HEBREWS 9:28

so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

TO PONDER

At the time of writing this post, my amazing wife is away for a work trip in 'always sunny' England. She has already been gone for over a week and won’t be back for 4 more days… the pause was for my sobbing.

Right now we are not prepared for her to come home.

As a temporary single parent, I have perhaps neglected some of my parental duties, dropped the ball on a few household chores but you better believe the house will be spotless upon her return, spick and span, floors clean enough to eat off, children dressed adequately smelling like the cherubs they are.

The past few days we have talked about John the Baptist whose role it was to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah, Jesus the saviour of the World, and today’s verse tells us how that coming prepared the way for our redemption and our participation in the ongoing Christmas story.

The coming of the Messiah changed the way we relate to God, changing our status from enemy to friend, from spectators to participators. Through Christ’s sacrifice we joined the Christmas story. Our call/role in the ongoing Christmas story is to partner with the Holy Spirit to prepare our temporary/alien home for Christ’s return, sharing and inviting others into the ongoing Christmas story.

But unlike my preparation for my amazing wife’s planned and scheduled return on Sunday, preparing for Christ’s return shouldn’t be left to the unknown last few hours.

“He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.” Ephesians 2:10 (MSG)

PRAYER: Almighty saviour Jesus, I give you thanks and praise for your incredible act of sacrifice, for your death on the cross so I could become your family and join you in the work you have already prepared for me to participate with you in. Amen.

Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside