- That you would trust Jesus with your life.
- That you would learn to trust the Person, not just an outcome.
No Comments