New? February 8 Devotional
February 08, 2025
2 PETER 3:1-2 | 1 This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you; in them I am trying to arouse your sincere intention by reminding you 2 that you should remember the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken through your apostles.
ACTS 1:11| 11 They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’
The central tenets of the Christian faith are inter-related and mutually dependent. Confirmed skepticism about one of them is not, therefore, an isolated dilemma—it is an acid that destroys other crucial beliefs. Peter points this out very clearly. He knows that skepticism about Jesus’ promised return has dire implications. It undermines our faith in Jesus as Lord of history and our divine guide, since it would mean he made a series of false promises. There are entire chapters in the gospels that talk of final things. (See Mark 13 and Matthew 24 through 25). Such a conviction also shares our general confidence in the scriptures, since it was a major theme of the Old Testament prophets, including Joel, Amos, Zechariah, Isaiah, Hosea, Micah, and Zephaniah, as well as a fundamental New Testament promise.
Do you have a clear understanding of the importance of biblical teaching on Jesus’ return?
Gracious God,
Renew my confidence in your teaching and your promises. Help me to rest in the truths you’ve revealed and demonstrated.
Amen.
