ANGLICAN DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL FOR DECEMBER 24, 2022 (LISTEN TO HIM)

TOPIC : LISTEN TO HIM

Read: Acts 13:16-26(NKJV)

16. Then Paul stood up, and motioning with [his] hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen:
17. “The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He brought them out of it.
18. “Now for a time of about forty years He put up with their ways in the wilderness.
19. “And when He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land to them by allotment.
20. “After that He gave [them] judges for about four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.
21. “And afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.
22. “And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the [son] of Jesse, a man after My [own] heart, who will do all My will.’
23. “From this man’s seed, according to [the] promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior — Jesus —
24. “after John had first preached, before His coming, the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
25. “And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not [He.] But behold, there comes One after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to loose.’
26. “Men [and] brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent.

MESSAGE
STUDY: Paul addressed a religious congregation in the synagogue made up of Jews and Gentile converts to Judaism who worshipped in the synagogue. He proved that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, raised and sent by God for the salvation of the Jews and the whole human race (v.13). He showed in a plain and simple argument that he was acquainted with the history and promises of the Old Testament regarding Christ’s manifestation in the flesh. The purpose of choosing Israel was that all the families of the earth might be blessed. Paul called on the audience to listen!

The gospel is the good news of Christ coming into the world to save man from sin. Each time the gospel is preached, it calls for attention. But the people who will listen to the true message of Christ are those who fear God. Such people listen and take God’s message seriously to heart; they allow it to transform their lives. The gospel may not be popular now but it remains God’s design for the salvation of all men. How much attention do you pay to the gospel? Remember that paying attention is a choice but the consequence of refusing is not a choice.