Day 4

Scripture to Read: Acts 1:7

We know the apostles wanted to know when our Lord was coming back to establish His kingdom and do away with the evil in this world. As we read in yesterday’s devotion, it is a good thing to live with the great expectation of the return of our Lord. So, after the apostles had asked Jesus if this was it and if He was restoring Israel’s kingdom, Jesus lovingly answered them. God’s Word says, in Acts 1:7, He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority. In a concise answer, Jesus told them that the answer wasn’t for them to know. Jesus reminded them what He had told them in Matthew 24:36, But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. Now, imagine if God’s plan had been revealed to the apostles. Imagine them standing there and hearing that it would be at least another 2,000-plus years before the full restoration would occur. Imagine the discouragement they would have felt and maybe even a sense of complete hopelessness knowing more than 2,000 years would go by. God knows everything, but He also knows what we need to know and what we don’t need to know. God desires us to live each day to its fullest, all for His glory and praise. He does not want us worried about tomorrow (Matthew 6:25–34, Luke 12:22–31, Philippians 4:6, 1 Peter 5:7).

Challenge & Application

Our life is to be lived to the fullest for our Lord each day, so how would you explain to others how you’re living for your Lord? We can become distracted through worry, so with what God taught you today, how are you applying God’s Truth to your worry?

Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!

Devotionals from this week

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Day 1

We are preparing for our church's 75th Anniversary, so we will break from the book of Romans and examine the first four chapters of the book of Acts for the next four weeks. This week we’ll see what God has to say in Acts 1:1–14. God led Luke to write the book of Acts. God also used Luke to write the Gospel of Luke. God had Luke write both bo...

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Day 2

God never wants to leave us doubting Him or His Word, though many people today do both. Many doubt God and His Word because of the tests and trials they’ve faced in this life. Many people feel God owes them an easy, carefree, trial-free, tribulation-free life, and when things don’t go their way, they believe God has failed them or does not ex...

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Day 3

We can all think of a time in our past when our parents told us about a fun trip they planned for us and how we couldn’t wait for that trip to happen. While we waited, we probably asked our parents daily when that special day would arrive. Though they would give us the same answer, we still seemed to want to know, so we’d ask again and again....

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Day 4

We know the apostles wanted to know when our Lord was coming back to establish His kingdom and do away with the evil in this world. As we read in yesterday’s devotion, it is a good thing to live with the great expectation of the return of our Lord. So, after the apostles had asked Jesus if this was it and if He was restoring Israel’s kingdom,...

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Day 5

It is incredible how our Lord loves to give us good news and remind us of our mission, even when we are asking Him questions. Over the past two devotions, we saw how the apostles asked our Lord about the restoration of Israel and how our Lord lovingly told the apostles they did not need to know. But today, we get to see the rest of our Lord’s...

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Day 6

Jesus had been with the apostles for three years, and they had grown to trust Him. As we read yesterday in Acts 1:8, Jesus had given the apostles His final words of encouragement and established for them His call. So, we read today in Acts 1:9–11, And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud rec...

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Day 7

We know our Lord ascended, and the apostles stood amazed that Jesus was gone. But God sent two of His messengers. God’s Word does not say they were angels, but more than likely they were. They asked the disciples why they were standing there looking into heaven. It was almost as if they were getting the disciples to re-focus on Christ’s comma...

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