Acts 7:23-34
23 “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ 27 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.
30 “Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’
Reflection
Early in his life, Moses seemed to recognize his calling to provide Israel with salvation from the harsh Egyptians. The Israelites, on the other hand, did not understand the role that Moses was playing in their story (Acts 7:25). Rather than embracing the rescuer that God had sent, they rejected him, resulting in Moses’ 40-year exile (vv. 26–30). Thankfully, God was determined to save Israel despite their initial rejection of Moses, so he met with Moses in the wilderness and sent him back to Egypt (vv. 30–34).
God’s work of salvation in our lives is not the result of our eager pursuit of him; it is the result of his relentless grace toward us. We all have a track record of rejecting God, but it has not prevented God from carrying out his plan for our lives. As you pray for and minister to those who don’t yet trust in Jesus, be encouraged by the persistence of God’s grace. He can overcome the hardest of hearts.
1 John 2:18-29
18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.
26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.
28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
Reflection
John presents another proof of genuine faith. If the truth about Christ “abides” in us (1 John 2:24a), we will “abide” in God (v. 24b) and thus have full “confidence” that we are in a right relationship with him when Christ returns (v. 28). The specific truth we are called to “abide” in is “that Jesus is the Christ” (v. 22; John 15:4–7). There are, John warns, “antichrists” who deny this.
In one sense we are already in “the last hour” because the Christ (God’s chosen king, the “anointed one”), to whom the Old Testament prophets pointed as Israel’s final hope, has already come (cf. Acts 2:17; Heb. 1:2; 1 Pet. 1:20). In this context the false teachers John warns against are “antichrists.” They are against Christ because they deny that Jesus is the Christ. However, Jesus is the Christ and therefore believers can be assured of eternal life (cf. John 3:36; 5:24). As John will say later in this letter, “God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life” (1 John 5:11–12).
Psalm 90:12
12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
People sometimes wonder whether or not the “last days” are upon us, but the New Testament makes it very clear that “the last hour” (1 John 2:18) has indeed arrived with the person and work of Jesus. Pray that your devotion to the work of Christ’s kingdom would reflect the urgency of the situation.